23 July 2025 · A sentence from the teachings of Rav Kook

Heaven and Earth

„Even if a serpent is coiled around his heel he shall not interrupt... and the coiling of the serpent shall not diminish the courage of the spirit, but shall only increase it.”From Shemonah Kevatzim V, 282

Often, when we truly strive to succeed at something, reality comes and blocks us. And that is disheartening. Rav Kook offers a revolutionary view: the gap between what you aspire to be and what you actually manage to be is not a malfunction. It is the deepest foundation of the soul. The soul aspires to the heights, the body remains on the ground, and in this gap the human being is formed. Our will as human beings is not measured by success or by outcome; a person who continues to pulse even when he falls is the person who succeeds. And we see this in all parts of life. When we do not give up even when we fall and crash, a deep and great humanity is born.

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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.