Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) – the first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel – was a mystic and a philosopher, a preeminent Talmudic scholar and a Lurian Cabbalist, an original thinker and a saintly tzaddik. Due to his poetic style and abstract thought, his writings are often difficult to understand, even for those fluent in Hebrew and well-versed in traditional Jewish sources. For the English-speaking audience in particular, his books are hidden treasures whose light has not been fully revealed. I have not attempted to translate his works. Such an undertaking is beyond my capabilities. I am doubtful if it is even possible to lucidly transmit his ideas when constrained to a literal translation. Instead, I have tried to take an idea and present it in a clear, straightforward fashion. Of course, I run the risk of over-simplifying and even misinterpreting the author's true intent. Still, this is a sincere effort that I believe to be faithful to the spirit of the Rav's thought. "Our master [Rav Kook] does not deal with the exegesis or the uncovering of hidden meanings in verses. He rarely takes them out of their simple peshat meaning. Nonetheless, they are revealed to the reader as tremendous novelties. The innovation here is not in the elucidation of the verse per se, but in the light that he pours over them." Rabbi Hillel Zeitlin, Sifran shel Yechidim, p. 237 Rav Kook did not write a commentary on the Torah as such. I have collected ideas from his writings – primarily from his commentaries on Talmudic Midrashim (Ein Ayah) and the prayer book (Olat Re'iyah) – and organized them according to the weekly Torah readings and holidays. Chanan Morrison, Mitzpeh Yericho