David Cohen (rabbi)
Encyclopedia
David Cohen (also known as “Rav Ha-Nazir,” The Nazirite
Rabbi
) was a rabbi
, talmud
ist, philosopher, and kabbalist
. A noted Jewish
ascetic
, he took a Nazirite vow after making aliyah
to Israel
.
, near Vilna (in modern Lithuania
), the scion of a distinguished rabbinic family. In his youth he studied at the Raduń Yeshiva
, under Yisrael Meir Kagan
, the Volozhin yeshiva
and the Slabodka yeshiva
. Even then his restless and inquiring mind led him to extend his studies beyond the traditional subjects taught in the yeshivot. Thus he turned to Samson Raphael Hirsch
and the early writings of Abraham Isaac Kook
. He also studied Russian
to prepare himself for entrance to the university.
During the Russian Revolution of 1905
he was twice arrested but was not detained. His spiritual unrest and the desire to widen his intellectual horizon led him to enroll in the Academy for Jewish Studies established by Baron David Guenzburg, where one of his close fellow students was Zalman Shazar
, later president of Israel. From there he proceeded to Germany to study at the University of Freiburg
. At the outbreak of World War I
he was interned as an enemy alien, but was released and made his way to Switzerland
, studying philosophy, classical literature, and Roman law at University of Basel
.
He was for a time chairman of the Jewish Students' Society there and delivered lectures on Jewish philosophy. It was then that he took upon himself a life-long Nazirite
vow, which involves complete abstention from cutting one's hair and partaking of any products of the vine. But his asceticism went much further. It included an extreme vegetarianism, which encompassed not only food but any garment made of leather, and a self-imposed silence every Rosh Hodesh eve (Yom Kippur Katan) and from Rosh Hodesh Elul
to the morrow of Yom Kippur
. In addition, he refused to speak anything but Hebrew
, or to leave the Holy City of Jerusalem. However, he was not a recluse, and did not hesitate to express his views on important topical problems.
The turning point in his life came with his meeting with Rabbi Kook, who was then in St. Galen in Switzerland (1915). “My life then stood in the balance,” he noted. “I listened to him and was turned into a new man . . . I had found a master.” He decided to abandon his secular studies and devote himself entirely to Jewish thought. In 1922 he received an invitation from Rabbi Kook, who had returned to the Land of Israel
, to become a tutor in the yeshiva which he had established, and helped to draw up the curriculum which was also to include history, philosophy, ethics, Hebrew grammar, and Bible. He was appointed lecturer in Talmud, ethics, and philosophy.
The two used to meet daily and Kook entrusted him with the editing of his philosophical works, to which, along with disseminating Kook's ideas, he dedicated his life, hardly publishing any of his own works, although he left over 30 works in manuscript. The principal exception was the Kol Nevu'ah, of which the first volume appeared shortly before his death. It is the fruit of his life's work and is in two parts, “The Foundations of Jewish Religious Philosophy” and “The Foundations of Inner Wisdom.” The work is based on the premise that there is an original Jewish philosophy and a spiritual Jewish system of logic which is not intuitive speculative but spiritual-acoustic: “Sound and light are the two angels of thought which accompany man everywhere” but “hearing is greater than seeing.” The prophetic power is the beginning of Jewish wisdom, and he was convinced that the renewal of Jewish life in Israel would produce a new generation to which would even be vouchsafed the return of the spirit of prophecy.
A passionate adherent of the doctrine of Kook that the return to Zion and its various stages, of which the establishment of the State of Israel was the latest, was itself only a stage in the fulfillment of the Divine Promise which would bring about the Complete Redemption and the Messianic Age
, he did not hesitate to reprove those rabbis who did not accept this belief. He saw in Moses Hayyim Luzzatto the harbinger of this redemption, pointing out that the three significant movements, Hasidism, Musar
, and Haskalah
, had each made certain of Luzzatto's works their classics, and he claimed that both Rabbi Kook and he himself followed his doctrines.
Cohen had one son, She'ar Yashuv
- Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Haifa
and one daughter, the wife of Israel
i Chief Rabbi
Shlomo Goren
.
In 1977 there was published a three-volume Festschrift
entitled Nezir Ehav.
Nazirite
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or nazarite, , refers to one who voluntarily took a vow described in . The term "nazirite" comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated"...
Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
) was a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ist, philosopher, and kabbalist
Kabbala
Kabbala may refer to:*Kabbalah, is a religious philosophical system claiming an insight into divine nature*Sefer ha-Qabbalah by Abraham ibn Daud*Kabbala Denudata , a book from Christian Knorr von Rosenroth, a Christian Hebraist...
. A noted Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
ascetic
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
, he took a Nazirite vow after making aliyah
Aliyah
Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...
to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Biography
Cohen was born in MaišiagalaMaišiagala
Maišiagala is a historic town in Vilnius district municipality, Lithuania. It is located about northwest of Vilnius near the Vilnius–Panevėžys highway. According to the 2001 census, it had population of 1,634.-History:...
, near Vilna (in modern Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
), the scion of a distinguished rabbinic family. In his youth he studied at the Raduń Yeshiva
Radun Yeshiva
Raduń Yeshiva, originally located in Raduń, Poland , was established by the Chofetz Chaim in 1869.-Origins:In 1869 when the Chofetz Chaim returned from Vashilyshok to Raduń his first action was to establish a group to whom he could spread the knowledge of Torah...
, under Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Kagan
Yisrael Meir Poupko , known popularly as The Chofetz Chaim, was an influential Eastern European rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Jewish life...
, the Volozhin yeshiva
Volozhin yeshiva
The Volozhin Yeshiva, also known as Etz Chaim Yeshiva, was a prestigious Lithuanian yeshiva located in the town of Volozhin, Russia, . It was founded by Rabbi Chaim Itzkovitz, a student of the famed Vilna Gaon, and trained several generations of scholars, rabbis, and leaders...
and the Slabodka yeshiva
Slabodka yeshiva
Hebron Yeshiva, also known as Yeshivas Hevron, or Knesses Yisroel, and originally as Slabodka Yeshiva, is known colloquially as the "mother of yeshivas" and was devoted to high=level study of the Talmud. The yeshiva was located in the Lithuanian town of Slabodka, adjacent to Kovno , now...
. Even then his restless and inquiring mind led him to extend his studies beyond the traditional subjects taught in the yeshivot. Thus he turned to Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...
and the early writings of Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
. He also studied Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
to prepare himself for entrance to the university.
During the Russian Revolution of 1905
Russian Revolution of 1905
The 1905 Russian Revolution was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. Some of it was directed against the government, while some was undirected. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies...
he was twice arrested but was not detained. His spiritual unrest and the desire to widen his intellectual horizon led him to enroll in the Academy for Jewish Studies established by Baron David Guenzburg, where one of his close fellow students was Zalman Shazar
Zalman Shazar
Zalman Shazar was an Israeli politician, author. and poet. Shazar served as the third President of Israel from 1963 to 1973.-Biography:...
, later president of Israel. From there he proceeded to Germany to study at the University of Freiburg
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...
. At the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he was interned as an enemy alien, but was released and made his way to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, studying philosophy, classical literature, and Roman law at University of Basel
University of Basel
The University of Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland, and is considered to be one of leading universities in the country...
.
He was for a time chairman of the Jewish Students' Society there and delivered lectures on Jewish philosophy. It was then that he took upon himself a life-long Nazirite
Nazirite
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or nazarite, , refers to one who voluntarily took a vow described in . The term "nazirite" comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated"...
vow, which involves complete abstention from cutting one's hair and partaking of any products of the vine. But his asceticism went much further. It included an extreme vegetarianism, which encompassed not only food but any garment made of leather, and a self-imposed silence every Rosh Hodesh eve (Yom Kippur Katan) and from Rosh Hodesh Elul
Elul
Elul is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days...
to the morrow of Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
. In addition, he refused to speak anything but Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, or to leave the Holy City of Jerusalem. However, he was not a recluse, and did not hesitate to express his views on important topical problems.
The turning point in his life came with his meeting with Rabbi Kook, who was then in St. Galen in Switzerland (1915). “My life then stood in the balance,” he noted. “I listened to him and was turned into a new man . . . I had found a master.” He decided to abandon his secular studies and devote himself entirely to Jewish thought. In 1922 he received an invitation from Rabbi Kook, who had returned to the Land of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, to become a tutor in the yeshiva which he had established, and helped to draw up the curriculum which was also to include history, philosophy, ethics, Hebrew grammar, and Bible. He was appointed lecturer in Talmud, ethics, and philosophy.
The two used to meet daily and Kook entrusted him with the editing of his philosophical works, to which, along with disseminating Kook's ideas, he dedicated his life, hardly publishing any of his own works, although he left over 30 works in manuscript. The principal exception was the Kol Nevu'ah, of which the first volume appeared shortly before his death. It is the fruit of his life's work and is in two parts, “The Foundations of Jewish Religious Philosophy” and “The Foundations of Inner Wisdom.” The work is based on the premise that there is an original Jewish philosophy and a spiritual Jewish system of logic which is not intuitive speculative but spiritual-acoustic: “Sound and light are the two angels of thought which accompany man everywhere” but “hearing is greater than seeing.” The prophetic power is the beginning of Jewish wisdom, and he was convinced that the renewal of Jewish life in Israel would produce a new generation to which would even be vouchsafed the return of the spirit of prophecy.
A passionate adherent of the doctrine of Kook that the return to Zion and its various stages, of which the establishment of the State of Israel was the latest, was itself only a stage in the fulfillment of the Divine Promise which would bring about the Complete Redemption and the Messianic Age
Jewish Messiah
Messiah, ; mashiah, moshiah, mashiach, or moshiach, is a term used in the Hebrew Bible to describe priests and kings, who were traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil as described in Exodus 30:22-25...
, he did not hesitate to reprove those rabbis who did not accept this belief. He saw in Moses Hayyim Luzzatto the harbinger of this redemption, pointing out that the three significant movements, Hasidism, Musar
Mussar movement
The Musar movement is a Jewish ethical, educational and cultural movement that developed in 19th century Eastern Europe, particularly among Orthodox Lithuanian Jews. The Hebrew term Musar , is from the book of Proverbs 1:2 meaning instruction, discipline, or conduct...
, and Haskalah
Haskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
, had each made certain of Luzzatto's works their classics, and he claimed that both Rabbi Kook and he himself followed his doctrines.
Cohen had one son, She'ar Yashuv
She'ar Yashuv Cohen
Eliyahu Yosef She'ar Yashuv Cohen was the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Israel and the President of its rabbinical courts .- Biography :...
- Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
and one daughter, the wife of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
Shlomo Goren
Shlomo Goren
Shlomo Goren , was an Orthodox Religious Zionist rabbi in Israel who founded and served as the first head of the Military Rabbinate of the Israel Defense Forces and subsequently as the third Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel from 1973 to 1983.He served in the Israel Defense Forces during three wars,...
.
In 1977 there was published a three-volume Festschrift
Festschrift
In academia, a Festschrift , is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime. The term, borrowed from German, could be translated as celebration publication or celebratory writing...
entitled Nezir Ehav.