Political Theology in the Thought of ‘Merkaz HaRav’ Yeshiva and its Profound Influence on Israeli Politics and Society since 1967 1

Abstract The key historic figure whose ideas influenced the entire religious–Zionist movement in recent generations is Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook (1865–1935). Rabbi Kook developed a complex political theology that combines universalism and Jewish particularism. His son and successor, Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook (1891–1982), the head of Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva, was the spiritual inspiration of the Gush Emunim settlement movement. He interpreted his father’s thought in a strong particularistic and anti‐pragmatic way. Among his students in the Merkaz Harav school of thought, Rabbi Zvi Tau (1936–) is the most influential thinker. According to Rav Kook and his followers’ profound messianic political theology, the profane is only the external manifestation of the inner holy foundation of reality. There is no place for separation between state and religion. Rabbi Zvi Tau’s current thinking is a clear example of the vitality of the Merkaz Harav movement in adapting Rav Kook’s ideas in a changing political and cultural climate.