„The false imagination that one can receive the essence of the Torah a…”
„The false imagination that one can receive the essence of the Torah as a religious sentiment bearing no relation to the very treasured nature of the nation, in its most complete social and political life, has caused a great impairment to a very prominent portion of the human species.”
One of the things that cause distance from religion is a conception of religion as something simplistic and shallow, as an old and remote matter belonging to the Middle Ages.
In this fascinating essay, "Da'at Elohim" (The Knowledge of God), Rav Kook explains that part of the problem is that we do not understand what the Holy One is, and also that the distance from Torah stems from the separation we make between it and the treasured nature of Israel.
"The treasured nature of Israel" is the natural bond of the people of Israel to the Holy One.
Neither the Torah nor the land of Israel made us into the people of Israel; a Jew who does not observe the Torah is still a Jew. But when the people of Israel are in an exilic state, and from such a place try to connect to the Holy One, the connection formed is not complete. Then come the nations of the world, as well as people who are truly distant from Torah and commandments, and think that one can connect to the Holy One and to the Torah without an attachment (bond) to the land of Israel, without love of the people of Israel, and without observance of the commandments.
The Rav says that such a connection is a false imagination; it seems as though the thing is possible, but it will not hold up. The ability to connect to the Holy One in a true and deep way is through connection to the people of Israel, the land of Israel, and the Torah of Israel, and only thus.
A pleasant day to all!
From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.