The Russian-born Jewish scholar Abraham Isaac Kuk (1865-1935), or Kook, was the first chief rabbi of Palestine, now Israel. He was noted for his Talmudic knowledge and his extraordinary love of his people.

Born in northwestern Russia into a famous rabbinical family, Abraham Kuk received an intensive Talmudic education in his native city of Grieve. At 15 years of age, already recognized as a prodigy, he went to Lutzin, where he continued his studies not only as an intellectual pursuit but as an act of piety. He later studied in the famous academy of Volozin.

Kuk's personal outlook led him to espouse the Musar (personal piety) movement and to employ Hebrew instead of Yiddish for daily use. He saw no dichotomy between the sacred and the secular and insisted that the most menial tasks are replete with religious overtones. He continued to study after his marriage and did not...