On erev Shabbos, the 20th of Teves, a large throng
headed by gedolei haTorah, admorim, rabbonim and
morei horo'oh accompanied the righteous Rebbetzin
Sorah Kook, on her last earthly journey. She was the wife of
ylct'a HaRav Avrohom Yitzchok Hacohen Kook, rosh
yeshiva of Yeshivas Meor Hatalmud of Rechovot. They were
joined by thousands of Rechovot's residents as well as by
students and graduates of the Meor Hatalmud yeshiva, many of
whom arrived from all over the country, and students and
graduates of the Beer Yaakov Seminary and the Wolf Seminary
of Bnei Brak.
Rebbetzin Sorah Kook o'h was born 55 years ago in Tel
Aviv. Her father, HaRav Y. Rosenthal, was the av beis
din of the city. He was one of the prominent students of
R' Zerach Braverman of Yerushalayim and later became a
student of HaRav S. A. Milikovsky, av beis din of
Charkov and Tel Aviv. She grew up in this home, which was
saturated with Torah and chessed, and outstanding in
its modest and frugal lifestyle.
Regarding her father, Maran HaRav Eliezer Menachem Shach
shlita once said, "He is a Jew from a past
generation."
As a young girl, Rebbetzin Kook studied in Gateshead, where
she acquired Torah and yiras Shomayim from the heads
and rabbonim of the Seminary, especially from HaRav Avrohom
Dov Cohen zt'l and ylct'a HaRav Mordechai
Miller. These teachings shaped her way of life and served as
the cornerstone of her character. She would spend vacations
at the home of HaRav Moshe Soloveitchik of Switzerland, and
would always refer to the tremendous impact these experiences
had on her life.
Upon her marriage, she devoted herself to chinuch and
served as a prominent teacher in the Rav Ze'ev Wolf Bais
Yaakov Seminary of Bnei Brak and the Bais Yaakov Seminary in
Beer Yaakov.
She raised many of her students in her own home and then
helped them marry, giving them the feeling that they were her
own daughters. Her family relates that she once purchased
items for both her daughter and for a kallah from the
Seminary. When she returned home, she asked the kallah
to come and take the items. When the girl came she burst into
tears, and said that she felt just like her daughter, because
the Rebbetzin had purchased precisely the same items for both
of them. After her students married, she continued to advise
them in the chinuch of their children, helping them
find yeshivos for them, and then marrying them off, and
securing money.
With the founding of the Meor Hatalmud yeshiva in Rechovot,
she dedicated herself to the needs of the yeshiva students
and her illustrious husband, helping him study Torah and
produce generations of bnei Torah, talmidei chachomim,
rabbonim and dayanim. In her merit, the yeshiva
developed and became one of the finest in the Torah world.
She excelled in her dedication to the mitzva of kibbud av
vo'eim, and attended to all of the needs of her parents,
placing them before her own. Immediately after her mother's
petirah, she fell ill and never recovered. She
bequeathed all of her unique character traits to her children
-- her only son, HaRav Shmuel, and her daughters, all of whom
are pursuing the true Torah path.
Two months ago, she was hospitalized in the Kaplan Medical
Center. When she was hospitalized, her husband asked her a
number of times whether he should remain in the hospital. But
she told him to return to the yeshiva, saying that not only
would it not help if he remained in the hospital, but it
would cause her to feel worse. Throughout the duration of
her illness, bnei yeshiva all over the country as well
as the entire chareidi community prayed for her recovery. On
Thursday night, the 20th of Teves, she returned her pure soul
to its Maker, while surrounded by her family, who bemoaned
the great loss.
