Old Vision in a New Perspective: Marc B. Shapiro. <i>Renewing the Old, Sanctifying the New: The Unique Vision of Rav Kook.</i> Liverpool University Press, 2025

A book dealing with the philosophy of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (hereinafter "the Ra'ayah") as a whole presents a considerable challenge for the author.Certainly, the Ra'ayah's ideas are endless, and the texts written by him, published frequently, are nu merous.The experiential writing of the Ra'ayah (which I call "visionary") is open to many interpretations.Today, articles are being published summarizing the research on the Ra'ayah.Given such a statement, there is always something new to contribute in understanding specific issues and shedding light on certain texts.But a work on his phi losophy as a whole?Not only do we have a series of such works, but everyone (includ ing the writer of these lines) repeatedly lists, like a peddler, the various interpretations of the Ra'ayah's philosophy-traditional, philosophical, and Kabbalistic-and in recent years, even halachic ones.Additionally, the period prior to his aliyah (immigration to Israel) in 1904 has also been studied.Shapiro's book presents a series of ideas found in the Ra'ayah's writings in a fluent and clear language.