In an essay entitled "ad d'lo yada" (which appears in Ma'marei Harayah pp. 155-7) Rav Kook compares the processes which am Yisrael goes through with those of the individual. The self healing of the individual finds resources of health from the person himself, from depths of the soul that the person himself is unaware of. Rav Kook is optimistic that all deficiencies in the person are in the external part of the personality, but that inside there is nothing but good.
This is comparable, says Rav Kook, to the condition of Clal Yisrael. The external manifestations of the Jewish people leave us far from optimistic. The description of Haman that the people of Israel are "one nation fragmented and dispersed" is not incorrect, but rather depicts accurately the way we are perceived to be. However the hidden forces within am Yisrael are unified and vital.
Rav Kook emphasizes here and in many of his writings, it is impossible to define the essence of Klal Yisrael. As opposed to popular attempts, in his time and nowadays, to capture the "essence of Judaism" he insists that the qualities of Israel reside in the vital forces of the people, but cannot be limited by a specific definition because Knesset Yisrael contains all potentialities. (See Orot Yisrael 1,3) This, of course is connected to the identification of Knesset Yisrael with the sefira of malchut, which is beyond the scope of our discussion here.
Just like the individual is healed by uncovering the deepest aspects of the personality, in which there is vitality and health, so Am Yisrael will be saved by ignoring its external manifestations as mefuzar u'mforad and unmask its inner forces. This can not be done by theorizing, but rather through a non-reflexive expression of those forces.
Although Rav Kook does not mention it specifically, the title of the essay Ad D'lo Yada hints at the special Avodah of Purim. This is not done through reflection and analysis but through an attempt to connect to the deepest parts of ourselves without defining them. Drinking until one "does not know between arur haman and baruch mordechai" symbolizes the fact that, at least once a year, we should let the deepest depths of our selves assert themselves without the mediation of thought, reflection, and criticism. Then perhaps we can use those insights as a guide to our development through study and reflection during the entire year.
Rav Dr. Kalman Neuman
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Rav Kalman Neuman teaches at Yeshivat Bat Ayin. He studied at Yeshivat Merkaz Harav and Yeshivat Har Etzion, and holds a Ph.D. in European History from the Hebrew University. |