Rav Kook in English, II
The idea of Savlanut is, for most, confused. Many think that is not a good idea to be strong in one's opinion and in one's inclination, because when place is also made for every opinion and inclination, there will also be place for the opposite of one's opinion and inclination. That is a good thing and it is true, but it should be questioned, together with that, when will Savlanut give good fruit to the nation? Exactly when the awareness is coming forth also about the opposite inclinations, to reach a complete recognition. While there are good parts and beneficial inclinations that are close to my heart, there are also beneficial inclinations in the ways of people that differ from my thoughts, according to the correct view that "there is no thing that has no place."
However, that explanation cannot, in a good way, lessen the force of the clarification and the energy of the striving to the essential goal that gets clear to a man as added repair and building of the nation. Therefore, we need to become wise and all of the opposition needs to be above diminishment and destruction, though not above building and increasing power. Then, when man rises above that, understanding that in every general movement, also if it's far away from his way, there is a side that obligates him, he will recognize that even the movements that are negative and bring destruction exist also for the benefit of building and the positive, and from here, he will also recognize their reports, and will understand to interpret them to a thing of repair and for building.
For instance, the heretical negativity is a disease that is quite bad and quite dangerous in general and in particular for itself. If we study its natural purpose, why does this exist in part of mankind, and hence also in part of the Jewish nation, then we recognize all the positive portrayals, the truth that is in it, because also the imagination plays its role, and mixes in natural ideas, the more so after many generations of slow theoretical work in the field of opinions, their higher and fresher ideas, though covered by childish presentation, and presented in their hearts in a wild fashion. Hence, who are they that bring to mankind in general, and to our nation in particular, to become strong adults, to purify the spiritual ideas to stand them up on their purity? Only those that carry the negativity, this despite the fact that they do not have the characteristic of positive opinions, though that has dissolved itself because it caused them to miss certain things, the same imaginative shadows that came together in the positive men. That is why they do cause pain to the positive men with their mockery and their complaints. But in the process awakens the will to know for himself, to be able to answer, also to others, sharpening of things, of internal ideas. And through that inclination, an object of burning shame, things will become clear, and the ideas will become white, and the imaginative clouds will be punctured by the light of the truth, and those who carry negativity will find, after that, ideas that are positive and pure, which the great force of truth will force them to surrender to them.
That is the summary of the notion of Savlanut which comes in the general fold of knowledge of Hashem, and complete faith in spiritual knowledge because "Hashem made everything for a purpose," therefore a man should not become too angry also when he sees foxes coming out of the holiest of holy of the house, and his heart will not be afraid from the sound of commotion of the crowd of Rome which rises in a roar, because he will be wise and will recognize and he will extract from everything what is its desired benefit. Immediately, everyone loves him, and gave him something. Even the angel of death gave him something, as it is written: "therefore do maidens love you," do not read "maidens" (עלמות) but "into my death" (על מותי). He, too, who loses more, and the terminator also gives benefit to who is wise in its value and its report, and who makes it proper for himself and for others to use the things that one sees more as dangerous, to make wise, to bring good, to the success of the individual and of the whole people.
Regarding the Bikoret, which in our days got published a lot, also the subjects that are higher and more essential, who want to be among those who give an answer, need to look, in a proper way, to find a cure to the spiritual diseases that came to the world, because of claims that are built anyway on superficial and incomplete understanding, one rule is essential, and that is that between the claims that are made against our holy Torah, whether it is the written Torah or the oral Torah, there are things such that the reason of the claims is based on shaky understanding of subjects of the Torah, and there are those that the reasons are a shaky understanding of the concept, or the reality, from which they come to contradict and to destroy. And who gives an answer needs to be very careful in serious consideration to look for the source of the claims, whether it is an understanding of the spiritual, intellectual, ethical, or physical reality, or whether it is based on a confused understanding in Torah. And whether the wrong understanding is only limited to those that make the claim, or whether it is understanding that is published to many, also to others. It is in any case confused, but in two ways, see, this the upper half of the story.
(The Hebrew text is the second part of Chapter 26 and the first part of Chapter 27)
However, that explanation cannot, in a good way, lessen the force of the clarification and the energy of the striving to the essential goal that gets clear to a man as added repair and building of the nation. Therefore, we need to become wise and all of the opposition needs to be above diminishment and destruction, though not above building and increasing power. Then, when man rises above that, understanding that in every general movement, also if it's far away from his way, there is a side that obligates him, he will recognize that even the movements that are negative and bring destruction exist also for the benefit of building and the positive, and from here, he will also recognize their reports, and will understand to interpret them to a thing of repair and for building.
For instance, the heretical negativity is a disease that is quite bad and quite dangerous in general and in particular for itself. If we study its natural purpose, why does this exist in part of mankind, and hence also in part of the Jewish nation, then we recognize all the positive portrayals, the truth that is in it, because also the imagination plays its role, and mixes in natural ideas, the more so after many generations of slow theoretical work in the field of opinions, their higher and fresher ideas, though covered by childish presentation, and presented in their hearts in a wild fashion. Hence, who are they that bring to mankind in general, and to our nation in particular, to become strong adults, to purify the spiritual ideas to stand them up on their purity? Only those that carry the negativity, this despite the fact that they do not have the characteristic of positive opinions, though that has dissolved itself because it caused them to miss certain things, the same imaginative shadows that came together in the positive men. That is why they do cause pain to the positive men with their mockery and their complaints. But in the process awakens the will to know for himself, to be able to answer, also to others, sharpening of things, of internal ideas. And through that inclination, an object of burning shame, things will become clear, and the ideas will become white, and the imaginative clouds will be punctured by the light of the truth, and those who carry negativity will find, after that, ideas that are positive and pure, which the great force of truth will force them to surrender to them.
That is the summary of the notion of Savlanut which comes in the general fold of knowledge of Hashem, and complete faith in spiritual knowledge because "Hashem made everything for a purpose," therefore a man should not become too angry also when he sees foxes coming out of the holiest of holy of the house, and his heart will not be afraid from the sound of commotion of the crowd of Rome which rises in a roar, because he will be wise and will recognize and he will extract from everything what is its desired benefit. Immediately, everyone loves him, and gave him something. Even the angel of death gave him something, as it is written: "therefore do maidens love you," do not read "maidens" (עלמות) but "into my death" (על מותי). He, too, who loses more, and the terminator also gives benefit to who is wise in its value and its report, and who makes it proper for himself and for others to use the things that one sees more as dangerous, to make wise, to bring good, to the success of the individual and of the whole people.
Regarding the Bikoret, which in our days got published a lot, also the subjects that are higher and more essential, who want to be among those who give an answer, need to look, in a proper way, to find a cure to the spiritual diseases that came to the world, because of claims that are built anyway on superficial and incomplete understanding, one rule is essential, and that is that between the claims that are made against our holy Torah, whether it is the written Torah or the oral Torah, there are things such that the reason of the claims is based on shaky understanding of subjects of the Torah, and there are those that the reasons are a shaky understanding of the concept, or the reality, from which they come to contradict and to destroy. And who gives an answer needs to be very careful in serious consideration to look for the source of the claims, whether it is an understanding of the spiritual, intellectual, ethical, or physical reality, or whether it is based on a confused understanding in Torah. And whether the wrong understanding is only limited to those that make the claim, or whether it is understanding that is published to many, also to others. It is in any case confused, but in two ways, see, this the upper half of the story.
(The Hebrew text is the second part of Chapter 26 and the first part of Chapter 27)