Our
Rabbi, Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah, on the Twenty-fifth anniversary of the departure of
our Master, Rav Kook (Sichot Ha-Rav Tzvi Yehudah – Bereshit, p.88, arranged by
Rav Aviner)
Question:
If someone came and asked: Teach me the Torah of Rav Kook while standing on one
foot, how would you respond to him?
Answer:
To a certain extent, it is possible to say while standing on one foot that the
Torah of father, Ha-Rav ztz"l is: unity, wholeness and perfection - unity
of Hashem, wholeness of the Nation and the Land and perfection of the
Torah. "The Torah of Hashem is
perfect, restoring the soul" (Tehillim 19:8). Our Sages explain this verse: When it is
perfect, it restores the soul (Socher Tov ibid. and see Yerushalami Berachot
5:3). Just as we are obligated to see
the unity of Hashem before our eyes and the Torah in its perfection and all of
its wholeness, so too are we to see the Nation, to its full and complete
extent, in all its wholeness. The Gerrer
Rebbe ztz"l – author of "Sefat Emet" - would explain our Sages’
teaching, "Judge all of the person favorably" (Pirkei Avot 1:6), in
this way: At a time when you judge the entire person, when you observe a person
from all of his sides - he will be "favorable," and aspects of merit
will be revealed before your eyes. This
is the fundamental outlook of the Torah.
And you find the exact opposite with the wicked Bilaam: "However,
you will see its edge, but not see all of it" (Bamidbar 23:13). Observing the edge, only part of the Nation,
without looking at the entirety, obstructs the sight and distorts the
image. If it sometimes seems that there
is some flaw in the Nation of Israel, it is because you are only looking at a
particular issue or an isolated occurrence, without observing the issues with a
complete and encompassing perceptive. In
Parashat Eikev, we find the expression "all of the mitzvah" (Devarim
8:1), meaning, the entire Torah is one mitzvah, one matter, one complete entity
("The entire Torah is only one Name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, one
Name, one utterance, one saying, without any other, which has everything
included in it" – Orot Ha-Torah 4, 1).
A living being is a complete entity, and we cannot divide it. "Commandment by commandment, commandment
by commandment, measure line by measuring line and measure line by measuring
line, a bit here and a bit there" (Yeshayahu 28:13) - this is a failed and
distorted outlook. One must perceive
matters in their unity and in their completeness, in their entire revelation
and in all their aspects, and then the Torah is perfect and restores the
soul. This is true not only regarding
the Torah, but also regarding the Nation and the Land. Just as the Torah, when it is perfect
restores the soul, so too the holiness of Israel and the holiness of the Land
of Israel, when they are perfect, whole, when we observe them within a whole
and all-encompassing perspective, they restore the soul.
