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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.

  • Parashat Ki Tisa -The Wonder of and Need for Authentic Halacha

    In Parashat HaShavua

    …This feeling of wonderment is the source and inexhaustible fountain-head of his desire for knowledge. It drives the child irresistibly on to solve the mystery, and if in his attempt he encounters a causal relationship, he will not tire of repeating the same experiment ten times, a hundred times, in order to taste the thrill of discovery over and over again….The reason why the adult no longer wonders is not because he has solved the riddle of life, but because he has grown accustomed to the laws governing his world picture. But the problem of why these particular laws and no others hold remains for him just as amazing and inexplicable as for the child. He who does not comprehend this situation misconstrues its profound significance, and he who has reached the stage where he no longer wonders about anything, merely demonstrates that he has lost the art of reflective reasoning.

     

    [Max Planck, Scientific Autobiography, NY, 1949, pp 91-93]

     

    In this week's parasha we find a fascinating passage concerning Moshe's descent from Sinai. We are informed that Moshe decided to cover his face with a mask after realizing that his facial skin had become radiant causing people to withdraw and not dare approach him (Shemot 34: 29-35).

     

  • Tetzaveh – The Trivialities of the Tabernacle

    In Parashat HaShavua and Parashat Tetzaveh

    Judaism is the theology of the physical, the commonplace and the mundane. It is concerned with the everydayness of our lives and struggles, with the devastating effect brought on by the curse of the multitude of trivialities that often keep us busy from morning till night. It struggles with the emptiness of our lives when we do not even have the time to focus on the higher meaning of our existence. Man's paradox is that he is too much at home in this world yet needs to escape his worldliness in order to be consciously part of the universe.

  • The Idolatry of Theodicy

    In Theodicy

    By making God good by our standards, we are essentially making God into an idol, one who fits our standards and fulfills our needs. That is surely not the Jewish God.

  • On Dolls and Other Toys

    One of the most unique talents that human beings are blessed with is the faculty of imagination. Unlike any other creature, the human has nearly unlimited potential for constructive fantasy.

     

    In fact, our civilization is built on imagination. Without this capacity, no progress could ever be made, whether in science, literature, philosophy, art, music or commerce. Our world would not be able to sustain itself and develop properly if human beings did not continuously explore new and uncharted paths. It is for this reason that every generation must make sure that its youngsters are provided with enough opportunities to develop a healthy imagination.

  • The Mystery of Israel – A Reminder

    In Israel & Zionism

    Throughout the centuries, historians, philosophers and anthropologists have struggled with the notion called Israel more than with nearly any other topic. While attempting to place Israel within the confines of conventional history, they experienced constant academic and philosophical frustration. Any definitions they suggested eventually broke down due to serious inconsistencies. Was Israel a nation, a religion or an altogether mysterious entity which would forever remain unexplainable? By some it was seen less as a nation and more as a religion; others believed the reverse to be true. And there were those who claimed that it could not fit into either of these categories.

  • Freud and Belief in God

    Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), the father of psychoanalysis and a figure as important as Galileo and Einstein, devoted a great deal of attention to religion. His works, such as Totem and Taboo (1913), The Future of an Illusion (1927) and Moses and Monotheism (1939), reveal his unusual interest in religion, specifically in the psychology behind religious belief.

  • Word Painting, US Customs, and God’s Wonders

    Reflections on a recent trip to America

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy

    Some reflections on a recent trip to America: the good, the bad, and the sublime.

  • Human Autonomy and Divine Commandment – Part 2

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy

    In Part 1 we discussed the issue of human autonomy versus divine commandment. Which is of higher religious value: serving God in a spontaneous outpouring of religious devotion, or obeying the divine imperative? We concluded that it is the divine imperative that makes an ordinary act into a religious one. In the words of Professor Yeshayahu Leibowitz: "Faith is expressed in the act which man does due to his awareness of his obligation to do it and not because of an internal urge".

  • Human Autonomy and Divine Commandment – Part 1

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat HaShavua

    One of the most discussed issues in today's world of religious thought is the question of human autonomy versus man's obligation to carry out God's command. Which is the higher religious value: to serve God in a spontaneous outpouring of religious devotion (autonomy), or to obey the divine imperative (obedience)?

  • Contemplations About a Cat

    Secularism's Prohibitions; Religion's Permissions

    Recently 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. It ran to the side of the road, turned over several times more as if in total confusion, and then calmed down. I waited a few seconds wondering what I could do to help, but a moment later the cat went on its way and then disappeared.

  • Kreplach & Bisli: Revelation of Language

    "Words, in their primary or immediate signification, stand for nothing but the ideas in the mind of him that uses them."   
    (John Locke. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. 1690, 3.2.2)

    Language is the most revealing aspect of the inner thoughts and attitudes of man. Freud made us aware of this when he discussed the "slip of the tongue" phenomenon. It is through language that man reveals his inner life. His subconscious overflows and before he knows it he has already exposed his inner self.

  • Sukkot and the Paradox of Life – Judaism’s Realistic Joy

    In The Jewish Year and Sukkot

    When contemplating the festival of Sukkot, we are confronted with a remarkable paradox. As is well known, the sukka symbolizes our life-span in the world. For what is a Sukka? It is a frail structure in which we need to dwell for seven days. Many commentators remind us that these seven days represent Man's average life-span, which is about seventy years. This was well stated by King David when he wrote: "The span of his years are seventy and with strength eighty years" (Tehillim 90:10). Indeed under favorable circumstances, we may prolong our stay in this world into our eighth day which is symbolized by Shemini Chag Atzeret (a separate festival immediately following the seven days of Sukkot).