Rav Shlomo Zevin, editor [and author for he rewrote every entry] of the Talmudic encyclopedia, relates [אישים ושיטות page 216] an uplifting episode from his life. It was a Shabbos in the summer of 1934 and he was a new immigrant to the Holy Land from the horrible exile of Russia. He was attending the shaleshudes of Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook. It was the experience of a lifetime. All types of Jews were around his table, from the most modern and progressive to the most conservative [small c] and traditional, great Torah scholars and common folk. רעווא דרעווין - the time of week when the highest level of Divine will is present. A time of כיסופין עילאין - elevated desires and תשוקה גדולה - a great yearning for a connection with the Divine. [This was the first and last shaleshudes drasha that Rav Zevin heard from Rav Kook].
The Rav was giving a drasha about war and peace. War is only a temporary measure - חיי שעה, while peace is חיי עולם - an eternal reality. In an ideal world, we don't have war. [Our tefilla is that Tzahal should be rendered defunct and unnecessary... In the meantime, though, we also daven that Hashem should guard our chayalim]. The same applies to our war with our evil inclination and all "wars" revolving morality. In an ideal world everything is pure and holy and there is no need to fight battles. The Rav was expertly and brilliantly weaving together sources from the Zohar and other Kabbala sfarim, gemaros and medrashim. He was revealing secrets of wisdom from a world beyond. [Rav Y. Hadari of Yeshivat Hakotel has been working on the adapatation of these talks into Hebrew (they were said in Yiddish) and recently published a volume which can be purchased].
Suddenly, he almost interruped his train of thought, and says "based on this we can understand why the gemara [Yoma 72b] says and the Rambam [כלי מקדש פ"ד] also rules that the job of כהן משוח מלחמה - the kohen who leads the Jews out to war, was not an inherited position. Since by definition war is only חיי שעה , a distinctly temporary, transient and passing phenomenon, the job relating to war is not one that is passed down through the generations.
Brilliant.
Then he continues and resolves a contradiction raised by many of the commentaries. The gemara at the end of Taanis says that the daughter of a king borrows [a dress for the dance at the vineyard] from the daughter of the kohen gadol, the daughter of the kohen gadol borrows from the daughter of the deputy kohen gadol, the daughter of the deputy borrows from the daughter of the כהן משוח מלחמה. This implies that the deputy kohen gadol is greater than the משוח מלחמה [for we are going in descending order of importance]. However, the gemara at the end of Horiyos says that the כהן משוח מלחמה is greater than the deputy?
But now we understand very clearly: The gemara in Taanis is referring to their offspring. Since the job is משוח מלחמה is not inherited, the daughter of the משוח מלחמה doesn't have such an elevated status and is "demoted" to a position beneath the daughter of the deputy. While the gemara in Horiyos that says that the משוח מלחמה is greater is talking about the משוח מלחמה himself.
Scintillating.
This was a classic case of merging and melding together sources from the world of aggada/ kabbala/ nevuah together with sources from the world of halacha. Halacha deals with the concrete, physical world while aggada/kabbala/nevuah relate to worlds beyond the present reality which we experience. Since the source for both is the One and only Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Rav Kook felt that these worlds were inherently interconnected and the distinctions between them should be blurred.
The Rav was well aware of the rule that לא בשמים היא which would exclude nevuah from having a voice in deciding Torah she-bial peh, however, like every rule there are exceptions to this rule and there are times when nevuah is needed in the world of halacha.
That is why 3 prophets came up with the Jews from galus Bavel [Zevachim 62], because in addition to the scholars of the revealed law, we also needed prophets to help determine halacha in certain instances.
That also explains the puzzling fact that the נביאים were part of the chain of transmission of Torah recorded in the begining of Pirkei Avos [וזקנים לנביאים]. If Torah is completely not in the heavenly realms, why do neviim need to get involved?? [See the Abarbanel and the sefer Gvuras Yitzchak on Pirkei Avos]. The answer is that we need nevuah as well as part of the transmission of the halachos of the oral law.
That also explains why the discussions in the Talmud Bavli are lengthy and involved while in the Talmud Yerushalmi, they are much more straight and to the point. In Eretz Yisrael, the cradle of the Talmud Yerushalmi, there was no need for complex pilpulim since there was a spirit of prophecy which clarified difficult issues. אוירא דארץ מחכים - The air of Israel made one wiser! Thus, the discussions were clear and consice. In Bavel [called by the gemara (bavli !) a place of darkness במחשכים הושיבני זו תלמוד בבלי] which was not a place of nevuah, clarity was lacking, the air was filled with spiritual smog and thus many more intellectual gymnastics were required to resolve difficulties.
[The Rav discusses this at great length in a letter published in his Igros Ri-iyah [ק"ג] and I encourage you to look there. In addition, R' Yuval Cherlow wrote a whole book about it which I read many years back and remember enjoying immensely].
As an interesting aside, many years ago a reform rabbi from South Orange, New Jersey, named Herbert Weiner wrote a book called Nine And A Half Mystics, which records interviews he conducted with various spiritual guides, among them the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He asked the Rebbe what he thought of the teachings of Rav Kook [my eyes and ears got big - couldn't wait to hear what he had to say...]. He replied that he felt that Rav Kook mixed and merged the worlds of halacha and aggada too much. [I don't remember what else he said]. I sat there in complete shock, for there is nobody like the Lubavitcher Rebbe who mixes and melds between the world of halacha, kabbala and aggada. I say that to his great credit as that is what makes his Torah so profound and eye opening. So I didn't understand the critique. וצריך עיון. [Maybe Weiner misunderstood him??]
I would appreciate the input of anyone who could add insights and sources to this and all of our other discussions להגדיל תורה ולהאדירה.
Thank you:-).
