Secular Prohibition and Religious Endorsement
A few years ago I saw a cat hit by a car. It rolled over several times but escaped unhurt. Its face showed no sign of shock (1), but its body language indicated clear signs of panic and disorientation.
Thoughts to Ponder
Thoughts to Ponder is a weekly invitation to think dangerously and question passionately. Drawing on the Torah portion, classical Jewish sources, philosophy, and the crises of contemporary life, Rabbi Cardozo challenges religious complacency and spiritual comfort. These essays are written for readers who seek a Judaism that disturbs, questions, and ultimately deepens the human encounter with God and responsibility.
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The Joy of Religious Doubt – The Road to Faith is Paved with Uncertainty
We are currently living in a transitional phase of monumental proportions and far-reaching consequences. Our religious beliefs are being challenged as never before. We are forced to our knees due to extreme shifts and radical changes in scientific discoveries;
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Debating Orthodox and Reform Beliefs – Wanted: Rabbinical Courage
What Orthodox leaders must remember is that we owe much of our knowledge not to those who agreed with us, but to those who differed and therefore challenged us to sharpen our minds. “Accept the truth from whoever says it” was Maimonides’ sage advice in his introduction to his famous treatise Shemonah Perakim.
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Bravo, Chief Rabbi Mirvis! Courage, Dayan Ehrentreu!
Courage is the word that comes to mind when we think of Britain’s new Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis’ decision to come to Limmud, the largest Jewish conference in the world, which will take place in England at the end of the year. It is a sad commentary on the state of contemporary Orthodox leadership when a chief rabbi is called courageous because he accepts the invitation to teach Torah at such a remarkable Jewish event. What could be more obvious? But the truth is that courage has indeed become a rare commodity in large segments of Orthodoxy.
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The Sweetening of the Divine Word
Rabbi Azariah and Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: When, at Mount Sinai, the Israelites heard the word “Anochi” (“I” — the first word of “The Ten Words”), their souls left them, as it says [Devarim 5:22]: “If we hear the voice of God any more, we will die.”
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Yom Kippur
Are we Worthy
In The Jewish Year and Yom Kippur
This awesome thought is the focal point of Yom Kippur. Am I worthy to have a claim on life? Or, have I been born but lost my right to live? This is by far the most important question for man to ask. The trembling of the earlier generations on Erev Yom Kippur was indeed that of great pachad (fear) – not fear of punishment or death, but of not rising to the challenge of living in God’s presence and fulfilling one’s destiny!
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The Joy of Saying: I am Sorry
One of the most remarkable features of the Portuguese Spanish Selichot (1), besides the text, is the choice of melodies. The tunes are not like those of the Edot HaMizrach, the Eastern Sefardi communities.
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Rosh Hashana and the Missing King
Once upon a time, in a large, gloomy palace high on a mountain, where the night wind howled outside its massive walls, there lived a king—a real one. He had a beard as long as a silver waterfall and a voice that boomed like thunder. A king needs no more.
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Rosh Hashanah, Nicolaes Maes and the Uproar in Our Souls
The Holy One blessed be He has many ways to create an uproar in our souls. He can show us a moment in the life of a person who seems to live a simple life, with such tranquility and profundity that we are immediately transformed.
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God Does Not Exist – The New Thirteen Principles of Faith – Principle Two
The truly great need no synthesis. They absorb whatever experience offers them. Their intensely creative personalities act like a fiery furnace, melting away contradictions.
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The Rebellion of Chief Rabbi Sacks
Let it be said. Jonathan Sacks has been a rebellious chief rabbi. Now that he is stepping down, we had better keep an eye on him and hope he will become even more of an insurgent.
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The Challenge and Opportunities at Limmud – Reflections from Australia
Judaism is the most astonishing and daring religion the world has been blessed with. It defies definition, standing head and shoulders above anything else I know. It is not just a faith, a sentiment, or a ritual;