Beginning Again
God is the ultimate paradox. Every truth about Him has its counterpart which contradicts it. Every philosophy about Him carries within it its own contradiction.
Parashat Bereshit
Genesis 1:1-6:8
Parashat Bereishit (Genesis 1:1–6:8) begins with the mystery of creation and the emergence of order from chaos, presenting a world charged with Divine presence and possibility. It introduces humanity as both powerful and vulnerable, capable of creativity and destruction, and already marked by tension between obedience and freedom. The stories of Adam and Eve and of Cain and Abel reveal that moral struggle and relational conflict are woven into the very fabric of human existence.
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Parashat Bereshit: The First Divine Commandment is to Enjoy the World
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Bereshit by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
It is often thought that God’s first commandment to Adam was the prohibition regarding the Tree of Knowledge. This would mean that man’s first encounter with the will of God was a negative experience: a restriction. However, this isn't actually true: This was not the first commandment! Careful analysis of the text shows that the first commandment to Adam and Chava was to eat from all the other trees and enjoy them.
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The Art of Recognizing Miracles
In Israel, Parashat Bereshit, Parashat Bo and Yom Ha’atzmaut by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The fact that Jews survived centuries of exile, outlived all their enemies, and made it back to the Land of Israel is unprecedented and a vexing conundrum for historians and sociologists.
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Freud’s Subconscious Discovery of God
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Bereshit by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Jewish tradition teaches that man was created in God’s image. Whatever this may mean, it definitely includes the fact that God created man in such a way that man, in desperate need to discover himself, would constantly search for Him. Freud, we believe, gave a most original interpretation of this fact. With his discovery of the father figure he may have uncovered the mechanism through which God created an idea of Himself as the ultimate Father in the human mind.
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On The Israeli-Arab Conflict: A Biblical Perspective
In Abraham, Israel and Parashat Bereshit by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
History is not made up of social, political, or economic factors alone, but also of spiritual forces that have far-reaching moral implications. The Torah and Jewish tradition may help us achieve deeper insight.
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Yom Kippur and the Lessons of Religious Optimism
In Parashat Bereshit and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Judaism is a warning not to yield to total pessimism, an admonition to endure truth and to choose life.