Ben Zion Bokser

Rabbi Bokser is spiritual leader of the Forest HilsJewish Center and Adjunct Professor of JewishMysticism at Queens College.

RA V KOOK: THE ROAD TO RENEvV AL

INTRODUCTION

This essay, entitled "Derek Hatechiah," first appeared in 1909in the short-lived periodical Ranir. It offers one of the most com-prehensive statements of Rabbi Kook's philosophy of Judaism.

The force which directs the world toward the absolute goodthat pulsates throughout existence, declares Rabbi Kook, is aspiritual ilumination from the Divine source of all existence. Itis what we commonly call a mystical experience, though RabbiKook does not use this term. This ilumination is initially ex-perienced by certain qualifed individuals who channel it to sO'-ciety. There an imperative is released "for the perfection of themoral, social, intellectual and practical world." Rabbi Kookwarns, however, that this inflow of psychic and spiritual energymay, in fact, be distorted and become a source of idolatrous ab-berartions. The decisive factor is a moral and rational refinementwhich must precede in the medium where the ilumination is toact. Only where such refiement has preceded wil the ilumina-tion be grasped in its full authenticity and evoke as its responsethe passion to perfect all life.

The Jewish people has experienced this ilumination becauseJewish life has felt the refiing impact of an ancestral heritage

of profound spiritual sensibilty, and because of the purgingeffected by slavery in Egypt. And therefore it is the vocation ofthe Jew, Rabbi Kook affrms, to bear witness to his vision in allits rational and ethical implications, thereby helping the worldfree itself of idolatry and allowing the light from the Divinesource to guide it toward the perfection O'f lüe.

But the light has often been blunted in Judaism itself. Oneof the factors responsible for this has been the misuse of an insti-tution that, in its essence, was established to aid the quest for thegood: the Torahitic tradition as expressed in written documents.These documents were to' channel and shape the new light. Toooften, however, the study of texts and the concern with the pre-scribed code of religious discipline, were exaggerated. The

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crystallizations of past achievements became the sole expressionof Jewish religious life. Vision and ilumination atrophied. Theperil in such atrophe was the reaction it stimulated; the rise ofChristianity and of the false messiahs, Shabbetai Zevi and JacobFrank.

The renaissance in Eretz Yisrael, Rabbi Kook warns, cannotbe a fulfillment of Jewish hopes for renewal on the plane of secu~lar nationalism. It must involve alsO' a religious renaissance. But

those who wil lead such a religious renaissance cannot be merelythe masters in the study of traditional Torah texts. They must bemen who wil go beyond this. They must be deeply spirtual per-sonalities for whom contact with the Divine spirit is a living ex~perience, and who wil bring new light and vitality to the entiefabric of Jewish life.

The reader wil fid this essay of great interest, though some

of its interpretations may strike him as overly simplistic. Morethan any other of Rabbi Kook's writings it reveals his originalityand daring. He probes areas of thought generally remote to theconventional rabbinical thinker, and he adopts positions oftenstartlng in their boldness.

Rabbi Kook describes the process by which Divine ilumina-tion reaches man as an ever-ongoing natural phenomenon, un-versal in its beneficience. It takes on diferentiated forms in thediverse cultures where it acts through factors of subjectivity. Thedistinctiveness of the Divine ilumination in Judaism is tracedto a special preparation of the Jewish people to receive ,the light.But does not such a theory negate a special initiative on thepart of God in choosing Israel? Is not this theory equivalent tosaying that it was really the Jewish people who chose God andwiled to make itself a vessel of His service?

The Besht is quO'ted as having said that there had been "aDivine spark" in Shabbatai Zvi, but Rabbi Kook goes muchfurther. He declares that an authentic element of spirituality hadbeen in Jesus, in Shabbatai Zvi and in Jacob Frank. It becamedistorted because of subjective abberations. Rabbi Kook addsthat "the tiny element of good" which inhered in these men wasnot altogether lost, that these men served as a needed protestagainst a Judaism which had come to depend solely on the studyof texts, losing its openness to new spiritual inspirations. Espe-cialy his affmative remarks about Jesus ("a remarkably charis~

matIc personality who exerted great spiritual infuence") evokedshock in traditional rabbinic circles and 'he felt the need to defendhimself (lgrot Harayah, vol. II, p. 34).

One is also struck by the almost humanistic attributes withwhich he described the Jewish characteristics that reveal the im-pact of a higher spiritual influence: "the inclination to pursue the

Rav Kook: The Road to Renewal

study and cultivation of nature, the desire for free inquiry, fora clear and rational ethic." Rabbi Kook acknowledges that theseattributes are not always present in the Jewish people, but heattributes the lack to an inner decadence to be overcome in anew spiritual revivaL. There are other such startlng positionswhich wil pose problems for the traditionally oriented thinker.

This essay was omitted from the several collections of RabbiKook's writings, perhaps because of the various problems it posesfor a philosophy of Jewish religion. But it must be pondered forany assessment of Rabbi Kook's place in the history of Jewishreligious thought.

B.Z.B.

I

The nature of the spiritual reality cannot be discerned thoughscientific probing. Objective knowledge, rational analysis, phi-losophy-these disclose only the external phenomena of lie.Even when they deal with the inner aspects of existence theyare only focusing on the shadows cast by life's essence, but noton its inner content. The true achievement of rational demon-stration is only to prepare a path for the spirit to reach theouter chamber of the spiritual domain. But as long as man isimmersed in his senses and their narrow confiements he wilnot be able to know fully the spiritual dimension of life, onlyfaint shadows thereof wi be discernible through them. And

if he should relate to these shadows as though they were thetrue reality, then these shadows will turn for him into a heavyburden and they will diminish both his physical as well as hisspiritual vigor, so that he will seek to flee from them as some-thing detnmental.

But the more a person will seek to flee this shadow, the morethe shadow will pursue him; there is 'Only one therapy to escapeit, and this is to augment the light.

This augmenting of light can come about only through risingto the inner chamber of the spiritual domain, but for ths mandoes not have any psychic faculty except the profound intuitionof a faith in the Divine. Through this faith we attain the

cliactic reach of knowledge and of feelig which links man's

spiritual life, in its existential functionig, with the ultiate

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spirtual reality. Thús he merges hi,s life with the higher realmsof existence which transcend all'limitation and are free of theweakness which clings to the physicaL.

The psychic life of the individual in its various expressions

merges with the larger psychic life through bridges that link them-the heroic personalities of the spiritual life and the psychic

treasures of the group. This merger determines the distinctivecharacteristics of communities, such as societies, families and

'nations reaching out to the highest levels of being. The. spiritualsplendor then descends from the highest spiritual source to theparticular units of existence, which are differentiated from thewhole only through the liitations of subjectivity. These limita-tions give way as the morning clouds before the rising sun,through the perception of the universal aspect, 'Of. existence inevery soul and spirit.

The psychic reality at the heart of existertce manifests itselfin visions of what is as yet non-existent by the great figures of

history. They are the ones who effected profound changes in theworld, who overcame long established traditions and inauguratednew and better ones. Thus they transformed the character ofhumanity, or of a great part of it, and this part will in turnexert its infuence on the whole.

The psychic reality of existence which radiates an abundanceof psychic potency on life is manifested only in the heroicspirits of the world, who are girded with a Divine strength, andwho are at home in the vast ocean of religious faith. This isquite different from the dimension of reality portrayed for usin the shadowy knowledge of scientifc enlightenment, be itshallow or profound.

It is to be noted, however, that our scientifically orientedculture, based on inferential reasoning and sense perception, andthe natural moral sense deriving from them, prepares mankindto absorb the light emanating from the universal spiritual psyche.Then under the impact of this light will the direction of ourculture with its roots in reason, instinct and the natural, moral

sense take on great vigor and an abiding Divine stability. Notso if the emanation of light reaches us without the preparationof the cultivated path 'Of the scientifically oriented cultureand

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conventional morality; then this very light will beget only

darkness.The irruption of spiritual light from its Divine source on

uncultivated ground yields the perverse aspect of idolatry,and it has caused false notions and evil passions, and fromthese perverse accretions humanity has not yet purged itself tothis day. Even today our culture has not yet reached the pointwhen a Divine sensitivity toward the absolute good shall per-vade the soul of collective groups. The result is that the Divine,as generally conceived in our culture, is an alien deity thatexpresses itself in grotesque caricatures. And we discern amongpeople even now signs of evil and brutality, and the moral sensecontinues to atrophe and fades from their hearts.

Humanity has one refuge from this predicament-it is theexample of the religious community of Israel which has theDivine sensitivity at the core of its being. Our instinct testifesand our analysis confirms it, that the God of the universe, uniquein His unity, is. the absolute good, life, and light, who is ex-alted beyond all exaltation and better than all good ("The Lordis good to all and His mercies extend to all creatures," Ps.145: 9) who sustains and preserves and effects deliverance toall. This Divine sensitivity is found not only among individualsof the Jewish people, but in its collectivity. If at times Israeltended to forget her soul, her life's essence, the institution ofprophecy appeared to remind her of her vocation. Her descentto exile corrected her sinister inclinations so that in the endthe Divine sensitivity toward the absolute good was destinedto prevaiL.

It is a fundamental error for us to retreat from our distinctiveexcellence, to cease recognizing ourselves as chosen for a Divinevocation. We are not only diferent from other nations, difer-entiated and set apart by a distinctive historic existence, whichis unlike that of all other nations, but we indeed surpass theother nations. If we shall know our greatness then we shall'know ourselves, but if we forget it then we shall forget ourown identity; and a people that forgets its own identity is indeedsmall and lowly . . .

The road our nation has travelled in its general interrelations

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with humanity is very long. We are a great people and we havealso blundered greatly and, therefore, have we suffered greattribulations; but great is also our consolation.

The people of Israel yearns to exert an infuence with itspsyche, to bnng near the great day when the influence of thespiritual in its existential aspects will fid ready and preparedground to make possible the fulfilment of the prophecy (Ze-chariah 8:22-23):

And many peoples and mighty nations shall come to seek the Lordof hosts in Jerusalem. . . and they shall take hold of the comer ofthe garment of a Jew, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heardthat God is with you.

It is this very influence, by breaking in upon life when it is notready, sowing its seed on unfertile ground, that produces weedswhich are detrimental to every good.

Then will humanity no longer be content with the dry grainsof speculations by finite mortals whose enthusiasms only reflectthe weak and erring instincts of creatures of flesh and blood.But it will make way for a mighty psychic influence in whichthere is the spirit of the living God, of whom it is said (Psalms89:15):

Mercy and justice are the foundation of His throne, kindness andtruth go before Him.

A profound moral and rational refiement, effected by a tra-dition, must precede the illumination of a psychic force from thehigher autonomous realm of the spirituaL. It is only then thatthe individual or society will grasp the full and dominant demarrdof this illumination for the perfection of the moral, social, intel-lectual and practical world. Everything will then be raised

through the psychic illumination, above the artificial culturebased on the contrivances and designs of mortal heart andminds.

The element of refinement is an important component in thisphenomenon. One unrefined element in the area where the lightfrom the source of existence is acting can create a world of con-

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fusion and inflict immense damage upon great multitudes forgenerations to come. Humor, satire, criticism, the drama, artand philosophy with all the skills at their disposal will be un-able to remove the intoxication effected on a society by a singleundisciplined element of psychic force which, emanating fromthe action of the spiritual domain, has the capacity to enslavewith a great potency all the souls that come under its influence.And if individuals allow themselves to imagine that they havesucceeded in liberating themselves from this infuence, and theyhave succeeded in channeling their lives along free, rationalpaths, contrary to the psychic infuence dominant in their circle,this freedom is only external, in the peripheral zones of their

spiritual being. In their inner essence they will not escape itspower, and the critical eye will always discern that their originaldisposition continues its hold on their thoughts.

The displacement of the pernicious impact of a spirtual in-fluence that has become distorted through the deficiency in thecultural milieu on which it acted can come about only througha higher and more resolute spiritual force. In its higher sub-stantive content it necessarily embraces all the moral and ra-tional characteristics of a culture that prizes freedom, rationalityand criticism.

The higher spiritual illumination comes only through a purereverence for God, a mighty Divine faith which is to be foundprecisely in the community of IsraeL. The people of Israelachieved this psychic dispostion through a ilioral and rationalrefinment effected as a result of an ancestral heritage and the

purging effect of slavery. These conditioned Israel's history sothat she was prepared to absorb the full force of the Divine in-fluence on the life of the community, on its mores, its aspira-tions, giving it roots in the souls of individuals and in its collec-tive conscience for future generations.

As a result of this moral and intellectual refinement, a pre-liinary conditioning for the actions of the higher spiritual in-

fluence, there developed in the Jewish people the inclinationto pursue the study and cultivation of nature, the desire for freeinquiry, for a clear and rational ethic. This became the heritageof Israel, which is to be found always among Jewish groups and

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individuals in each generation.The strengthening of all aspects of our nati'On's life is de-

pendent on the strengthening of its spiritual character. This, inturn, depends on the illumination from the spiritual realm, theuniversal psyche, which will bring the spirit of man and of theworld in the messianic age to complete harmony. The inflow

of the Divine psyche which pervades heaven and earth and en-compasses all the fluctuations 'Of life from its inception to itsfinal epoch, in time and circumstance, vitalizes all the dimen-sions of our people's life: its history, language, land, life-style-everything is endowed by it with delight, valor and richness.. The preparation of the spiritual character of our nation for

union with the universal psyche is made possible through thehigher "moral Torah" which is conveyed through the Divinerevelation of morality and wisdom, and of the mitzvot whichwere given as a means of human refiement. It cannot be effect-ed by a prescriptive moral code alone, which may soon be cor-rupted by the mire thrown up by the ocean of the psyche. Thismust be supplemented by the inflow of original spiritual influ-ences which express the Divine good that pervades all existenceand reaches d'Own. to every particular being. The thrust of the

Divine good is discernible in every part of this eternal Torah.But when the components of the nation's life are remote from

the well-springs of the Divine, they absorb turtid and unrefinedpsychic elements that dull the splendor of absolute morality andcause them to lose the Divine vigor that pulsates in them.

This affiction shows itself in an inner coldness and an enthu-siasm for institutional conformity. Without the holy fie ofgenuine faith behind those institutional expressions, they becomesteadily weakened and they atrophy. Then they produce as areaction an irritation over frustrated expectations, over a lifeof futility.

When this transpires, the nation will recall with longing heryouthful days when she entered the covenant with God and,rising above her sophistication, she will turn back to the Divineworld she has abandoned. The Divine psychic force hidden inher soul will be aroused, the refined spirit of wisdom and moral-ity will come to life again; then will all her established institu-

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tions shine with an exalted light and a Divine grace will fithem all. Every heart will then be pervaded with an inner love,tranquil and confident.

In every cultivated soul there will then be revealed the pul-sating action of the universal Divine psyche. It will express itselfin vision, in song. Its impact will be felt everyhere. At fist itwill make itself felt among the people of Israel, and before long,it will also be felt throughout mankind. All that its general

decadence erased will be inscribed again, all that has been for-gotten will be recalled; and the joy of heaven and earth will re-turn as in ancient days.

II

The' illumination from the spiritual realm in all its fullnessoccurs in any society to the extent that it has been sensitized tothe Divinely oriented ideology which is concerned with thequest for the universal good, the absolute good that affects allexistence. The illumination of the individual soul by any spir-itual and moral force' stirring in society is analogous to themovements of the particular beings in the planetary worldswhich are affected by the solar system of which they are a part.The illumination of the individual soul is affected by the move-ment of the universal good which embraces in its laws themorality and justice at the heart of reality. The movement ofthe universal good represents, of course, a phenomenon of suchimmensity that the eye is blinded in looking at its light. It is forthis reason that we can find no formula by which to defie it., The illumination from the spiritual realm is manifest inmighty waves in the souls of individuals of great spiritual vitality.But this power is perfected in them when their general roots,their national soul, is in a state of health; and conversely, whenthe national dimension of their being is defective they too be-come inwardly damaged.

The psychic force of authentic spirituality, which transcendsin its potency the spirituality gained by the study of texts, wasmanifested in the life of individuals during the most enlightenedmoments 'of the 'nation's lifè, when it was at peace and at the

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peak of its creativity. They reflect the most luminous sparks fromthe full light embodied in the nation's inner essence, under-

scoring thereby the direction of its highest goals. This was thenature of Israelite prophecy.

The Jewish national psyche was in a state of health through-out the long period from the settlement in Canaan to the de-struction of the first Temple, with but minor exceptions. A spir-itual influence pervaded the national spirit and stirred it to a

Divine longing that needed to be shaped through the skills ofwisdom and it inspired the prophetic vision among her bestspirits. The mighty personality of the prophet was more domin-ant among the people than the devotion to the study of texts.It was dominant in the nation's psyche, the medium whichactualizes the spirtual reality as a functioning force.

This force was dulled in the nation through the admittance

of alien influences, which were also more in the nature of psy-chic experiences than the result of study. The psychic influenceturned in the direction of the evil of idolatry, and the mightysoul of Israel which was rooted in the living God, the holy God,was diverted from its purity. The collective aspects of the na-tion,s life, like her politics, absorbed this psychic influence andit turned into a poison until she was broken altogether.

The decadence of the nation, her exile from her own land,effected an interruption of the psychic influence, which had for-merly been at its height. Broken in body and. spirit, the Jewishpeople returned from the brief exile in Babylonia and soughtto rebuild its. former station. But it no longer possessed the fullforc"e of its psychic illumination and instead of the infow ofspiritual influence there was an excessive focus on the study oftexts. Through study the people .sought to redevelop within it-self a cultural disposition faithful to its origins as well as to itsexistential needs and thereby to readapt itself for receiving theillumination of the soul from the spirtual reality. The traditionwas conveyed in a new medium after the fist had become achannel of destructive influences.

The temptation to idolatry came to an end, but it was not a1to~gether vanquished. Its voice was muted in the conscious ex-

pressions of life, but in the. dark subconscious it remained alive

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and exerted an influence. It had to persist until it was to betotally overcome by the power of the nation, when a mightysurge of spiritual energy spreading great enlightenment vanquishits darkness, including all the power in the primitive temptationto idolatry.

Then there appeared parties in the nation that had absorbedthe external aspects of nationalism, together with its dross.Hatred for people grew, which is a distinctive effect of idolatrythat always does its destructive work under the banner of na-tionalism. Though this hatred is ostensibly directed at otherpeoples and does not make ones own nation its target, in thecourse of time it turns to an internal disease and a hatred ofbrother against brother becomes sharpened, destroying the na-tional welfare. Individuals still experienced the holy spirit. Illum-

, ined by the brightest light of holiness, they reached the highest'level of spiritual sensitivity latent in the nation's soul, but thesewere only individuals. The pedagogy of studying texts provedtoo weak in the face of the pressures of life. The result was thatthe affairs of the nation, especially its political life, were entrust-ed into the hands of people who were remote from Divine ideals,which is the essence of Israel's national soul.

The aspiration for self -revitalization, for an illumination ofsoul, as in earlier days, was at times felt in the nation. At timesthere arose illuminated spirits of great stature who sought bytheir psychic powers to stimulate a spiritual renewal amongtheir people and to infuence them to the recognition that studymust be strengthened by the spirtual reality as it discloses itselfin the course of its unfolding. But the times did not prove op-portune for thi.

In such an epoch of weakness arose Christianity and it wroughtinjury to the nation. Its founder was endowed with a remark-ably charismatic personality, who exerted great spiritual influ~ence; but he had not escaped the defect of idolatry, which is anintensification of spirtual infuence without the prior trainingin the existing moral and cultural disciplines. And he and hisfollowers were so committed to the cultivation of the spirituallife that they lost their Jewish characteristics and they becamealenated, in deed and spirt, from the source whence they had

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sprung.But the concentration on a diet of study alone weakens the

power of the nation unduly. The role of the individual as asource of spiritual enlghtenment to the nation's life had to re-emerge. Rabbi Akiba then came and declared:

'The Lord (et a-donoy) you shall revere' (Dent. 6: 13)-the inclusionof the word et before a-danoy (itself superfluous but not uncommonlyused to introduce a direct object) - suggests that we include the

reverence due to the sages (Bava Kamma 41h).

This mighty call gave recognition to the spiritual infuence ofthe individual in the inner realm of J udasm. But the people werenot altogether adjusted to this concept. The diffdence of RabbiSimeon Imsoni who had rejected the inference from the use ofthe word et was hidden in the soul of the entire community inIsraeL.

Many generations passed and inspired individuals reinforcedthe spiritual effcacy of studying texts. A distinctive type of in-dividual came to the foreground in the great zaddikim and holysages, adding lustre to their practical achievements in the knowl-edge of textual learning. But the affictions suffered by our

people, the general decadenèe of life, caused a neglect of thesoul-force of direct spiritual influence and the aspect of studybecame dry and detached. Then there soon appeared rifts: un-disciplined individuals, confused by false fantasies and mis-chievous inclination proclaimed visions, and, where there wasa vacuum, they made headway and they brought bewildermentto the nation. These were the various false messiahs, who con-fused the world and caused great harm.

But admidst all the evil they caused, there was not lost thetiny element of good that had been hidden in them. They ex-emplifed a psychic renewal as opposed to the sole dependence

on the one foundation, the study of texts, and indoctrinationin the disciplined, practical performance of commandments.This served to remind the people of the healthy basis of the na-tion's earlier life, when the Divine light had shone iÏi her midst,and her prophets had seen Divine visions.. Hasidism also arose from this claim for spiritual inspiration

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which had become dormant. After the unsuccessful attempt bythe last false messiah Shabbatai Zvi who had reduced the phe-nomenon of psychic inspiration to the level of madness and anevil intoxication, and its cessation after all the grotesqueness it

had assumed in the half offcial false messiah Frank and hisadherents-there was the great peril that the nation might spurnaltogether every vestige left it from the treasure of living spir-itual inspiration. The result would have been sole dependenceon a study of texts and the zealous performance of actions, thecommandments and the customs. The people would have becomebowed in body and crushed in spirit. In the end they would havebeen unable to survive from a lack of vitality and uplifting ofspirit. .

This was felt by that great personality, the father of Hasidism,in whom the Divine inspiration was a living soul force. But itsform had been insuffciently grounded in textual study and ittherefore could not be established firmly on graded Torahiticnorms. This was needed to channel the spreading light sO as"not to go astray and result in harmful consequences. ..

Hasidism had an inner safeguard against the peril which hadcharacterized the tendency to excessive inspiration in earliermovements. This was a remarkably deep-felt love for the nation,a love for the Jewish people as a whole and a love for individualJews. This love stood as a mighty buttress in the inspirational

. movement of Hasidism against all destructive tendencies. Butthis in itself would not have been sufcient. Future generationsmight well have lost the blessings of revival in Hasidism had itnot been purified by suffering as a result of the fiery oppositionfrom the shining light of Israel's tradition of textual study center-ing in the practical disciplines of life. He himself had felt theliving force of inspiration but for him this was peripheral to hisprimary concern, textual study. I am referring to the Torahiticpsychology of Rabbt Elijah Gaon. of Vilna. He fought the spreadof the Divine inspiration in the psychology of the Besht (RabbiIsrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism), which hadnôt been suffciently grounded in the textual study, thus creatingtn.e danger that it might become estranged from its roots in theJewish tradition' in the course of time.

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This controversy for "the sake of heaven," through its twocontending adversaries, had remarkably constructive resultswhich were felt throughout the Jewish diaspora. It led to theformation of a group that established a base for the return toEretz Y israel and a renewal of practical work for the rebuildingof our ancestral homeland. * This was the beginng of al the

realistic movements that are aiding this phenomenon in our tie.These developments are themselves, incidentally, preparatoryto a new surge of Divine inspiration.

The psyche of the nation is showing signs of renewaL. At fistshe tends to be drawn to the external trappings of the nation'slife, without embracing the inner essence of the nation, herDivine souL. At fist she is content with the revival of the

language, the land, the knowledge of history, and an undefiednostalgia for the past. But without a Divine light shining, thesoul will grow troubled. Where is the love of truth? Where is thelove for Zion and Jerusalem which had been, despite all innerweakess, so vital and stirring in the hearts of our ancestors,who had been exposed to so much wandering in exile? Themighty question which is bound to arise in due time will callthe restored nation, her children who have come to build heranew, her youth, and all who are anxous about her welfare, toreturn to her psychic source, the source of vision and prophecy.This vision comes as the fruit of a deep faith in God whichdawns after all free probing and speculation, after a lapse of. discipline and endless experiments in alluring and free life-styles. Resolute in body and spirit, and stirred by a deep andliving passion, the young Israelite of the future in viewing therenaissance of his people and his land, will speak proudly of theHoly Land, and glory in the God of IsraeL. A spiritual forceof intense vitality wil stir the dry bones that drew their susten-

.Rabbi Kook referred no doubt to the settlement in Eretz Yisrael by a groupof Basidim under the leadership of Rabbi Menahem Mendel of Vitebsk andRabbi Abraham of Kalesk. This step came largely as a reaction to the pèr.sistent persecution of the Hasidim under the inspiration of the Gaon of Vilna.It proved to be an important episode in the renewal of tbe yishuv in Eret%

Yisrael, as is noted by Rabbi Menabem Gerlitz in his introduction to RabbiMenahem Mendel's Peri Haa'fetz.

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ance from cold logic, lifeless metaphysics, and the decadenceof skepticism. Then will be fulfilled the prophecy:

And they wil come and sing in the heights of Zion and they wil bedrawn to the blessing of the Lord, the wine, the oil, and the flocksof sheep, and they wil be like a watered garden and they shall grieveno more (Jer. 31: 17).

The spirit of the Lord latent in the nation will manifest itselfin her with full force in a well-worked path, a path of heroism,of wisdom and piety, and of the splendor 'Of redemption, whichwill inspire a new song among the people, and endow them witha new name, to be pronounced by the Lord.

III

· The inspiration of an active spiritual influence exerts its effecton practical life more than the method of studying texts. Whenfree of external dross, of misleading fantasies and wicked goals,of pride and arrogance, the functioning of spiritual inspirationwill restore to the nation its ancient honor by restoring the

patriarchal dignity of Israel's princes, who were distinguishedby a personal spiritual quality of a high order. The adherence tozaddikim with devotion and enthusiasm, through constant con-tact, raises the spiritual stature of the nation. The psychic fusioneffected through the living contact of souls in the existential te-ality of life, merges the inner light in the psyche of the higherperson, the true man of God, with the other souls that are at-tached to him in love and faith. They experience the delightdistilled by a great moral personality wh'O constantly experiencesDivine infuences of longing that the highest good be fostered

in the world, and that the Divine loving kindness, in all its full-ness, appear in every living souL.

. The light of an active spiritual influence thus spreads to thesouls of people who are spiritually impoverished, who are pur-sued by the pressures of the petty forces stirring in their narrowhearts. This merger ennobles those souls with a psychic beauty,it straightens what is crooked, it spreads a state of innocence,and wins forgiveness even for troubled sinners affcted by the

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hostility of their gross natures that dominate their materialexistence.

This type of personal influence needs great safeguards, but

it can be of great benefit. Its spiritual service cannot be measuredaccording to the Torahitic knowledge and the educational aspectsembodied in it. On the contrary, measurea. by this yardstick,the spiritual becomes a weak auxiliary to the practicaL. The rab-binate will then be judged according to the administrative roleit plays and its educational function will be assessed according

to the monetary value of the animals and the fowl, the pots andspoons and all other such petty items it has decreed as kosher,for it is only by such criteria that the practical sense of the multi-tude understands a service of usefulness. In the end such valuesare bound to decline and to sink ever lower, unless a mightyspiritual force should arise to support them according to theiroriginal inspiration which lifts all spiritual needs to their fullstature.

This can be effected only by a personal infuence that drawsits inspiration from the domain uf the spiritual in all its fullnesswhich is fed by a surviving remnant of prophecy.

Such remnants are to be found only in a state of decadence

in the diaspora, because the nation itself is in a state of decad-ence while in exile. The nation longs to set root again in itshomeland and to return to normalcy, as in ancient days. Butto the extent of her readiness for the aspiration to greatness,

. she must, through her own initiative, discover a source of spir-itual inspiration that shall act on all aspects of her life. She mustdiscover a great personality from among her noblest spirits whoare close to the source of her soul, who abound in vision andthe song of holiness, and who yearn with the fullness of theirbeing for light and deliverance, for her strength and her honor.

The ertlightenment concerning the surface of things, with allits adornments, the surface study of the Torah, which is con-cerned directly with the practical aspects of life, will not endowsuch a personality with suffcient potency to aid in the renewalof the nation and the land.

This spiritual inspiration will appear from its hidden sub-mergence in the realm of light. This realm of light continually

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discloses itself to humble spirits who are resolute in heart, andanticipate deliverance, whose whole being is under the influenceof the Divine life pulsating in the soul of the collective life ofthe house of IsraeL. These mighty men of God will embrace intheir being all the general and the particular forces needed forthe nation's revivaL. They will integrate in themselves all theforces involved in the activist program and all the forces offeeling and thought. They will revitalize each soul through theinfuence of the living God, after they themselves will be adornedby the Divine grace which is made manifest in the functioningspiritual essence of the living people, whose soul expresses theDivine soul.

The breakdown of the boundaries which mark. the separatespiritual domain of each soul will ennoble all souls. The de-ficiencies resulting from all the sinfulness in people will be over-come and a higher light drawing men "toward the blessing ofthe Lord" will break through, disting endless delights for allthose who have come to serve the renewal of the holy peoplein its homeland. The surge of literary creativity, when it isrobed in the spirt of the people that has returned to life, will

.. find new treasures that it had never expected to see. It will en~

. gage the best spirts of the world with a new vision of theDivine psyche stirrng in all its purity among this people thathas awakened on the soil of its beginnings. Through the Divine

. spirit pulsating in its being it will stir to life the spirit of allnations. who have grown weary with the burden of life in itsgrossness that has become unbearably oppressive.

The. vision is yet for the appointed time, and it dec1areth of the end,and cloth not lie. Though it tarry wait for it, because it wil surelycome, it wil not delay. The soul of the one who is pufed up is notright, but the righteous shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2: 3, 4).

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