Rav Kook and the Briskers

I mentioned a bit earlier a how I was a somewhat peeved about how Rav Kook is portrayed in certain right-wing circles. One of the commenters pointed out the comments over on this post on Hirhurim. I must say, I was shocked.

Anyway...this comment showed up in the list:

In any case, here's today's Rav Kook quote/story from a Brisker heard from RAY Soloveitchik.
"RE Wasserman asked RC Soloveitchik how is it that Rav Kook (who he knew) could go so far off the derech when everyone knows that he Davens with such Kavana & fasts most of the week! RCS answered him "Dayge Nisht, Der Chabadske Apikoyrus is a Baal Gayve, Un Er Est Gants Gut!"

I was...to put it mildly...shocked, as well as a bit incredulous. So, I figured I'd do a bit of research. There is a book called Iggros L'Rayah (איגרות לראי"ה) which is a collection of letters to Rav Kook that were found in his possesions after he passed away. There are letters from R' Chaim, R' Velvel, R' Shimon Shkop, R' Yerucham, The Chafetz Chaim, as well as the Rabbonim in Israel such as R' Isser Zalman, R' Moshe Mordechai Epstein and many others. Just so the people who declare things are fake just because they don't agree with them, facsimiles of some of the letters are also included in the sefer.

I'm going to make an assumption here. If R' Chaim had a problem with R' Kook, I don't think he'd refer to him in such glowing terms, nor write to him to request help for someone.
Letter 35 - Dated תרס"ח
כבוד הרה הגאון המפורסם, סוע"ה, צדיק בדרכיו, כק"ש מו"ה אברהם יצחק הכהן קוק שליט"א, אב"ד דק"ק יפו יצ"ו
Letter written in conjuction with the Chafetz Chaim.

Letter 45 dated תרס"ט
ברכה מרובה לכבוד הרב הגאון המפורסם, מ' ר' אברהם יצחק הכהן נ"י קוק הגאבד"ק יפו תובב"א, וכ"ט לכ"ג הרמה שי
The body of the letter also includes more comments of respect for R' Kook.

I'm also working under the assumption that if R' Chaim had any animosity towards R' Kook, R' Velvel would be aware of it and would also not be to positively inclined towards R' Kook.

There are 5 letters from R' Velvel (some reproduced in facsimile). In one he says:
ואחתום בברכת כל טוב להדר"ג הרמה, הנני מוקירו ומכבדו
This from תרצ"ה which, if I'm not mistaken is the year R' Kook was niftar. So, it can't be that R' Velvel changed his mind. R' Velvel actually finishes of several letters to R' Kook in the same vein. Some more so then this, by the way.

So, since there is an actual paper trail that the Soleveitchiks respected Rav Kook and held he was at the very least a kosher yid, if not a gaon adir and tzaddik, so I'd have to go with that.

This doesn't include the letters where R' Avraham Dov Ber Kahana Shapira (Rav of Kovno) refers to Rav Kook as ידיד ד' ידיד כל בני ישראל וידיד נפשי. Or where the Sridei Aish, in a matter of p'sak, where he already got an opinion backing up his stance from R' Chaim Ozer, says what ever R' Kook holds, he'll accept as the final word.
Etc. Etc.
Also not mentioned is how the various Chassidic Rebbes held of him. R' Shaul Yedidyah Taub of Modjitz, The Imrei Emes, R' Menachum Nachum Twersky of Rachmestroika/Chernobyl and on and on.

So, please. There were a few hot headed youths in Jerusalem who put up signs against Rav Kook with forged signatures* of R' Zonnenfeld and R' Diskin (both of whom had great love and respect for R' Kook). It spiraled from there. I stand by my statement, that with perhaps the exception of certain Hungarishe Rebbes, who called everyone else Apikorsim as well, Rav Kook was roundly loved and respected by ever Gadol B'Torah in his generation.

*Yes, forged signatures. Why am I claiming this after I went out at some lengths to naysay people who make such claims about the Tzionim? I'm not making the claim. Take a look in Malki B'Kodesh Chelek Dalet, Chilufai Michtavim. There is a letter from R' Tzvi Pesach Frank to the author, his mechutan, where he(RTPF) states categorically that R' Zonnenfeld and R' Diskin's signatures were used without their permission and they didn't hold of what was written in the various signs against R' Kook.