RAV KOOK YORTZEIT Third of Elul: Final Requests

It was the first of Elul, 5695 (1935), when Rabbi David Cohen (known as ‘the Rav HaNazir’) arrived at the guest house where Rav Kook was staying in Kiryat Moshe. Exactly twenty years had passed since that first transformative encounter in Switzerland. This time he held in his hands a special document to show his dying master. For twelve years, the Rav HaNazir had labored to organize Rav Kook’s writings into a systematic, comprehensive work. As his revered master lay on his death bed, he showed him the beginning fruits of his labor — the title page of the first volume of Orot HaKodesh. Rav Kook rejoiced; and he shed tears.