Reply To: Derech Emuna settlement

This fellow told me that he was a child no one, no one debated Rav Kook’s gadlus,

Everyone knew that before one shemiita R’ Yosef Chayim Sonnenfeld, Rav A Y Kook and Rav Moshe Kliers- then recognized as the three senior gedolim in e”y traveled extensively to be mechazek kiyum shemiita. Their journey had an effect for years.

R’ Shlomo Zalman published me’oirei ha’eish at an extremely young age with two haskamos, R’ Chayim Ozer and Rav Kook, and refused to allow it republished without Rav Kook’s Haskama. He also had a picture on his wall of his rebbi muvhak, Rav Kook.

The Tzitz Eliezer also published with two haskamos, The hailige Marcheshes, and HaRav Kook.

Rav Yitzchok hutner zatzakal spent time in yerushalyim as a slobodka / chevron talmid, and viewed himself privileged to have to spend time with Rav Kook, and discussed with him sugyas in Nazir. [till today Rav hutner’s he’arois written on Nazir and Rabbeinu Hillel’s pirush on toras Kohanim are used by those learning those sugyas, and were wirtten during this tekufa.

On one occasion some mehsuga’im went around yerushalayim writing graffiti that a certain odom godol = Kook. Greatly disappointed the askanim came to the z’kan hador, the demi-super centenarian R’ Elyashiv and vented to him about this graffiti.
R’ Elyashiv’s response “איך האב געווווסט אז ער איז גאר גאר גרויס, אבער איך האב נישט געכאפט עד כדי כך” – Ich hob gevust az er is gor gor grois, ober ich hob nisht gevust ad k’dai Kach. And R’ Elyashiv was not known for exaggerating.

The same person told me that as long as Rav Kook and Rav Herzog were Rav HaRoshi the Brisker Rov respected them as talmidei chachomim. [Not thier hashkaphos, not did he encourage big shailos to be brought to them, however he recognized their scholarship.] Only after Rav Herzog’s petira with the installment of —– did this change. And the Brisker Rav was not known as a proponent of Zionism.

Today’s generation believe Rav Kook was some sort of unrespected zionistic messianistic pariah, however, in truth his gadlus was recognized during his lifetime and many mainstream gedolim considered themselves privileged to have been his talmidim.