The Short Vort by Rabbi Eisenman

Today is the 89^th Yahrtzeit of HaRav Avrohom Yiztchok HaKohen Kook ZT’L.

Rav Kook needs no introduction to most of us.

As the first Chief Rabbi of what was then British Mandatory Palestine in Eretz Yisroel and Rav Kook was one of the Gedolei Yisroel.

His literary output is amazing.

He wrote in all aspects of Judaism.

He wrote Halachik responsa, Peirushim on the Gemara, Jewish philosophy, and much more.

He mastered all areas of Jewish study from Halacha to Hashkafa.

The Gerrer Rebbe writes about his lofty middos and how all his actions are for the sake of heaven- L'shem Shomayim.

He was a staunch lover of the Jewish people irrespective of their religious affiliation.

And his impact on Jewish history is monumental.

Indeed, the entire religious Zionist movement relies on his legacy and scholarship.

However, for me and my family, the connection to Rav Kook is much more than his scholarship and writings.

My great, great grandfather, Rav Yoel Moshe Salomon, was the man who traveled from Eretz Yisroel to Europe to convince Rav Kook to make Aliyah and become the Rav of Yaffo.

See this description:

Rabbi Kook saw in the Jaffa position a fulfillment of his long-cherished dream to live in Eretz Yisrael. In the early summer of 1904, Rabbi Kook and his family journeyed to pre-state Israel through Odessa. On the beach in Jaffa, they were greeted enthusiastically by the community. R. Yoel Moshe Solomon, along with other public figures who had worked to secure the appointment, set out in a small boat to greet the new rabbi.

My great, great grandfather (who my father was named for), R' Yoel Moshe, was not only the man who facilitated Rav Kook's Aliyah and secured his rabbinical appointment in Yaffo, but he was also a confidant and dear friend/student of Rav Kook.

They remained close friends despite my great-grandfather being 27 years older than Rav Kook.

Nevertheless, the age difference was irrelevant, and Rav Yoel Moshe saw Rav Kook's greatness and treated him with the utmost respect and love.

When R' Yoel Moshe Salomon's namesake and great-grandson Yoel Moshe Eisenman (my father) was born in 1925, there was no question as to who would be the Kohen to officiate and "redeem" (Pidyon HaBen) my father; of course, it was Rav Kook.

And when my father in 1928 had his upsherin (Chalaka in Hebrew), Rav Kook took the first snippet of hair from my father's head.

When my father began Cheder in Yerushalayim in 1929, my grandparents brought him to Rav Kook for a Brocha, who gave my father a Bircas Kohen to be a true Ben Torah.

In 1934, when my father turned nine and began to learn Mishnayos, my grandparents brought him to Rav Kook to be tested on Massechet Bava Kama.

He was my grandparent's Rav and advisor.

When my grandparents were forced to move out of Yerushalayim for financial reasons, Rav Kook gave them the Brocha, saying their children and their children's children would one day return.

His Brocha was fulfilled as my grandparents' great-grandchildren learn Torah daily in Yerushalayim.

As great as he was to the world, for our family, he was our Rav.

My family loved him, and he returned the love to us in manifold ways.

For that and for much more, he remains a cherished and beloved part of our family.

Yehi Zichro Baruch.