Answer

I do not know how Rabbi HaNazir and Rabbi Kook understood divinity. I am also not familiar with Rabbi Kalner’s work.
I am currently working on a book of contemporary theology (two or three volumes).
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Questioner:
Does the Rabbi’s new book base its conception of God on a particular doctrine of some specific sage, like the Maharal or Rabbi Yehuda Halevi??
And in general, in the Rabbi’s books I have not found (not that this is strong proof, but still…) a definition, or an attempt to define God according to the Torah, and an attempt to ground this in sources from the revealed or hidden teachings of the Torah.
It is clear to me that the Rabbi has dealt with this issue a great deal and in depth, so it is hard for me to understand how the Rabbi does not address the views of Rabbi Kook and his student Rabbi HaNazir on the concept of God.
In Rabbi Kook’s view, he is not innovating the conception of the Holy One, blessed be He, but rather uncovering it from the inner Torah of the Jewish people, and therefore I think his doctrine requires a response from the rabbis of the generation, especially since I know the Rabbi teaches Rabbi HaNazir’s main book dealing with these matters, The Voice of Prophecy…
And in general, how is it possible to deal with the question of God’s existence without a precise definition of the concept? And if we are already asking what God is, why not turn, in search of the answer, to our own sources and try to draw the definition from them?
The beauty that emerges from Rabbi Kook’s attempt to define God is that afterward there is no need for logical philosophizing and arguments, because everything becomes clear and self-evident. This is what the author of the Kuzari calls, “A proof that needs neither proof nor demonstration along with it.”
That is, the method is simply to redefine concepts (new-old), and in this way to ground faith in the God of Israel. It is important for me to know what the Rabbi thinks about everything I wrote, because this is an issue I have been occupied with and interested in for quite some time. And as much as I learn from the Rabbi in many areas having to do with faith, I do not find any specific treatment of this basic issue (which is a root for many current questions that the Rabbi also deals with extensively), and I regret that, because I am sure the Rabbi has a great deal to say about it and to contribute from his broad knowledge, both Torah knowledge and general knowledge, on this matter.
Thank you very much in advance, and have a good week!!!
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Rabbi:
In general, I do not engage with books of Jewish thought of various kinds, and certainly do not rely on them. Among other reasons, because of what you wrote here: there are no definitions there, and the analysis is very unsystematic and vague. In addition, I do not see them as an authoritative source (as opposed to Jewish law), and therefore they do not add much in the various discussions.
I really do not think that dealing with philosophical issues has to refer to one source or another. Just as Rabbi Kook or the Maharal wrote what they thought (although they supposedly rely on sources from the Sages, I do not buy that. The sources are only illustration), so I too, the insignificant one, write what I think. And the reader can choose.
As a rule, in my view there is no such thing as Jewish philosophy. There is correct philosophy and incorrect philosophy, and it really does not matter from whose womb the pearls emerge, Jew or gentile.
I explain all this very clearly in the above-mentioned book. Among other things, my goal there is to clarify these methodological assumptions.