„To bring hearts near and to introduce a spirit of peace … to strength…”

One hundred years ago today the Chief Rabbinate of Israel was founded, and Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook and Rabbi Yaakov Meir were chosen to serve as chief rabbis. In his address, Rav Kook explains the importance of a single spiritual body that brings forth the Torah of the Land of Israel, unites various positions and opinions while respecting the different customs, and creates a central spiritual force. In his words Rav Kook refers to the corruptions that exist in positions of authority, to the fact that the Rabbinate had become partisan or tied to particular publics alone, and he protests against this and emphasizes the need to bring hearts near, and to be a factor that stands above politics. One hundred years after its founding, let us pray that the Chief Rabbinate of which Rav Kook dreamed may arise and succeed in uniting and fulfilling its original role.

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