THE LAND OF PROPHECY
by Tzvi Fishman
In this essay from the book, "Orot," Rabbi Kook examines Jewish creativity. He begins by telling us that a Jew cannot be faithful to his thoughts, logic, ideas, and imagination outside the Land of Israel. When we understand the reasons for this, we can more readily comprehend why Eretz Yisrael is vital to the health and wholeness of every Jew.
Whoever has a greater love for the Land of Israel, and whoever exerts himself more ardently in the settlement of the Holy Land, he is blessed first, and he is closer to perfection
There is a famous story concerning the Gaon of Vilna which is related by his student, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin. Magidim, or heavenly messengers, would regularly visit the Gaon, but he repeatedly refused to listen to them. He would not even glance at their heavenly form. When one of these messengers came to reveal Torah secrets to Rabbi Chaim's brother, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman, the Vilna Gaon commanded the Torah scholar not to receive it, or even glance at its celestial radiance. Rabbi Zalman asked why not – after all, the Beit Yosef, Rabbi Yosef Caro, author of the Shulchan Aruch, had a Magid who informed him of secrets from heaven. The Gaon of Vilna answered that, first of all, the Beit Yosef had lived several hundred years before, and secondly, he was in Eretz Yisrael. The Gaon told him that outside of the Land of Israel, it is impossible to receive heavenly messengers without the polluted interference and Klipot of Chutz L'Aretz (the Diaspora). Heavenly information can only be properly received in its purity in Eretz Yisrael. This is why when a Magid first appeared to Rabbi Yosef Caro in Chutz L'Aretz, the Magid told him to go to Eretz Yisrael.
Similarly, when Hashem first appears to Avraham, He tells him to journey to the land that He will show him the land uniquely created to facilitate a special connection to G-d. Only in Eretz Yisrael can Avram be transformed into Avraham in order to fulfill his potential of leading mankind to a knowledge of G-d. Only in Eretz Yisrael can he produce the offspring who will become the foundation for a holy nation destined to bring the word of G-d to the world.
.Hashem created the Jewish people and the Land of Israel for each other. He created Eretz Yisrael with the spiritual and material properties uniquely suited for the life of His holy nation. Put an Eskimo in Paris, and he seems out of place. Take a Jew out of Israel, and put him in Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Spain, Germany, Russia, or Brooklyn – as much as he strives to fit in, he simply does not belong.
We mentioned in our commentary on Essay One how the Ramban describes the very real differences between the spiritual environment of Eretz Yisrael and the Diaspora. Outside of the Land of Israel, lesser celestial forces rule over the nations. The idol worship and hedonistic cultures they breed contaminate the environment. This spiritual pollution pervades the very air. The world's preoccupation with sex, violence, money, adultery, robbery, homosexuality, and murder all stem from the spiritual impurity found in the gentile lands. In Chutz L'Aretz, the physical world reigns supreme, cut off from the spirit. The quest for physical pleasure, fame, honor, and wealth all come to fill up the vacuum created by the distance from G-d.
Therefore, Rabbi Kook tells us that it is impossible for a Jew to be faithful to his true creative, intellectual, imaginative life when he is outside of the Land of Israel. The spiritual and cultural pollution enters his psyche and distorts his world of perception. With this introduction, we can better understand Rabbi Kook's first sentence:
"It is impossible for a Jew to be devoted and faithful to his contemplation, logical reasonings, conceptualizations, and imagination, when he is outside the Land of Israel, compared to the quality of their faithfulness in Eretz Yisrael."
If, as Rabbi Kook asserts, a Jew cannot be true to his thoughts, intellect, ideas, and imagination outside of the land of Israel – how are we to explain the magnitude of Jewish creativity and achievement in the Diaspora? Jews have excelled in all fields: in literature, song, comedy, theater, filmmaking, journalism, philosophy, law, science, medicine, government, banking – and the list goes on and on. The answer is that this outstanding creativity does not represent our unique Israeli creativity, but rather, it is a part of the general world inspiration which we share with all of mankind.
What is this true Israeli creativity in thought and idea? Emunah, prophecy, and the ability to bring sanctity to both the spiritual and physical worlds. This is why Avraham had to journey to Eretz Yisrael to become a Jew. To become complete in his worship of G-d, he had to dwell in the land of prophecy and Emunah.
Complete Jewish health and wholeness can be attained only in Eretz Yisrael. On the verse, "And Yaacov came Shalem to the city of Shechem" (Bereshit, 33:18), the Gaon of Vilna explains the word Shalem in its meaning of wholeness, and says that Yaacov was not complete until he came to Eretz Yisrael.
Rabbi Avraham Azuli was the Rabbi of Hevron some 400 years ago. In his book, "Chesed L'Avraham," he writes that when a Jew comes to the Land of Israel, he receives a new soul. The soul of the exile leaves him, and he undergoes a spiritual transplant. The egocentric soul which characterized his individual life in the fractured world of Galut is exchanged for the exalted soul of Clal Yisrael. His Aliyah to Israel is an Aliyah of souls. He becomes attached to the Divine soul and life of the nation. In Rabbi Azuli's terminology, Yaacov's wholeness came only upon receiving his new soul of Clal Yisrael upon returning to the Land of Israel. Only in his attachment to the Clal could he earn his new name and calling – Yisrael.
Elsewhere in OROT, Rabbi Kook writes: "The general soul of Knesset Yisrael does not rest on the individual except in Eretz Yisrael, and the moment a person comes to Eretz Yisrael, his private soul is nullified before the great light of the general soul which enters him; and its exalted content exerts its influence whether he wants and recognizes its effect, or whether he does not want it, or is not aware of its value" (Orot Yisrael, 7:18).
Just by his living in Israel, a Jew attaches himself to the higher life of the Clal. The more he recognizes his new spiritual status, and the more he strives to unite with the Clal, the greater his elevation will be. As Rabbi Kook writes in "Hazone HaGeula:" "Whoever has a greater love for the Land of Israel, and whoever exerts himself more ardently in the settlement of the Holy Land, he is blessed first, and he is closer to perfection."
Certainly, a Jew can be intelligent and imaginative in Chutz L'Aretz. But only on a personal, individual level. His creativity, no matter how gifted he may be, is limited to his own personal talents. In Israel, by attaching himself to the nation, his intellectual and imaginative faculties are uplifted to the higher realm of the Clal, where the pure spring of Israeli inspiration flows freely. The unique Clal Yisrael talent which combines thoughts, logical reasoning, ideas, and imagination, is now open to him. This is prophecy, the special creative Segula of the Jewish people which we encountered in Essay One. It is the unique Israeli creativity which unites the spiritual and physical worlds by bringing the word of G-d down to earth. Only in Eretz Yisrael can the people of Israel be steeped in the Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration) which rests on the nation as a whole. As Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi in the "Kuzari" makes clear, Eretz Yisrael is the unique land of prophecy, and Am Yisrael is the nation of prophets.
Thus, when Rabbi Kook writes about Israel's creative potential, he is not only talking about art, poetry, music, or literature. He is referring to the inner creative power of Clal Yisrael which finds its highest expression in prophecy. This is a Jew's inheritance as a member of Clal Yisrael. Along with the genetic foundations of our bodies, we have spiritual genes as well. We are the children of prophets. The Hebrew letters which abound in our souls are our double-helixes of prophecy. Through his connection with Clal Yisrael, every Jew has the capability of experiencing G-d on an enhanced spiritual level – if not as a prophet, then on whatever level of Ruach HaKodesh which he or she can attain. Unlike Western cultures which exalt the individual ego and the unfettered reign of the id, a Jew is to find his life's deepest meaning by connecting his life to the eternal life of the nation. Through his devotion to the higher life of his people, he attains his true individual calling. The Ruach HaKodesh which rests on the Clal opens his vistas toward the horizons of transcendental expression.
"Revelations of holiness, on whatever level, are clean in Eretz Yisrael according to their value; while outside the Land of Israel, they are mixed with abundant dross and Klipot."
There exists a general universal Kedusha (holiness) outside the Land of Israel which sustains all of the world. The environment there, however, is spiritually polluted, and even Halachically impure. When Kedusha descends into the world in Chutz L'Aretz, it is immediately attacked by the impure Klipot and forces of evil which reign there. The Klipot is a Kabbalistic concept, translated as shells or husks. It refers to shells of impurity and evil which surround and imprison sparks of exiled holiness. The nations of the world are the Klipot of Am Yisrael, just as Chutz L'Aretz is the Klipah of Eretz Yisrael. The lower celestial beings which Hashem has set to rule over the gentile nations create barriers to holiness. Forces of evil are given free reign, creating the impure cultures, religions, and governments which dominate world history.
For example, what is the cultural world of America? Mickey Mouse, George Washington, Billy Graham, baseball, Christmas trees, Barbie dolls, comic books, Watergate, Hollywood, Wall Street, hippies, slam dunks and marijuana. Where is there Kedusha? Where is there something Jewish?
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