Rav Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935) was one of the most influential—and controversial—rabbis of the twentieth century. A visionary writer and outstanding rabbinic leader; Kook was a philosopher; mystic; poet; jurist; communal leader; and veritable saint. The first chief rabbi of Jewish Palestine and the founding theologian of religious Zionism; he struggled to understand and shape his revolutionary times. His life and writings resonate with the defining tensions of Jewish life and thought.A powerfully original thinker; Rav Kook combined strict traditionalism and an embrace of modernity; Orthodoxy and tolerance; piety and audacity; scholasticism and ecstasy; and passionate nationalism with profound universalism. Though little known in the English-speaking world; his life and teachings are essential to understanding current Israeli politics; contemporary Jewish spirituality; and modern Jewish thought. This biography; the first in English in more than half a century; offers a rich and insightful portrait of the man and his complex legacy. Yehudah Mirsky clears away widespread misunderstandings of Kook’s ideas and provides fresh insights into his personality and worldview. Mirsky demonstrates how Kook's richly erudite; dazzlingly poetic writings convey a breathtaking vision in which "the old will become new; and the new will become holy."
#2769478 in Books George McKenna 2009-01-06Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.21 x .99 x 6.14l; 1.25 #File Name: 0300143257448 pagesThe Puritan Origins of American Patriotism
Review
11 of 17 people found the following review helpful. This Could Have Been a Much Better BookBy David SouthworthI really wanted to give this impressive book by George McKenna a better rating. He is an expert on religion in American life and history. This is obvious. But way too often the author seems to let personal bias and political bugaboos get in the way of what could have been a great straight history.First: the good parts. McKenna's retelling of early American politics and the role religion played is top notch. From the Anne Hutchinson trial to the role of religion in the pre-Civil Wart abolition movement and in the life of Abraham Lincoln were superb.However; as the closer the author gets to the modern day the more he seems hell bound to interject politics into his telling of history. He goes on far too many tangents that don't seem germane to his history. The Hiss/Chambers account and the many political movements that sprung up in the 1960s and 70s top the list of rants that detract from the overall history.A better editor with an ability to keep the author focused; and an author more interested in recounting history and leaving his personal bugaboos out would have made this much better that it currently is.
