Date and Place: 29 Kislev 5670 (1909), Yafo
Recipient: Rav Shalom Eisenbach, a rabbi who was critical of Rav Kook, as the story implies.
Body: I will tell you a story I heard. In the days of the brilliant Rav Leib of Kovna, of blessed memory, the dignitaries of Kovna wanted the brilliant, pious Rav Yisrael Salanter to settle in Kovna. When they asked Rav Leib [whether he agrees with this idea], he told them the following.
If he wants a formal rabbinical position, fine. However, if he wants to live as a private person, I am not happy about it. When they asked him why, he said: Even the most brilliant man and the most lofty righteous person will not be able to understand the mindset of one who shoulders the yoke of ruling for the masses and the anguish he goes through. Thus, he cannot give the rabbi the benefit of the doubt about his decisions. (Ed. note – it seems clear that Rav Eisenbach had complaints about something Rav Kook had ruled, and Rav Kook was intimating, that he was not in a position to understand Rav Kook’s decisions.)
