Annoyed.

Ok. I'm a bit annoyed. Why am I annoyed? Because people don't know Jewish history. Poltical correctness has engulfed the Yeshivish world. Not that this is anything new, but every time I run up against it I get annoyed. Anyway, I've made some comments over on this post by Rav Gil Student. I'm just amazed how people have now clue about what went on in Israel in the years Rav Kook was here. Everyone accepted him as the final word, as the greatest lamdan in the Yishuv. Whether or not they agreed with his approach to the non-religious and Zionism. How Rav Zonnenfeld respected Rav Kook. Rav Isser Zalman? Rav Zvi Pesach Frank? His father-in-law, the Aderet, Rav of Mir, Rav l'kol Kehilos Ashkenaz b'Ir HaKodesh, head of the kollel prushim? Every emminent gaon and talmid chacham in Israel held of Rav Kook's genius, that he was a tzaddik and that every thing he did was l'shem Shamayim. Just look how the famous tzaddik, Rav Aryeh Levin, was m'shamesh him.

I'll end this with a quick story. Rav Shlomo Zalman Aurbach was chevrusas with R' Aryeh's son, R' Refael. As one would expect they were great masmidim and would spend endless hours learning, but as happens to young men, occasionally their dedication lagged. R' Shlomo Zalman once related how they would go about getting back into it. They would walk over to Rav Kook's house and peek through the key hole into the room where he was learning and watch for a moment or two. That was enough to bring them back to the spiritual level they needed to return to their shteigen.

Please, I'm not asking for an open debate on Zionism here. While I certainly have an opinion on this, this isn't the topic I'm dealing with here, rather historical revisionism. I am working on a post about Zionism, specifically the Oaths and how the Vilna Goan demonstrably didn't hold they had any halachic meaning what so ever. You can bash me there.