) Many Yeshivot in Israel belonging to the Religious Zionism study the writings of Rav Kook, who articulated a unique personal blend of mysticism, creative exegesis and philosophy.

When Rav Kook died in 1935, Risikoff — with " a presentiment of the catastrophe " yet to come -- published a eulogy in which he put forth his belief that Kook might have been taken early to spare him from even worse times to come.

Rav Kook was born in Grīva, at the time a town in Courland Governorate of the Russian Empire ( now a part of Daugavpils, Latvia ) in 1865, the oldest of eight children.

Although he stayed at the yeshiva for only a year and a half, the Netziv has been quoted as saying that if the Volozhin Yeshiva had been founded just to educate Rav Kook, it would have been worthwhile.

In 1904, Rav Kook moved to Ottoman Palestine to assume the rabbinical post in Jaffa, which also included responsibility for the new mostly secular Zionist agricultural settlements nearby.

The outbreak of the First World War caught Rav Kook in Europe, and he was forced to remain in London and Switzerland for the remainder of the war.

Roshei Yeshiva following Rav Kook's passing in 1935 included Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap, Rav Shlomo Ra ' anan, and Rav Kook's son, Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Rav Avraham Shapiro and Rav Yaakov Shapiro.

Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer and Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein writing in support and defense of Rav Kook

Badatz Eidah Chareidis writing In support and defense of Rav Kook

With the sudden public display of rare letters from the greatest Jewish scholars to Rav Kook, many questions have emerged.

Mainly, it is clear that Rav Kook was apolitical.

Rav Kook wrote that he was not part of any party – he simply viewed himself as follower of God and the laws of the Torah.

Also, one could see from the published letters, that the " Chareidi " leadership was firm in its support of Rav Kook, and in fact had an apparent fond relationship with him.

The vast majority of the " Chareidi " leaders publicized handwritten letters in support of Rav Kook, when a few individuals were publicly disrespectful towards him.

Some examples of greetings in letters written by Jewish leaders to Rav Kook:

Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinski: " Our friend, the gaon, our master and teacher, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, shlita "

As the scene of his activity, Rav first chose Nehardea, where the exilarch appointed him agoranomos, or market-master, and Rabbi Shela made him lecturer ( amora ) of his college ( Jerusalem Talmud Bava Batra v. 15a ; Yoma, 20b ).

The latter compiled and edited the Mishnah ; Rav Ashi made it the labor of his life to collect after critical scrutiny, under the name of Gemara, those explanations of the Mishnah that had been handed down in the Babylonian academies since the days of Rab, together with all the discussions connected with them, and all the halakhic and haggadic material treated in the schools.

In the 1830s, Rav Yisroel of Shklov, one of the leading disciples of the Vilna Gaon who had settled in Jerusalem, made another attempt to restart semikhah.

" The brief words spoken by the Rav of Sochachov made a powerful impression.

The Babylonian Talmud mentions an incident where Rav Sheishet, a famous dayan ( rabbinic judge ) from Nehardea, uses Pumbedita as part of a jest in an argument with Rav Amram after Rav Amram made a forced argument regarding whether children can assume ownership of a father's property in a case of doubtful transference of real property rights.

On one occasion he ordered some Samaritan wine, but subsequently learning that there were no longer any strict observers of the dietary laws among the Samaritans, with the assistance of his colleagues, Ḥiyya b. Abba, Rav Ammi, and Rav Assi, he investigated the report, and, ascertaining it to be well founded, did not hesitate to declare the Samaritans, for all ritualistic purposes, Gentiles ( Yer.

This is one reason that Haredim will often prefer using Hebrew names for rabbinic titles based on older traditions, such as: Rav ( denoting " rabbi "), HaRav (" the rabbi "), Moreinu HaRav (" our teacher the rabbi "), Moreinu (" our teacher "), Moreinu VeRabeinu HaRav (" our teacher and our rabbi / master the rabbi "), Moreinu VeRabeinu (" our teacher and our rabbi / master "), Rosh yeshiva (" head the yeshiva "), Rosh HaYeshiva (" head the yeshiva "), " Mashgiach " ( for Mashgiach ruchani ) (" spiritual supervsor / guide "), Mora DeAsra (" teacher / decisor " the / this place "), HaGaon (" the genius "), Rebbe (" rabbi "), HaTzadik (" the righteous / saintly "), " ADMOR " (" Adoneinu Moreinu VeRabeinu ") (" our master, our teacher and our rabbi / master ") or often just plain Reb which is a shortened form of rebbe that can be used by, or applied to, any married Jewish male as the situation applies.

According to a tradition preserved in the academies, Rav Ashi was born in the same year that Rava, the great teacher of Mahuza, died, and he was the first teacher of any importance in the Talmudic Academies in Babylonia after Raba's death.

Even whether this editorial work was written down, and thus, whether the putting of the Babylonian Talmud into writing took place under Rav Ashi or not, cannot be answered from any statement in the Talmud.

In fact, Rav Henoch believed that one who enters this field for any other reason would be better off going into the workforce.

His numerous disciples — some of whom were very influential and who, for the most part, were also disciples of Samuel — amplified and, in their capacity as instructors and by their discussions, continued the work of Rav.

Concerning the social position and the personal history of Rav we were not informed.

Rav Zeira said, " You were created by the magicians ; return to your dust.

To such a degree of splendor did these festivities and other conventions in Sura attain that Rav Ashi expressed his surprise that some of the Gentile residents of Sura were not tempted to accept Judaism.

* Contemporary Amalek-Hirhurim-a blog post by Rabbi Gil Student explaining Rav Soloveitchik's controversial view that the Nazis were considered Amalekites

The first Babylonian Amoraim were Abba Arika, respectfully referred to as Rav, and his contemporary and frequent debate partner, Shmuel.

Rav Yisroel charted out where he thought the Bnei Reuven were probably located, and sent an emissary, Rav Pinchas Baruch, to locate them ( Sefer Halikutim to the Shabsei Frankel edition of Rambam, Hilchos Sanhedrin 4: 11 ).

An interesting point of Jewish Law arises in that Rav Yisroel raised the question how could the Tribe of Reuven have kept the semikhah alive, since they were outside the Land of Israel and the semikhah can be granted only in Land of Israel.

Prominent there were Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor ( the " Kovner Rav "; officiated 1864-96 ); Abraham Mapu, one of the first modern Hebrew writers ; and Israel Isidor Elyashev, the " Ba ' al Makhshoves ", the first Yiddish literary critic.

However the Malbim, along with a minority of commentators, believe that Rav and Shmuel were not arguing on its compilation, but rather on its interpretation, and hence was completed before then.

The congregation's acting Rav, Joe Pessah, was also among those who were arrested by the Egyptian government.

On January 4, 2006, Rabbi Yaaqov Medan and Rabbi Baruch Gigi were officially invested as co-roshei yeshiva alongside Rav Amital and Rav Lichtenstein, with an eye toward Rabbi Amital's intention to retire.

Through the mediation of his son-in-law, the rabbi dr Wolf ( Zeev ) Gottlieb from Glasgow, his responsa and other religious law works of him were edited and printed in Rav Kook Publishing House in Jerusalem ( Shaagat Arié, Eitan Arie, 1912 ; Pirkei Shoshana, 1920 ).

Rabbi Yitzchak Karelitz succeeded their father as the Rav of Kosova ; he and his wife and daughter were shot to death in their home by the Germans in mid-1942.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein once said that the decisions of the Aruch HaShulchan — who was a full-time Rav — take precedence over many poskim who were not active rabbanim.

Among his followers were Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk ( Kotsker Rebbe ), the Vurker Rebbe Israel Yitzhak Kalish, Rabbi Yitschok Myer Alter of Ger ( Chidushei Harim ), Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izhbitz ( Mei HaShiloach ), Rabbi Yaakov Arye of Radzymin and Rav Chanoch Heynekh of Alexander.

Two notable Babylonian Jewish brewers were Rav Chisda and his pupil Rav Papa, both of whom lived in the vicinity of Sura during the fourth century.