← Back to lessons
Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook (1865-1935) was the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of British Mandate Palestine and the founding philosopher of religious Zionism. Born in Latvia, he served Eastern European communities, made aliyah in 1904 to Jaffa, returned during WW1 to London, then settled in Jerusalem in 1919 and was appointed Chief Rabbi in 1921. He founded Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in 1924. His tolerant, mystical vision, accepting secular pioneers as part of redemption, shaped a generation. Major works include Orot, Orot HaTeshuva, and Orot HaKodesh.
Cultural note, Rav Kook is unusual: a deeply traditional halachist who saw secular Zionists as unconscious partners in atchalta de\'geula (the beginning of redemption). His writings mix Kabbalah, philosophy, poetry, and political thought. Critics across both haredi and secular spectrums attacked him during his lifetime. His son Rav Tzvi Yehuda built Mercaz HaRav into the engine of religious-Zionist activism, "Hill youth" today still quote Rav Kook\'s grandson lineage. To understand religious-Zionist Israel, read at least 10 pages of Orot.
Biography (Key Locations & Dates)
Major Works
Core Concepts
Religious-Zionism Founding Vocabulary
Famous Phrases (Key Terms)
From the Pages of Orot
A passage explaining Rav Kook\'s vision of unity between secular pioneers and Torah.