A Revolution of Creation that is a Synthesis of All Culture

In his essay "A Quadruple Song" (שיר מרובע), Rav Kook distinguishes four types of song, which are actually four levels of consciousness and being: The Song of the Soul, The Song of the Nation, The Song of Man, and The Song of the World.

The Song of the Soul: This is the personal, existential song of the individual soul. This is the simple, individual song.

The Song of the Nation: This is a "double" song, which goes beyond the individual soul and expands to sing the song of the nationalism.

The Song of Man: This is a "triple" song, which transcends the boundaries of the nation and spreads to sing the song of the general, universal man.

The Song of the World: This is the "quadruple" song, the broadest of all, which sings the song of all existence, the song of the universe.

The problem, explains Rav Kook, begins when each song becomes a separate ideology, and the songs begin to quarrel and clash with each other. Individualism clashes with nationalism; nationalism quarrels with universalism; and universalism clashes with the cosmic perception of all existence.

The Song of Songs – The Song of Unity

Therefore, says Rav Kook, another song is required. A fifth song. A song that has no private content of its own, but whose role is to unite and include all the other songs.

This is the Song of Songs. The song in which the voices of all the songs are included together in harmony. This is a holy song, a song of God, the song of Israel.

Perhaps this is the answer to the political solution, and this is the answer to the question of what modern Israeli creation should be.

It must sing the Song of Songs – to unite, to include, to give place to the Song of the Soul, the Song of the Nation, the Song of Man, and the Song of the World. It must be a synthesis of all human culture.

From the words of Rav Kook:

"There is one who sings the song of his soul, and in his soul he finds everything... And there is one who sings the song of the nation, he leaves the circle of his private soul... and clings with gentle love to the totality of the Congregation of Israel... And there is one whose soul expands further until he goes out and spreads beyond the border of Israel, to sing the song of man... And from this source of life he draws the totality of his thoughts and researches... And there is one who rises even higher than this in breadth, until he unites with the entire universe, with all creatures, and with all worlds, and with them all he sings a song... And there is one who rises with all these songs together in one bundle, and they all give their voices... the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of exultation and the voice of song... The song of the soul, the song of the nation, the song of man, the song of the world, all together merge within him at all times and at every hour. And this wholeness in its fullness rises to be a holy song, a song of God, a song of Israel... A simple song, a double song, a triple song, a quadruple song. The Song of Songs which is Solomon's, to the King whose peace is His."

(Rav Kook, Orot HaKodesh, essay "Shir Meruba")