Rabbi Kook house, Religious residence museum in central Jerusalem, Israel
The Rabbi Kook House is a religious residence museum in central Jerusalem showing the rooms where this influential Jewish scholar lived and worked. The exhibition displays his original furniture, personal belongings, study room, and parts of his extensive library.
Rabbi Kook moved into the house in 1923 and became the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. His time there from the 1920s to 1935 shaped the religious thinking of an entire generation.
The house shows how Rabbi Kook connected religious scholarship with contemporary ideas, bridging traditional Judaism and modern life. Visitors find documents and objects that reflect his thinking and continue to shape Jewish discussions today.
The museum is reachable on foot through the narrow streets of the old city but easy to miss, so some advance planning helps. Guided tours help visitors understand the rooms and their meaning better, especially if unfamiliar with the house's background.
The house holds a remarkable collection of handwritten manuscripts and unpublished religious texts that the Rabbi gathered during his lifetime. Scholars worldwide still use these rare documents to better understand his thoughts and writings.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
