My friend Tsiporah and I have been learning Torah, consistently every week for a while now. We have learned a few incredible books and had some of the most epic conversations.

Recently, we have been diving into learning from and about Rav Kook. We truly love it so much, and I want to share some of his teachings with you:

(P.S. these are translated into English from Hebrew so some words may get lost in translation)

"The purely righteous do not complain of the dark, but increase the light; they do not complain of evil, but increase justice; they do not complain of heresy, but increase faith; they do not complain of ignorance, but increase wisdom"

If we were destroyed... by baseless hatred, then we shall rebuild ourselves... with baseless love"

There is no such thing as 'unfounded love.' How can it be unfounded?... There is only 'unfounded hatred'".

"I don't speak because I have the power to speak; I speak because I don't have the power to remain silent".

"Every person's soul is a light from God, and the world becomes illuminated when we reveal that light."

“The human soul is inherently creative; suppressing creativity causes spiritual suffering”

“When the spirit grows, life itself expands”

"The light of love must be allowed to shine on all. Hatred must not be harbored for any creature, for all were created by God."

"The highest form of love is to love every person with a boundless, generous love - love that seeks only to uplift, never to diminish"

“When you look at the soul of another, you find within it a spark of God; how then can you fail to love?”

“Even when we must rebuke, it must come from an overwhelming love that seeks to increase goodness rather than attack the person.”

“The more a person's soul expands, the more it loves; the narrower the soul, the more it is filled with fear and anger.”

“Love must fill our whole being. Love for God, love for people, love for all existence - this is the way of the soul's liberation and elevation.”

Weekly learning appointments because Torah, laughing until we cry, and crying until we laugh is on the weekly menu. Tsiporah, I love learning Torah with you, and taking life both very seriously and not very seriously at all.  To many more profound moments of Torah learning and simple lovely moments of life - and our version of being Chassidim ;)

Which one of these words from Rav Kook lands in your heart?