Rav Kook on Tisha B'Av
How are we supposed to relate to the loss of the Temple, something that happened so long ago? Join Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman and explore Rav Kook’s thoughts on the past destruction and living during a time of rebirth in the Jewish homeland.
Rav Kook on Tisha B'Av: Rav Kook on Tisha B’Av
Hello Everyone,
The title of this series of classes is “Rav Kook on Tisha B’Av” but the discussions will not pertain precisely to Tisha B’Av. Rather they will be discussions about Rav Kook’s feelings about the consequences of Tisha B’Av.
Tisha B’Av is the fast day during which we mourn the loss of our country. For Rav Kook there were two paired consequences of this loss. First, we could no longer grow as a nation guided solely by the Torah since we lost our political autonomy. Being subject to foreign rulers both at home and even more so as exiles meant that we were influenced by foreign religions and cultures.
These foreign influences left deep scars in our sense of what it means to be “religious.”
Rav Kook’s analysis of the consequences of Tish B’Av is fascinating and we will discuss it today.
Rav Kook on Tisha B'Av: Rav Kook on Tisha B’Av
Hello Everyone,
We learned last week that for Rav Kook, the great tragedy of Tisha b’Av is that we lost our opportunity to influence Western culture. Today we will continue to study this idea of Rav Kook’s. The text which will form the basis for the discussion is the story of the martyrdom of Rabbi Yehuda ben Babba.
After studying Rav Kook we will see how Emanuel Levinas, the French philosopher, expressed similar ideas in his critique of Simone Weil.
Rav Kook on Tisha B'Av: Rav Kook on Tisha B’Av
Hello Everyone,
Today’s session is the last in our series on Rav Kook on Tisha b’Av. We wil see what Rav Kook zt”l wrote on the subjects of exile and redemption.
Rabbi Dr. Stuart Fischman graduated from Yeshiva University in 1980 and the dental school of Columbia University in 1985. In 1989 he began studying and teaching at Yeshivat Hamivtar and now studies and teaches at Yeshivat Machanaim in Efrat. He has rabbinic ordination from Rav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg.