14 April 2012 · A sentence from the teachings of Rav Kook

„The savage man thought that everything he could chew and swallow was…”

„The savage man thought that everything he could chew and swallow was nourishing, until experience taught him to distinguish between the herbs and roots that are harmful and beneficial, nourishing and non-nourishing, tasty and untasty. And whatever applies with material values applies also with spiritual ones, except that this perfection comes with a delay of time. And the spiritual savage thinks that everything read and written will nourish his soul, until he comes to distinguish between the holy and the mundane, between the things that give eternal life and the things that disrupt the course of true life.”From Shemonah Kevatzim 4:102

Primeval man thought that everything possible was permissible, and consequently took from everything, tasted from everything, and tried everything. Nature taught that primeval man (at times in a very harsh and cruel way) that not everything is permitted, and not everything is suitable for every person. And just as this is true from a material standpoint, so it is true from a spiritual standpoint.

One of the miserable statements that people assert is "A man shall live by his faith." This statement is taken from what is written in Proverbs: "The righteous shall live by his faith." When a person is righteous, and his aim is positive, he can live by his faith. But if every man lives by his faith, woe and alas to us all.

Imagine that there is a ship full of people, and within it a man who decides to make a hole in the ship only in his own section — he lives by his faith...

Also from a spiritual standpoint, a person must find the things fitting and suitable for him, to connect to a Torah of truth and to draw from a place of truth, a place that connects to his soul.

Have a good and pleasant summer, everyone!

For the recovery of Kusa bat Bova.