Rav Kook, Natural Morality, and the Exhausted Masses

Sometimes, too much scholarship can be a detriment to determining the right thing to do. In Israel today, this is more apparent than ever before.

Sometimes, too much scholarship can be a detriment to determining the right thing to do.

The concept of natural morality - that is, that people intuitively know certain basic moral concepts - is debated by Jewish and non-Jewish philosophers alike. One of the most famous examples of a Jewish scholar championing natural morality is the Ramban in his commentary to Vayikra 19:2, which we will read this coming Shabbat. He explains that the biblical directive to “be holy” prohibits actions which are not otherwise proscribed by the Torah, but which would allow someone to act in a despicable manner without technically violating any written prohibition. Many assume that we know which prohibitions are included in this mitzvah through natural morality.¹ This is in line with the Ramban’s explanation of why the people of Noah’s generation were punished for hamas, meaning stealing and exploitation: “Because this is a logical mitzvah, without need for a prophetic warning.”²

Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook takes this idea even farther. He argues that natural morality is implanted in us as an aspect of our divinely apportioned souls, and that, perhaps shockingly, the masses may have greater access to this form of divine revelation than Talmudic scholars. As Professor Marc Shaprio - whom I interviewed this week on the Orthodox Conundrum Podcast - notes in his new book, Renewing the Old, Sanctifying the New: The Unique Vision of Rav Kook, “There is an element of natural Jewish morality among the masses that can no longer be found among scholars, and that scholars ignore this to their own detriment.”³ Professor Shapiro then cites Rav Kook’s own words: “The natural people who are not learned have many advantages over the learned ones, as their natural intellect and inherent morality have not been corrupted by the mistakes that arise from [talmudic] learning, and through the weakening of strength and anger that comes together with the yoke of [talmudic] learning… The learned ones must always acquire for themselves, as much as possible, the natural talent of the masses, whether it be regarding an outlook on life or being aware of natural morality, and then they will be able to develop their intellect more and more.”⁴ Shapiro importantly notes that the masses Rav Kook had in mind were less learned than the average Orthodox Jew in 2025, who typically has attended yeshiva high school and often spends a year in yeshiva or seminary before going to college: “Had the masses in Rav Kook’s day had any serious learning, he could not have said what he did, because his point is precisely that learning ‘spoils’ some of the Jew’s natural morality.”⁵

This issue comes to mind because of the confluence of two parallel occurrences in the news: first, the massive callup of reservists by the IDF in preparation for the next stage of the war against Hamas; and second, the decision by the Chareidi political parties in Israel to boycott coalition votes because the government has not yet enshrined draft exemptions for yeshiva students into law.

I have argued before that if the military applies special status to unusually talented musicians, dancers, and athletes, giving them a simplified and shortened service so that they can further improve their skills, it certainly should do so for outstanding Torah scholars of draft age.⁶ That, however, is not what the UTJ and Shas parties are demanding; they want sweeping exemptions that apply to any student registered in a yeshiva. Moreover, much of the Chareidi religious leadership has gone further, arguing that no Chareidi individual should join the army regardless of whether he is studying in a yeshiva.⁷

(A sign in Ramat Beit Shemesh which I photographed last week on Yom HaZikaron)

The Chareidi concerns about the spiritual dangers of army service are not unfounded; the IDF was once an institution that actively tried to assimilate its soldiers into Israeli secular society. However, the IDF of today is quite different from the Israeli military in 1950; the huge number of religious Zionist hesder soldiers can attest to this. Moreover, the IDF has shown willingness to adapt to the needs of the Chareidi population. As reported by the Times of Israel, “The IDF has been opening new units, as well as considering building a separate induction center, for Haredi troops, to meet the army’s needs of at least 10,000 additional troops per year.” (In fact, while the IDF needs approximately 10,000 new soldiers, it can only accommodate 3000 Chareidi soldiers annually because of the IDF’s desire to accommodate their lifestyle.) Yet despite these efforts, only a tiny percentage of Chareidim who received draft notices actually enlisted in the army - and Chareidi religious and political leaders have applauded the efforts of those who discourage responding to the military call-up.⁸

All of which brings us back to the question of natural morality.

I have argued consistently - and, I hope, convincingly - that the idea that yeshiva students should be exempted en masse from military service is halachically dubious. The sources that are cited in defense of the Chareidi position are, I believe, more than unconvincing, while the sources to the contrary are compelling. (The idea that anyone Chareidi, regardless of his yeshiva status, should receive an exemption is halachically absurd.) But I want to suggest something that may sound radical but which, I think, is absolutely fundamental - and in line with what Rav Kook said about the moral wisdom of the masses.

Let’s leave aside all halachic arguments about exempting yeshiva students.

Instead, let’s step back and ask ourselves honestly:

Is there any moral justification for an entire segment of the Jewish population to ignore its responsibilities to the larger Jewish people?

Is there any moral justification for an entire segment of the Jewish population, when others are dedicating years of their lives to defending the Jewish people, to refuse to share even a small part of the burden?

Is there any moral justification for an entire segment of the Jewish population to watch passively as others sacrifice their lives to defend the Jewish people, or to even celebrate their refusal to help, when the army is forced to call up soldiers who have already been in combat for hundreds of days?

Is there any moral justification for an entire segment of the Jewish population to live in the Land of Israel as enemies of the Jewish people actively try to kill every Jewish person who lives there, and do absolutely nothing to assist in the war effort?

In my opinion, anyone who maintains a smidgen of moral sense will realize that something has gone seriously awry, that something is amiss, that a religious and political leadership that encourages such behavior either ignores its moral sense, or has lost it entirely.

Perhaps Rav Kook was right. Perhaps, as Professor Shapiro suggests, “The natural, healthy feelings of the simple, uneducated Jew are to be preferred to the feelings of the scholar that have been entirely formed by his talmudic study… [Rav Kook] was well aware of the ability of talmudic scholars to find all sorts of legalistic justifications for behavior that at the end of the day is immoral.”⁹

I wish Rav Kook were incorrect, that Chareidi leadership followed basic moral instincts, acknowledged that the IDF of today is not the IDF of yesteryear, and worked with the government and the military in order to find solutions to the IDF’s manpower shortage instead of digging in its heels and refusing to consider any solutions short of blanket exemptions.

Unfortunately, Rav Kook was right. And we rest of the Jewish people reaps the sad benefits of this outrageous moral cowardice.

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1. Some scholars disagree that this is a source of natural morality. My teacher, Professor Marvin Fox z’l, argued that the Ramban assumes that the prohibitions included in this mitzvah were included as part of the oral tradition from Sinai. However, I do not think that Professor Fox’s position is the majority opinion.

2. Ramban on Bereshit 6:13

3. Shapiro, p. 91.

4. Ibid, p. 92, citing Shemonah Kevatsim 1:463.

5. Ibid.

6. The definition of “outstanding,” of course, needs to be determined. Whether this applies to all students who genuinely study three complete sedarim every day, or to a significantly smaller group than this, is open to debate. Moreover, one could argue that this exemption should not be given to outstanding practitioners of any discipline. However, as long as it applies to artists and athletes in the Jewish state, I think that it is obvious that it should apply at least as much to Torah scholars of equivalent rank.

7. See, for example, https://aurora-israel.co.il/en/Former-Sephardic-Chief-Rabbi-Insists-Ultra-Orthodox-Should-Not-Join-Army/#google_vignette

8. Listen to my conversation with Sam Sokol on this issue here.

9. Shapiro, pp.94-95.