R. Abraham Isaac Kook

R. Abraham Isaac Kook (1865–1935) was Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Palestine before the creation of the state of the Israel and an immensely influential figure in religious Zionism. This chapter examines his correspondence with another rabbi regarding war, in which R. Kook argues that legitimate authority for waging war rests with any Jewish government that rules with the consent of the community. He justifies conscription on the premise that laws of war are different from those of everyday Halakhah; therefore a government can force an individual to risk his life in war for the sake of the nation, though compelling an individual to endanger himself to save others from harm is not normally allowed. In his discussion of discretionary war, R. Kook reveals an antipathy to war. R. Kook’s treatment of war in Halakhah is brief, but his positions had a big impact on later rabbis in religious Zionism.