Shabbat Parashat Balak 5785

Igrot Hare’aya – Letters of Rav Kook: False Accusation of Non-Kosher Soap – #333

Recipient and Background: Rav Chaim Berlin, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem

Body: Matters have developed so that I must trouble your honor with my letter. The matters, indeed, affect me to the essence of the soul.    

I do not know what has happened to Yerushalayim, that it has come to be that it has been publicized that the Badatz (rabbinical court) has deemed forbidden to use the soap made in Jewish-owned and operated factories, and specifically in the factory of Mr. Kodransky and his partners in Beit Arif, which is called Ben Shemen. I have been in the factory and I saw that everything was done according to the most complete standards of kashrut, and there should be no concerns about it. I appointed one of the people involved, who is a person dedicated to Torah and is G-d-fearing, to supervise to make sure that everything remains kosher.

How is it possible to destroy the Jewish community of the Holy Land with pronouncements forbidding products without any basis in fact? I do not know who has deceived the rabbis of the Badatz to do such a horrible thing. Why would people not want to sit with me and discuss the matter in friendship and brotherhood, getting to the depths of the matter based on the concepts of Torah and mitzvot? Certainly, your honor will act to rectify this matter, to improve the Holy Land and help its builders to the extent that he can, thereby removing the eternal disgrace and desecration of His Name from the rabbis of Israel.

The respected businessman Mr. Kodransky and the outstanding businessman Mr. Ashkenazi, the owners of the factory, will be traveling, to defend their business, in which they invested large sums of money. I trust that you will greet them warmly, as befitting such dignified people, and that you will join with us in figuring out a way to remove such aspersions on products that are made as part of the efforts to build the Holy Land.

A Review of this Column’s History and an Announcement:
Over the past 25 years, this column has been devoted to the teachings of influential thinkers and poskim who have profoundly shaped Eretz Hemdah. For approximately eight years, we shared insights from the halachic and philosophical works of our beloved mentor, Rav Shaul Yisraeli zt”l – who, among his many accomplishments, founded and guided Eretz Hemdah from its inception until his passing in 1995.

After completing the materials suitable for this format, we turned our attention to translating the works of the renowned and revered Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook. Rav Kook was Rav Yisraeli’s mentor and, of course, continues to be, posthumously, a spiritual guide for us and for significant portions of the Torah world, particularly in Eretz Yisrael. We dedicated over a decade to working through the four volumes of Ein Ayah, before moving on to Igrot Hare’aya, Rav Kook's correspondences. With this piece, we have now completed the first volume of his letters.

Recently, a meaningful development has prompted us to return to our origins. A few months ago, Rav Yisraeli’s son-in-law, R. Yisrael Sharir, published an important, new, three-volume set of Si’ach Shaul, which presents Rav Yisraeli’s teachings and addresses on various topics of Torah thought. This publication has inspired us to once again share Rav Yisraeli’s Torah insights with English-speaking readers. Beginning next week, this column will resume its original title: Moreshet Shaul.

Top of page

Print this page

Send to friend