Isolationism vs. Socialization - Part V
RAV KOOKS LETTERS
By Rav
Shiur #26e:
Isolationism vs. Socialization (continued)
Chapter 4
We are left with two questions that must be addressed:
1.
In
what way does a person or a society that lives a life of sanctity reflecting a
profound world-view of sanctity influence the surrounding society or the nation
at large? Or as Rav Kook would put it how do we fulfill the second part of
the kabbalistic principle, "concluding with unity"?
2.
Is
this influence a one-way affair? In other words, assuming that the ordinary
people who live a regular life, with a simple, superficial world-view are
influenced by the "sanctified" society or by the "righteous" individuals, is
there also some sort of effect or dependence in the opposite direction as well?
We shall address these two questions below.
The individual or society that has managed to attain a consciousness of
kodesh influences the public in diverse ways, but these do not
necessarily need to have practical expression. In other words, Rav Kook does not
mean something like, "Study at a yeshiva for ten years and then go and teach in
a development town or at a high-school in north Tel Aviv." If a person is indeed
engaged in spiritual thoughts and the consciousness of the kodesh has
indeed impacted on his innermost essence, then he will find it difficult to
return to a society whose language and everyday reality is so different from his
own. However, it is clear that sometimes there is a need for influence and
practical cooperation. On the individual level, this means that the person who
previously separated himself is now required to come into contact with and
maintain discourse with his environment. Speaking personally, Rav Kook meant by
this his own personal obligation to assume a position of leadership. This is
certainly not a natural course of action for someone who has devoted much effort
to nurturing spirituality, and it often requires a constriction and "lowering"
of one's consciousness, but it is vital.
On the public level, a society of scholars and people devoted to the
kodesh is likewise required to share the yoke borne by the public. The
instruction that R. Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Rav Kook's son, gave his students,
asserting the obligation of military service but limiting it to the minimum
necessary, may be understood as an expression of this awareness. There are
instances in which Rav Kook seems to be calling for a balance between the pole
of isolationism and the pole of practical influence and connection (Orot
ha-Kodesh, III, 268).
What, then, are the ways of influencing?
a.
The "Overflowing Cup"
Model (Orot Ha-Kodesh II 439)
The turning inwards creates a nation, or an elite, or an individual, with
a unique identity that also has the power to radiate that uniqueness outwards.
The activity of the elite its way of thinking, its personal example, the
inspiration it gives, etc. all influence the environment. This is not a matter
of preaching or propaganda; rather, it is a normal social situation in which a
personality or group whose way of life has charismatic force will naturally
become a model for emulation and a source of inspiration. By virtue of its very
existence as part of society, it exerts influence:
But within the depths of this distinction is connection and generalization
They
are hidden, included in its generality. The powers scattered in all directions,
from which the separated one separates, go and act for the good with the
supernal selfhood of the complete and separated essence, and the aspiration
causes an internal noble movement, which sanctifies everything in its realm
The
unique nation, the treasure among the nations, in guarding its eternal
specialness, in separating from all others, is prepared to become a light unto
the nations and the salvation of the entire world
The elite individuals, in
separating from the ordinary people, guard their lofty aspirations, which are
far greater than all regular values, and become the bearers of abilities and
ideas. In their growth, they are a source of blessing for the public, and in
their establishment of themselves, life itself is established and finds its
value, traveling on the path that leads to its eternal and temporal goal. (Orot
ha-Kodesh, II, 439)[1]
b.
Unity Through Nullification of the Self A Psychological Model
The greater a person is, the more he must search himself and the more he is
distant from his recognition of his deep soul, to the point that he must recluse
himself a great degree in order to elevate his ideas, deepen his thoughts, and
free his intellect, until finally his soul is revealed through the slight
illumination of its light
And by lowering himself to the point that his spirit
is lowered to the extreme, to the point that the form of his personal image is
negated I am a worm and not a man to the point of complete
self-abnegation within him And what are we? He will then recognize any
point of truth, any bolt of righteousness, wherever it may be. All will be
gathered to him, without any hatred, jealousy, or competition. (Orot
ha-Kodesh, III, 280)[2]
Rav Kook believes that it is specifically a turning inwards that may
bring a person to discover the points of contact between himself and all of
reality. Consciousness, we recall, creates a barrier between the self and the
environment; it defines a person by his separateness. However, the essence of a
person (his soul) is the point where his personal reality exists within the
general reality without any separation. The source from which poets draw their
inspiration would seem to lie outside of man. A person discovers that he is
capable of listening to reality and absorbing much more of it than his
consciousness is able to contain within a self whose sensory, intellectual,
ideological, and existential limitations prevent him from taking in that which
lies outside of his boundaries. Hatred, jealousy, and competition towards
opinions or people is the result of self-definition and the setting of personal
or social boundaries. Broadening the self, extracting it from its own
concealment and exposing it to all of existence, may allow it to achieve unity
with everything.
c.
Unity Through Thinking about the General Good The Model of Prayer
A person whose soul
illuminates within him must isolate himself (meditate) extensively. The habitual
company of other people, who are usually coarser in relation to him in their
spirituality, too, dulls the bright light of his supreme soul. This causes his
important work to be diminished, and instead of the benefit that he could have
brought to society by isolating and distancing himself from it most of the time
and during that time, the spiritual relationship would not be broken, and he
would have in mind the entire generation, to pray for them and to maintain an
image of their elevation, the treasure that is within them instead of this he
causes them to fall through his own fall, because of the shadow that is cast
over his spirituality in their distracting presence. A learned scholar must
makes himself like an adornment around the neck, which is both seen and unseen.
(Orot ha-Kodesh, III, 271)
d.
Action Through Will, Reflecting Man's Essential Unity The Mystical Model
There are times when a
person feels that his entire spirit has entered deeply within himself; at such
times, he is intensely focused on his own essence; the outside world has no
effect on him, he is tied to the depths of his inner meditation
And it may be
assumed that the living, vital point within him acts, without his knowledge, on
the environment with greater effect than any noisy agitation could achieve.
(Ibid. 269)
Here, Rav Kook is talking about influence that is not dependent on a particular
action, such as prayer, which is a deliberate and conscious attempt to bring
good to everyone. Rather, it springs from the very existence of a tzaddik
who lives a life of sanctity. Therefore, I refer to this manner of influence as
"mystical."
Two important concepts are important in order to understand this point and the
preceding one:
1. The concept of will is central to Rav Kook's thought. Will is the most
primal manifestation of essence including of the Divine Ein-Sof,
according to kabbala. From this perspective, it should be viewed as the
foundation of reality, and all of reality both material and spiritual is in
fact a manifestation of will.[3]
The more developed a creature is inanimate, plant, animal, human the more
direct its connection with the source of will. Admittedly, human will is a weak
echo of the Divine will. But when a person achieves a state of nullification of
his individual self and a sense of empathy with all of existence, his will in
fact reflects the general will that animates existence. In other words, his will
becomes a medium through which the Divine will is revealed and exerts influence.
This understanding of the connection between the will of the individual and the
Divine will also allows us to understand the ability of the individual to
influence reality through will itself. The Divine will creates; it has power, it
is a source of energy. The human will of the individual is mere will, and as
such is illusory, because it is torn from its Divine source. The individual
whose will is informed and filled by the general will, and who acts by virtue of
that general will of all of existence, turns his will into a source of power,
with the ability to influence.
This is the essence of the power of prayer to make a difference, since
prayer, according to Rav Kook, is a movement of revealing will. The spoken words
are merely its external expression. When prayer goes beyond its private
framework, the individual worshipper highlights and expresses the will of the
community, the nation, humanity, and the cosmos and thereby adds to its power.
Since the will of the individual acts and exists within a social context i.e.,
the wants and thoughts that create the will arise from a certain spiritual
atmosphere, from people with whom the individual is in contact a person is
never cut off, in his innermost essence, from the real existence that surrounds
him. Therefore, it is specifically the turning inward, allowing an elevation of
the will and its connection to the higher and more general sefirot of
reality which are far removed from the thinking and consciousness of the masses,
that imbues the individual with the power of acting on and influencing society
and even reality in general. Thus, the movement of separation from general
society and creating boundaries is transformed into an act that is not directed
for the sole benefit of the individual or society that is separating itself, but
rather is a general need. Clearly, then, the influence takes place only on the
spiritual, mystical level.[4]
Exactly the same model of influence exists in relation to a group that separates
itself from a nation and the nation of Israel that separates itself from the
culture of the other nations, which harms it:
That which applies in
relation to the individual applies also in relation to the nation as a whole.
When the spirit of Israel turns inwards towards its own inner self, it feels a
supreme completion within itself; it then builds its world, not seeking to make
a noise in the world, but its spirit in its innermost being is renewed, its life
beats strongly, and it knows its strength. Then it acts in the world through its
acting on itself. (Orot ha-Kodesh, III, 269)
e.
Tikkun
Through "Raising Sparks"
I make use here of a classic kabbalistic-Chassidic formula in order to express
the idea, expressed by Rav Kook, that a tzaddik has the power to raise up
actions or views which appear within a negative or material context or garb. In
other words, the tzaddik connects himself, in his will and his thoughts,
by means of prayer and meditation, to the general feeling of the masses or their
view, thereby imbuing them with a new spirit:
But the thought of the
great intellects also unites with the public inclination, and all the more so
with the inclination towards love of work and substantive labor, which is
already a spiritual inclination and upon which the spirit of God hovers. When
there are righteous people in the generation, upon whom the light of God always
appears, they unite their souls with the soul of all the people; the internal
thoughts of the laboring masses unite with their thoughts.
The negative aspect of
labor, which results from jealousy of one another, hatred of others that draws
in great measure from the war of life in its cursed form in the lowly world,
slowly diminishes, leaving the realm of cursed and becoming blessed. Sometimes,
the righteous have the power to give holy light to labor to the degree that it
has power akin to that of Torah, which brings one to eternal life, repairs
damage, and brings those involved in it to complete repentance. One who
benefits from his own labor is greater than one who fears heaven. Just as there
is the power to perpetuate the holiness and divine internal light through labor
and to remove them from cursedness, there is also a power to create a holy light
in all of the languages and wisdoms in the world. The great righteous ones must
pray that the pleasant light of God should spread throughout all the wisdoms and
in all the languages, so that the honor of God will be present in every place
and the rays of the light of Torah will spread in every place. The prayer of the
righteous and the illumination of their will makes a great impact, without end.
In particular, one must turn his prayer to this when one see the great
inclination to languages and sciences, and it is impossible to battle all those
who turn to them. The times indicate the need. It is then that the deep
righteous ones rise to save, through their concealed service, and with great and
unique devotion, they come and open the blocked channels, in order to transfer
the secret of God to those who know Him. And those who know God are everything
in the world, and in particular everything in it that contributes to the repair
of the world, and they arouse the holiness in every language through the power
of Yosef.
2.
As for the question of whether the influence is a one-way street: On many
occasions Rav Kook expresses the idea that the masses also influence the
tzaddikim. To put it in more general terms, the general public, with its
world-view and its lowly, more primal feelings, has certain qualities, by virtue
of its way of life, attitude towards values, and intuition, that the individual
or society that elevates itself in emotion and thinking tend to lose
specifically because of its elevation. Thus, for example, the ideal of
simplicity is guided by simple feelings of innocence and uprightness, loving
good and negating evil, courage, etc. all of which may be lost or weakened in
a person who ascends in his journey and perspective of unity. The "practical"
nature of the sefira of Malkhut is also the reason why we depict,
from within it, a reality that is limited and separate:
But this distancing from the masses and their spiritual orientations causes a
natural weakening, which is common among those who are engaged in spirituality;
they need to add psychological vigor through the influence that they receive
from the simple innocence of the masses, which follows its own nature. Despite
all their coarseness and ignorance, the ordinary people have many firmly
established holy tendencies, which are worthy of serving as broad bases for the
spiritual attainments of those who attain supreme knowledge. (Orot ha-Kodesh,
III, 372)
This perspective is important because it shows us the other side of the
relationship between general society and the elevated individual or separate
group. Up until now, we have discussed only the tension between the spiritual
need for turning inward, separation, and elevation, on the one hand, and the
value and ideal of the social whole and unity, on the other. Here we find that,
at least from a certain perspective, separation is also deficient in itself.
(To be continued)
Translated by Kaeren Fish
[1]
See
[2]
Another example in the same
direction, this time in relation to concrete society: "As a person ascends
further in his spiritual growth, he has a better sense of the great value of the
many; the community starts to come alive inside of him; in his heart and the
depths of his will he feels the many needs of the public, the great value of the
life that beats within the community as a whole, and it presents itself to him
as a single entity. He feels the concrete reality of the community, as is filled
with endless love and respect towards it" (Orot Ha-Kodesh, III, 157).
[3]
This idea has its root in kabbalistic teachings, which view the
sefira of Chokhma as the first revelation an inversion of the first
two letters of the word chokhma produces the expression "koach ma,"
which is the manifestation of will. As noted by the "Nazir" R. David
Cohen, Rav Kook's foremost disciple this idea also has roots in the religious
philosophy of R. Shomo Ibn Gevirol, which is centered altogether around the
Divine will, as well as in the philosophy of Schopenhauer, who identified the
"thing in itself" that is beyond the world of Kantian phenomena, with the will.
(Rav Kook explained that this will of Schopenhauer is blind and directionless;
thus, the philosopher merely pointed in the right direction, but did not grasp
the matter completely.)
[4]
This teaching of Rav Kook should be viewed against the background of the
theurgic aspect of kabbalistic activity. The kabbalist prays, directs his
thoughts, and attempts to influence certain Divine powers through concentrated
focus on specific Divine Names and essences. The flow and renewal of Divine
forces can also, of course, bring Divine abundance and blessing into the world.
In Chassidut and in the teachings of R. Chayim of Volozhin, this concept
was given a different interpretation. Chassidut usually looks to simple,
wholehearted prayer, as in the Ba'al Shem Tov's famous story about the
illiterate boy who succeeded in opening the gates of heaven when he whistled
from the depths of his heart in the synagogue on Yom Kippur. (Many stories on
this theme are to be found in Shivchei ha-Besht, the stories of Rabbi
Nachman of Breslov, etc.). Nevertheless, prayer and especially the prayer of
the tzaddik has the power to arouse Divine powers; that is, they have a
theurgic effect, despite the absence of the specific relevant kavana, or
even in the absence of knowledge of it. R. Chayim of Volozhin describes at
length the ways in which man influences all the worlds even all the way to the
world of Atzilut by performing mitzvot. Here too, he achieves
this even without any sort of mystical kavvana (see Nefesh ha-Chayim,
part 1, chapters 4-10). Against this background, Rav Kook introduced his
teaching about will, with an ontological explanation for man's creative power
and influence. The immanent theological assumption about the world as a Divine
manifestation and the idea that the essence of the world is a single "organic"
unity, while multiplicity and division are merely the way in which the world
appears to us, together allow Rav Kook to view the will of the individual as an
organic part of the Divine will of all of existence and to present the
individual's power of influence from within this monistic picture of the world
without appealing to a willful Divine reaction. (This also solves the problem of
a change of the Divine will in the wake of prayer.)
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