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We are Already Free
Sivan Rahav-Meir
“T wenty years ago, I was seriously injured in a terrorist attack in the village of Otniel
(in Judea, south of Hebron),” Asaf Fasi said during a Zoom meeting of the Mitchadshot
(Women’s Renewal) community. “During my rehabilitation, my friends presented
me with a poem of Rav Kook which I will never forget:
,י ִפּוג ְּב ׁש ָּל ַח יִנ ֲא ם ִא ְו If my body is weak,
ִ
?י ִת ָמ ְ ׁשִנ ן ֵּכ םַּג ה ֶּז ִמ ל ּ ֹב ְס ּ ת ם ִא ַה Should my soul also suffer?
,י ִר ָש ְּב יִנ ֵא ְּכ ַדְי םי ִמ ָע ְּ פ ף ֶל ֶא ם ִא ְו If my flesh brings me misery a thousand times,
ׂ
?י ִחּור ה ֶּז ִמ א ָּכ ֻדְי ֲה Should my spirit also be miserable?
,רֹור ְדּו רֹוא ף ֵאֹו ׁש ,יִנ ֲא ׁש ֶפֹח א ֵל ְמ א ּ ל ַה I am filled with freedom, I inhale light and liberty.
,ר ָר ְח ֻ ׁש ְמ יִנ ְנ ִה ר ָב ְּכ – תּור ֵח ְל י ִת ָפי ִא ְ ׁש ם ִע ְו And with my aspiration to be free, I am already liberated.
.ןי ִרֹוח ן ֶּ ב יִנ ְנ ִה י ִת ָמֹוק ֹאל ְמ ִבּו When I rise to my full stature, I am truly free.
“These words of Rav Kook gave me much strength. I began collecting short quotes from him
that have now been turned into a book: Mishpatei HaRav Kook (Thoughts of Rav Kook).”
What is the secret of his “I am Filled with Freedom” poem? The idea that having a broken
body does not mean the soul must be broken too. On the contrary. The spirit of a human
being is incredibly strong. It can lift up the body and heal it. Rav Kook writes that the soul
determines who we are to the extent that if we only aspire to freedom, we are already free.
Translated by Yehoshua Siskin.
Sivan Rahav-Meir
is a media personality and lecturer. She lives in Jerusalem with her husband, Yedidya,
and their five children, and serves as World Mizrachi’s Scholar-in-Residence. She is
a primetime anchor on Channel 2 News, has a column in Israel’s largest newspaper,
Yediot Acharonot, and has a weekly radio show on Galei Tzahal (Army Radio).
A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
mizrachi.org/speakers
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