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Koren Rav Kook Siddur
The Koren Rav Kook Siddur is an exciting new prayer-book that offers a dimension of spirituality sorely lacking in our world today. Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook (1865-1935), first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel, was renowned for his harmonious blending of both the body and the soul of the Torah, as represented in the Halakhah and Aggadah.
Culled from Rav Kook's own commentary to the Siddur, 'Olat Re'iyah, and other writings of the master, as well as rich anecdotes transmitted by Rav Kook's son and major disciples, The Koren Rav Kook Siddur speaks to the soul, while it connects us all to the sacred soil of the Holy Land.
The Siddur includes Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' immensely popular English translation, while it features a digest of Rav Kook's commentary, never before seen in English. The work includes an introduction about Rav Kook's overall philosophy of prayer, adapted by Rabbi Bezalel Naor, acknowledged interpreter of Rav Kook's thought.
Culled from Rav Kook's own commentary to the Siddur, 'Olat Re'iyah, and other writings of the master, as well as rich anecdotes transmitted by Rav Kook's son and major disciples, The Koren Rav Kook Siddur speaks to the soul, while it connects us all to the sacred soil of the Holy Land.
The Siddur includes Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' immensely popular English translation, while it features a digest of Rav Kook's commentary, never before seen in English. The work includes an introduction about Rav Kook's overall philosophy of prayer, adapted by Rabbi Bezalel Naor, acknowledged interpreter of Rav Kook's thought.
1320 pages, Hardcover
Published December 10, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 15, 2018
There’s a story where a man comes to a hasidic rebbe and pours out his problems to him. The rebbe replies that his problems are in truth not so insurmountable, as all he has to do is pray for Divine intervention. The man replied to his chagrin that he doesn’t know how to pray. To which the rebbe replied “Oy, do you have real problems.”
Prayer is a fundamental part of most religions, and in particularly fundamental to Judaism. Daily prayer is an integral part of the Jewish lifecycle. With that, anything that can improve a petitioner’s prayer experience is certainly beneficial and welcome. In the Koren Rav Kook Siddur, many will find a siddur that will certainly elevate their prayer experience. The English translation of the prayers are from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ previously published English translation.
As the title indicates, this siddur is based on the teaching of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook. It is translated and adapted by Rabbi Bezalel Naor. The brilliance of this siddur is due in a large part to Naor’s masterful work. A master of R’ Kook’s thought and worldview, Naor, as a scholar in his own right, is able to take the difficult, dense and mystical language of R’ Kook and translate it into a most meaningful English that is relatively easily accessible.
A most spiritual person, R’ Kook was a poetic soul whose very essence embraced love, spirituality and holiness. With that, his approach to prayer is a most unique one for a generation such as ours with a spiritual thirst. The bulk of the commentary Naor uses is from Olat Re’iyah, Kook’s commentary to the siddur.
There are a number of streams running through R’ Kook’s thoughts on prayer: philosophical, mystical and psychological, to which Naor seamlessly integrates all three. In the introduction, Naor writes of the tension between the mystical and rational approaches to prayer. He quotes Kook who observed that eventually one graduates from the rationalist understanding of prayer, which yet differentiates between the inner and outer worlds, to the higher outlook whereby there is no longer any difference between these worlds. That progression, though, is not something that happens overnight. It must be developed and nurtured.
In the world of R’ Kook, words, symbols and language have very specific and particular meanings. Naor does a tremendous job of explaining those concepts. For example, based on a verse from Ezekiel and a statement in Tractate Berachot, Naor develops Kook’s idea that the feet serve multiple functions, namely walking and standing, and that the Torah is synonymous with walking, while prayer, on the other hand, is synonymous with standing. Naor gives other examples of the inherent differences between Torah study and prayer.
One of the revolutions R’ Kook sought to bring about in Jewish life was reclaiming what he called kedushat haguf—the holiness of the body. Kook believed, to which a current view correlates, that the long exile has produced an overly cerebral Judaism, to the detriment of the body. Kook believed that we have holy flesh no less than we have a holy spirit. Kook used his approach to prayer as a mechanism toward kedushat haguf.
In this superb commentary on the siddur, much credit needs to be given to Rabbi Naor. While R’ Kook was a world-class Talmudist and halachist, he was also a master of Kabbalah. His writings extensively used abstract kabbalistic terms, which, combined with the effusive and poetic manner overflowing with abstract Kabbalistic concepts in which he wrote, makes it a challenge to comprehend. Such writings, particularly his book “Orot,” is a most challenging read, with its difficult Hebrew and complex ideas. Naor is able to translate and adapt those ideas and put them into a most readable and meaningful manner.
During his life and tenure as chief rabbi, Kook faced many opponents and was the subject of protests and condemnations. His book “Orot” even caused quite a stir then. As Naor writes, today from the distance of time, we can view Kook’s writing in a much more dispassionate nature. But perhaps the most impressive thing is that 80 years after Kook’s death, his writings are still popular and indispensable. Finally, the ultimate vindication of Kook may be that while his adversaries were numerous, and many of them great scholars in their own right, their writings seem to have been lost in time while Kook’s remain and flourish.
Finally, as the leading expositor of R’ Kook in English, Naor offers a number of insights of his own thoughts in the siddur, which perfectly complement the commentary.
For those looking to enhance their davening experience, the Koren Rav Kook Siddur brings to the English-reading audience the fascinating, brilliant and most timely and meaningful insights on prayer from R’ Kook.
Prayer is a fundamental part of most religions, and in particularly fundamental to Judaism. Daily prayer is an integral part of the Jewish lifecycle. With that, anything that can improve a petitioner’s prayer experience is certainly beneficial and welcome. In the Koren Rav Kook Siddur, many will find a siddur that will certainly elevate their prayer experience. The English translation of the prayers are from Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks’ previously published English translation.
As the title indicates, this siddur is based on the teaching of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook. It is translated and adapted by Rabbi Bezalel Naor. The brilliance of this siddur is due in a large part to Naor’s masterful work. A master of R’ Kook’s thought and worldview, Naor, as a scholar in his own right, is able to take the difficult, dense and mystical language of R’ Kook and translate it into a most meaningful English that is relatively easily accessible.
A most spiritual person, R’ Kook was a poetic soul whose very essence embraced love, spirituality and holiness. With that, his approach to prayer is a most unique one for a generation such as ours with a spiritual thirst. The bulk of the commentary Naor uses is from Olat Re’iyah, Kook’s commentary to the siddur.
There are a number of streams running through R’ Kook’s thoughts on prayer: philosophical, mystical and psychological, to which Naor seamlessly integrates all three. In the introduction, Naor writes of the tension between the mystical and rational approaches to prayer. He quotes Kook who observed that eventually one graduates from the rationalist understanding of prayer, which yet differentiates between the inner and outer worlds, to the higher outlook whereby there is no longer any difference between these worlds. That progression, though, is not something that happens overnight. It must be developed and nurtured.
In the world of R’ Kook, words, symbols and language have very specific and particular meanings. Naor does a tremendous job of explaining those concepts. For example, based on a verse from Ezekiel and a statement in Tractate Berachot, Naor develops Kook’s idea that the feet serve multiple functions, namely walking and standing, and that the Torah is synonymous with walking, while prayer, on the other hand, is synonymous with standing. Naor gives other examples of the inherent differences between Torah study and prayer.
One of the revolutions R’ Kook sought to bring about in Jewish life was reclaiming what he called kedushat haguf—the holiness of the body. Kook believed, to which a current view correlates, that the long exile has produced an overly cerebral Judaism, to the detriment of the body. Kook believed that we have holy flesh no less than we have a holy spirit. Kook used his approach to prayer as a mechanism toward kedushat haguf.
In this superb commentary on the siddur, much credit needs to be given to Rabbi Naor. While R’ Kook was a world-class Talmudist and halachist, he was also a master of Kabbalah. His writings extensively used abstract kabbalistic terms, which, combined with the effusive and poetic manner overflowing with abstract Kabbalistic concepts in which he wrote, makes it a challenge to comprehend. Such writings, particularly his book “Orot,” is a most challenging read, with its difficult Hebrew and complex ideas. Naor is able to translate and adapt those ideas and put them into a most readable and meaningful manner.
During his life and tenure as chief rabbi, Kook faced many opponents and was the subject of protests and condemnations. His book “Orot” even caused quite a stir then. As Naor writes, today from the distance of time, we can view Kook’s writing in a much more dispassionate nature. But perhaps the most impressive thing is that 80 years after Kook’s death, his writings are still popular and indispensable. Finally, the ultimate vindication of Kook may be that while his adversaries were numerous, and many of them great scholars in their own right, their writings seem to have been lost in time while Kook’s remain and flourish.
Finally, as the leading expositor of R’ Kook in English, Naor offers a number of insights of his own thoughts in the siddur, which perfectly complement the commentary.
For those looking to enhance their davening experience, the Koren Rav Kook Siddur brings to the English-reading audience the fascinating, brilliant and most timely and meaningful insights on prayer from R’ Kook.
January 15, 2018
Koren Press, a prestigious publishing house, has published “The Koren Rav Kook Siddur.” Rabbi Abraham Isaac haKohen Kook (1865–1935) was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine He was the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav. He was a Torah scholar, a decider of halakha (Jewish law), a mystical thinker, and one of the most celebrated and influential rabbis of the twentieth century.
As a child he gained a reputation of being a child prodigy. He enrolled in the Volozhin Yeshiva in 1884 when he was 18 years old, where he was praised for his learning. He was a vegetarian, and only consumed meat on the sabbath and festivals. He came to Israel in 1904 and took the position as a rabbi in the city of Yafo. He was appointed Chief Rabbi of Palestine, the name Israel had at that time, in 1921 and held the position until his death some fourteen years later.
He worked hard to build relationships between the various Jewish groups, including between the Orthodox and the secular Zionist. He felt that the Jewish state of Israel required the work of all Jewish groups. He is quoted as saying that pious Jews could not enter the Holy of Holies of the Temple and the high priest could only enter once a year during the holiday of Yom Hakippurim, but non-religious Jews could enter at any time to make repairs.
This new Koren Rav Kook Siddur is beautiful and it is filled with information that will provoke thought and which will profit readers to learn. The unique Hebrew format and the translation of the Nusach Ashkenaz prayers by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is the same that appears in the other Koren Siddurs, but the commentary is based on Rav Kook’s book “Olat Re’iyah,” other writings by Rav Kook, and some insights by the editor Rabbi Bezalel Naor that he employed previously in The Rav Kook Haggadah to great acclaim. Rabbi Naor includes an insightful 17-page introduction to the thinking of Rav Kook generally and Rav Kook’s views as well as the views of others, such as Nachmanides, Joseph Albo, Sigmund Freud, Israel Salanter, Shneur Zalman of Liadi, and others, about prayers.
Rav Kook’s world view is mystical. For example, he speaks about ingesting food. “Before the Primordial Sin, all the food ingested remained in the system. It was man’s partaking of the Tree of Knowledge that brought about the present state by which some of the nourishment is turned into foul-smelling waste matter.” Similarly, sleep resulted from the corruption of the world; in the future, in the messianic era, man will have no further need of sleep. Other examples include: the morning prayer about the Torah is in the present tense, “Who gives the Torah.” This is because “God is constantly giving the Torah anew. In every age, the Torah flows constantly within the interior of the soul.” He taught that “in the future all Jews will be on the level of King David. He believed in the existence of demons, which “are disembodied spirits.”
The Siddur has all the prayers for weekdays, Shabbat, festivals, listings of berachot (blessings) such as the Grace after meals. services for the cycle of life such as circumcision, Torah readings, and a discussion on the laws concerning prayers.
As a child he gained a reputation of being a child prodigy. He enrolled in the Volozhin Yeshiva in 1884 when he was 18 years old, where he was praised for his learning. He was a vegetarian, and only consumed meat on the sabbath and festivals. He came to Israel in 1904 and took the position as a rabbi in the city of Yafo. He was appointed Chief Rabbi of Palestine, the name Israel had at that time, in 1921 and held the position until his death some fourteen years later.
He worked hard to build relationships between the various Jewish groups, including between the Orthodox and the secular Zionist. He felt that the Jewish state of Israel required the work of all Jewish groups. He is quoted as saying that pious Jews could not enter the Holy of Holies of the Temple and the high priest could only enter once a year during the holiday of Yom Hakippurim, but non-religious Jews could enter at any time to make repairs.
This new Koren Rav Kook Siddur is beautiful and it is filled with information that will provoke thought and which will profit readers to learn. The unique Hebrew format and the translation of the Nusach Ashkenaz prayers by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks is the same that appears in the other Koren Siddurs, but the commentary is based on Rav Kook’s book “Olat Re’iyah,” other writings by Rav Kook, and some insights by the editor Rabbi Bezalel Naor that he employed previously in The Rav Kook Haggadah to great acclaim. Rabbi Naor includes an insightful 17-page introduction to the thinking of Rav Kook generally and Rav Kook’s views as well as the views of others, such as Nachmanides, Joseph Albo, Sigmund Freud, Israel Salanter, Shneur Zalman of Liadi, and others, about prayers.
Rav Kook’s world view is mystical. For example, he speaks about ingesting food. “Before the Primordial Sin, all the food ingested remained in the system. It was man’s partaking of the Tree of Knowledge that brought about the present state by which some of the nourishment is turned into foul-smelling waste matter.” Similarly, sleep resulted from the corruption of the world; in the future, in the messianic era, man will have no further need of sleep. Other examples include: the morning prayer about the Torah is in the present tense, “Who gives the Torah.” This is because “God is constantly giving the Torah anew. In every age, the Torah flows constantly within the interior of the soul.” He taught that “in the future all Jews will be on the level of King David. He believed in the existence of demons, which “are disembodied spirits.”
The Siddur has all the prayers for weekdays, Shabbat, festivals, listings of berachot (blessings) such as the Grace after meals. services for the cycle of life such as circumcision, Torah readings, and a discussion on the laws concerning prayers.
May 2, 2018
Finished reading all of Rav Kook’s commentaries on the prayers as well as the essays at the start of the book. All excellent. Like all of Koren’s siddurim, this is high quality, beautiful pages, clear print. But what makes this special is Rav Kook’s prayer commentary. Unfortunately, I don’t know that I’ll use this for daily davenning as it’s nusach Ashkenaz rather than Sepharad, but it’s a beautiful resource.
April 9, 2021
This bilingual book allowed me to connect in a way that the artscroll just doesn’t. And it has vowels! Finally I’m praying in Hebrew, and the commentary is so beautiful that I’m now davening each morning instead of on occasion when I feel up to it. 10/10 recommend for Kabbalistic prayer.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews