Often startling in its condemnation of Western civilization's moral decay, Rabbi Kook's writings on war reveal a little-known side of his giant Torah personality. Written during the height of World War I, his essays read like prophecies heralding the rebirth of the Jewish nation in Israel, a miracle which began to unfold in the aftermath of the war.

To balance Rabbi Kook's essays on war, the book's commentators have compiled a selections of Rabbi Kook's writings on peace. True shalom, he explains, can only be achieved when the nation of Israel is united and guided by Talmidei Chachamim and by the light of the Torah.