Soldier-Turned-Composer Brings Rav Kook’s Words to Life

In a poignant blend of heroism and spirituality, Israeli fighter and musician Pinchas Cohen has channeled his wartime experiences into sacred melody. After composing a heartfelt song in memory of his fallen yeshiva comrades from the Gaza conflict, Cohen was recently commissioned by Rabbi Dov Kook to set the profound words Rav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook zt"l to music.

This is what Pinchas wrote:

The Light of Divine Love:

"You can't record tears... or can you?"

A few months ago I entered the home of our rabbi, Rabbi Dov HaCohen Kook shlita, to ask for his blessing. During the visit he gave me stickers with the words of HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook zt"l, the kind you see stuck around Tiberias and asked me: "Can you compose this?"

I took the sticker, stuck it on the dashboard, next to the steering wheel, and drove. But the words wouldn't leave me alone. I asked myself, how can you even compose such a piece? This isn't a regular song, not a repeating chorus. This is deep text from the Eight Notebooks. And to be honest, I didn't even understand some of the words. What's the connection to "And God said"? Why specifically this?

But then I stopped. And I raised my eyes to heaven. I prayed. I said to the Master of the Universe: if the eyes cannot see, open my heart. Let the heart understand what a Jew needs to hear. What a Jew needs to remember.

Because no matter where we are in life, whether we've distanced ourselves, fallen, fought, failed and sometimes it's already hard to see the light... still, within all the darkness, there's one truth we need to remember: no one , but no one, can stop the light of love. It's eternal and everlasting. The light of divine love doesn't stop.

The Creator of the world calls to us, "My dear son, I love you! And this, no one will take from us.

When I played Rabbi Kook a first sketch of the melody, half a year ago, he cried. "The song can be recorded," he said. "The tears cannot." And then he was quiet for a moment. And then he smiled and said, "The tears can be too. They can, they can."

During the Nine Days, Tuesday evening, the 6th of Av 5785, I came to him to play the finished song with the video. The rabbi didn't stop murmuring throughout the viewing "I can't believe it, I can't believe it." Afterwards he ruled through tears, "On this song one must recite the Shehecheyanu blessing. Not only is it permitted to hear it even on the Ninth of Av, but it's a commandment to hear it specifically on the Ninth of Av itself, for this song is the building of the Temple and redemption. Whoever doesn't cry when hearing these words, whoever didn't cry, didn't hear."

Half a year ago, I uploaded a short clip from the initial performance I did for Rabbi Kook to YouTube. Then, someone wrote in the comments: "I'm secular, but this song brought back my longing for the Creator. For Father in Heaven. Where can I hear the full song?"

So my dear brother, this song is dedicated to you. And to everyone who forgot, who fell, who distanced themselves, but whose heart still knows.

Thank you to Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook for the words. Thank you to the Creator for the light. And may we all merit, to see with our eyes the Temple built, and the great light shining, as God said, "Let there be light.""

Cohen, who served on the front lines in Gaza, previously penned a tribute to his classmates Yedidya Eliyahu and Gilad Nitzan HY"D, who tragically fell in battle. Drawing from that same well of emotion and faith, he turned to Rav Kook's seminal work, *Shmona Kvatzim*, at Rabbi Dov Kook's request. The result is a stirring composition titled "The Supreme Divine Love," capturing the essence of divine affection as described in the Rav's essay.

Last night, Cohen and producer Netanel Kalif visited Rabbi Dov Kook to premiere the track. The rabbi listened intently, visibly moved, and bestowed his warm blessing on the project, moments before its anticipated public release. "This melody brings the Rav's holy words to life in a way that touches the soul," sources close to the rabbi shared.

The lyrics, drawn directly from the essay, evoke a powerful imagery of spiritual ecstasy:

"Who can stop the light of the supreme divine love that is beating in the hearts of remnants, holy Hasidim, upright of heart, like a fresh wind full of pleasantness in the skies of Eden, and with this stormy and roaring like the roar of the sea to its waves, the soul storms from the breadth of delight of the supreme pleasant splendor..."

For Cohen, this project bridges his dual worlds: the intensity of combat and the serenity of Torah. As Israel grapples with ongoing security challenges, stories like his remind us of the unbreakable bond between national defense and spiritual devotion.

CREDITS:

Words:

HaRav Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook zt"l

Composition:

Pinchas Cohen, inspired by Rabbi Dov HaCohen Kook shlita

Vocals

– Netanel Kalif, Pinchas Cohen and Moshe Avi Rosh

Arrangement, Production and Mix

– Netanel Kalif

Mastering

– Itzik Plivah

Guitars