Eikev: Two loves for Eretz Yisrael

Timeless Torah from Israel's first Chief Rabbi.

HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook zts"l

Judaism Memorial to Merkaz HaRav massacre
Memorial to Merkaz HaRav massacre
צילום: אוסף התצלומים של צדוק בסן.

The Blessings of Torah Scholars


Loving the Land of Israel







Two Types of Love







The Pomegranate and the Date



Legs of Iron

Now we can understand Rabbi Hisda’s fervent response, “If only we had legs of iron to always follow you and learn from you!” Rav Hisda understood the inner message of Rabbi Hamenuna’s teaching. One needs “legs of iron” - courage and fortitude like iron - in order to be able to receive this remarkable message, and appreciate the importance of the material strength of Israel.

Similarly, on the national level, we need “legs of iron,” powerful means to build up the physical aspects of the nation. Then we will have the spiritual strength to create a courageous national spirit. “And we will learn from you” - we will follow your path of Torah, and merit inheriting the Land through love and wholeness and inner strength.

(Gold from the Land of Israel (now available in paperback), pp. 304-306. Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. II, pp. 186-187; Olat Re\'iyah vol. I, pp. 374-377, sent by Rabbi Chanan Morrison, ravkooktorah.org.)

See also: Eikev: Balancing Torah and Work


Eikev: Nourishing the Soul

Rabbi Isaac Luria, the famed Kabbalist of 16th century Safed, posed the following question: I understand how our bodies are sustained by food. But how can the soul, which is purely spiritual, be nourished from physical food? How is it possible that food enables the soul to remain bound to the body?

He explained that all created matter in the universe — whether human, animal, plant, or mineral — exists only through the power of God’s Ten Sayings when He created the world. This power of Divine ’speech’ also exists in food; and that is the spiritual nourishment which the soul is able to absorb when the body eats.

When we recite a berachah before eating a piece of fruit, we acknowledge that God is the “Ruler of the universe, Who creates the fruit of trees.” This recognition awakens the fruit’s inner spiritual forces, providing spiritual sustenance for the soul.

Blessing over Torah Study

The obligation to recite a blessing over food is explicitly stated in the Torah:

“When you eat and are satisfied, you must bless the Eternal your God for the good land that He has given you.” (Deut. 8:10)

But what about Torah? What is the source for reciting a berachah before studying Torah? According to Rabbi Ishmael, this blessing is derived afortiori:

“If one makes a blessing for that which sustains life in this transient world, then certainly one should make a blessing for that which enables eternal life in the World to Come.” (Berachot 48b)

Why should the blessing over Torah study be based on the blessing for food? Why does it not have its own source?

Appreciating the Torah

Rav Kook explained that we are incapable of fully grasping the greatness of the Torah, a Divine gift of immeasurable value. It is easier for us to appreciate material gifts. Only in the World to Come will we properly appreciate the Torah’s essential worth.

Intellectually, we may recognize the Torah’s importance for the world, but this is beyond our emotional faculties. Yet it is possible to deepen our emotional appreciation for the Torah by contemplating the connection that Rabbi Ishmael made between Torah and physical sustenance. If we are filled with strong feelings of gratitude for that which keeps us alive in this temporal world, all the more we should be thankful for that which provides us with eternal life.

This contemplative exercise, Rav Kook noted, is one way we can actualize the teaching of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari z"l) on how to elevate physical pleasures. By deepening our appreciation for all of God’s gifts, we gain spiritually from the inner essence of food. As Rabbi Luria wrote:

“Not by bread alone does man live, but by all that comes from God” (Deut. 8:3). This implies that the soul also lives by bread.

(Adapted from Ein Eyah vol. II, p. 221)