RAV KOOK ON Three Weeks: Teachers Armed with Spiritual Might

The three weeks between the fasts of the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Ninth of Av is a time of mourning for the Jewish people. These days recall the calamities that befell us during this time — exile from the land of Israel, destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. It is referred to as Bein Ha-Metzarim, a time when the Jewish people are ‘Between the Straits.’ The Shulchan Aruch brings down a curious custom for the Three Weeks: teachers should not strike their students during this time. Not that teachers are encouraged to hit students during the rest of the year; but during these Three Weeks, they should be especially careful to avoid punishing students. This custom is apparently the source for Rav Kook’s dictum for the month of Tammuz: “The nation is redeemed from ‘Between the Straits’ [the Three Weeks] through teachers who are armed with spiritual might, who do not require a beating rod.” Rav Kook took a curious custom and transformed it into something much greater — a motto for how we must educate in an era of national rebirth. This generation cannot be subdued with rods; it cannot be coerced with threats of punishment in this world or the next. We can only reach them, Rav Kook taught, with love and ’spiritual greatness.’ A generation in spiritual distress — ‘between the straits’ — must be inspired by teachers who are armed with broad spirits and lofty vision.