Constricting love - lovingly

Here Rav Kook describes the 4th circle of concern that reaches beyond humanity and includes everything - all creatures, all worlds. In this podcast we explore how that could look.

Rav Kook describes the transition from the Circle of the Nation to the Circle of Humankind. This is not simply a function of quantity; rather, there are vastly different orientations, expectations and emotions that kick in.

The second circle of concern requires that a person sing the song of the people. The transition, though, is what is interesting. A person sense that the song of their own soul is not enough. There comes a time when it is no longer acceptable to remain focused inward.

Rav Kook's four-fold prayer is built on concentric circles: self, nation, humanity, all. Each layer has a "song". And it is not simple to be able to sing the song of circle.

Rav Kook describes the love-drunk individual's desire to bring together EVERYTHING and EVERYONE. This is a beautiful and difficult way to live and to love. But we have to do difficult things sometimes....

Rav Kook urges us to demand high standards of ourselves - including the seemingly odd guidance toward loving the standouts - celebrities? - in a variety of fields, including science, war, poetry, craft, and even business. Why?!?

Rav Kook demands a great love but he is not naive about how difficult it is to develop that love. Obviously it takes work - to get past surface understandings of the ethics and Torah that are supposed to guide us, to get past the superficial ways that we see each other, and to get past our cultural biases. But that's why we're here - to work and to love.

Rav Kook acknowledges that expressing love in a complex world is complex. But that doesn't mean it gets to be less loving.

Rav Kook is a challenging teacher of love because his love was so big, so full, so much on display, and so often got him in trouble because smaller-minded people felt he shouldn't love as much as he did.