Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, The Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems (Classics of Western Spirituality) [Paperback]

Ben Zion Bokser (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Hebrew (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Paulist Pr (June 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080912159X
• ISBN-13: 978-0809121595
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #654,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book of beauty and power, October 25, 1999

By 

D. Sloan (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, The Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems (Classics of Western Spirituality) (Paperback)

This book was a wonderful survey and introduction of Rav Kook's works. The philosophical texts are compelling and inspiring, the letters are touching and personal, and the poetry exposed a sincerity and passion which could not be harvested from any history book. Fantastic, meaty reading.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Great 20th Century Mystics, November 20, 2000

By 

AR (Olympia, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, The Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems (Classics of Western Spirituality) (Paperback)

Rav Kook was the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine and helped lead the continuing dialogue of Jewish Mysticism into the 20th century. This collection of his writings is both profound and beautiful. Some of the pieces such as 'The Lights of Penitance' might appeal only to scholars, but Kook's poetry can be appreciated by all. His idea of a unified Judaism where the secular and the holy both make up parts of the whole are very moving. Other themes include vegetarianism and a universal love for all people.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rav Kook-The Greatest Jewish Thinker in 200 Years, July 3, 2002

By 

givbatam3 "givbatam3" (REHOVOT Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abraham Isaac Kook: The Lights of Penitence, The Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems (Classics of Western Spirituality) (Paperback)

Rav Kook is the greatest Jewish thinker in the last 200 years because he most fully understands the spiritual crisis of the modern Jew. Although there were a number of dynamic Jewish religious leaders who took up the mantle of leadership in order to rebuild the shattered remnants of the Jewish world in the wake of the Holocaust such as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik and the Satmar Rov, their message was basically directed at a relatively small group of Jews. Rav Kook has a message for the entire Jewish people. His great contributions were: (1) to emphasize the dynamic nature of both the spiritual and physical worlds, and, one the one hand, tell the traditional religious Jew that the Torah is flexible and can stand up to the challenges of modernity and change, while on the other hand demonstrating the perpetual relevance of the Torah to the Jew who has a less than full commitment to it; and (2) to demonstrate the absolute necessity of the Jewish people to return to the Land of Israel and build a modern society rooted in the Torah. This fine book gives a sampling of these ideas and is a good introduction to the mind of this remarkable thinker.