My friend writes:
“1) Birkei Yosef 243:3 – It is forbidden to learn Torah or listen to psakim of any Talmid Chacham that causes a Chilul Hashem.
“2) Responsa Bais Shlomo YD II:101 – Any rabbi who misleads the public into sinning is forbidden to be a rabbi, and if he is a rabbi must be removed.
“3) Chasam Sofer CM 163 – Any Min (i.e. Apikores), it is forbidden to hear any Torah from him.
“4) The Gemora (Shabbos 116a) says that a Sefer Torah that is written by a Min must be burnt, even if the Sefer Torah is 100% proper with nothing changed in it. The reason, says the Rambam, is because we do not want and remnants of the acts of Apikorsim.
“So since the Satmar Rav held that Rav Kook was an Apikores, and certainly that he mislead the masses with his Zionist teachings, he is in the category of all of the above.”
I just wanted to ask mechila from Rav Kook ZTL for not being mocheh earlier.
These points are so far off the mark.
#1, Rav Kook never caused a chilul hashem, but lived a life of kiddush hashem and bringing back people to Torah. Just remember the beautiful Mercaz boys who were murdered, who were his products. Each was a big masmid and baal midos.
#2, Rav Kook never mislead the public into sinning. In certain of his piskei halacha, he was more machmir than the norm. See a story in Guardian of Jerusalem how he paskened the Rabbanim must daven at home, rather than go to a shul which had the bima in front, on their tour.
#3, Irrelevant, as he was a bigger maamin than any of us here.
#4, Ditto.