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.
Thank God, Gilad Shalit is finally home. He has transformed Israel into a different country: more holy and united, but also more pained. Pained for those who lost their loved ones in many wars and terrorist attacks and whose murderers have now been freed in a deal to return Gilad to his parents. For more […]
God 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 in complete tranquility, sometimes using the most unusual people to convey an important message. In the famous Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam there is a portrait by Rembrandt’s most celebrated […]
We are living in an age of flaunting irreverence. Debunking has become the norm and at every turn we experience a need to expose the clay feet of even the greatest. Human dignity, a phrase often mentioned, has become a farce in real life. Instead of deliberately looking for opportunities to love our fellow men […]
“I have a Dream” Wanted: Rabbis with Knives between Their Teeth Things are going well in Israel. Mass demonstrations for social justice, housing, proper hospitalization, and adequate wages for physicians, teachers and the underprivileged are finally underway. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have gone to the streets to convince the government that things need to […]
Rabbi Aha said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: When at Mt. Sinai the Israelites heard the word “I” (the first word of “I am the Lord your God” in the “Ten Words”), their souls left them, as it says, “If we hear the Voice….any longer, we shall die,”(Devarim 5:22), and it is also written, […]
In Contemporary Issues and Education
Young people are developing a fresh approach to what Judaism is really all about. They are keenly aware that one cannot inherit Judaism but only discover it on one’s own.
I stand at the Kotel, the Wailing Wall. Seeing her frozen tears and eternal smile, Her clouds passing with mournful sighs Her pitiful laughter at those who wanted to destroy her But did not succeed. � I read holy books, And hundreds of thousands of names,� Those from Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Spain, Hungary, �America […]
In Liturgy & Ritual and Theodicy
A letter of protest to God in the wake of the murder of a family in Itamar and the Tsunami in Japan
Response to Questions from Readers
In Theodicy
While other religious traditions may believe that questioning God is unacceptable, Judaism encourages them and Tanach is replete with such questions. Complaints of heresy are often rooted in the fact that we believe that God owes us a human answer.
It takes an instant to trust an idol but ages to attach to God. It requires effort, stirring, and preparation. It means growing in prayer, in selfless deeds, and in the realization of the mystery of all existence. Faith means striving for faith. It is never an arrival. It is a constant journey and can only burst forth at single moments. In no way can it be commanded.
In The Jewish Year and Purim
From a subjective point of view it seems that the existence and behavior of a single human being is of little importance. Except for those leaders, thinkers and scientists who really make a contribution towards the advancement or devastation of mankind, the vast majority of people, numbering in the billions, do not seem to make any difference in terms of the future and well-being of our society. If not for the fact of their numbers, they would have remained unnoticed and the world would not have missed them had they not been born.
In Circumcision
In previous generations, parents arranged marriages for their sons and daughters, convinced that the spouses they chose for their children would be ideal life partners for them. In a similar way, Jewish parents throughout the generations bring their newborn sons into a covenant with the God of Israel, eternally uniting them with their most ideal Partner. Brit milais the act by which a Jewish child and God become engaged.