Halacha

The Jewish Law

Halakhah is often translated as “Jewish law,” yet its literal meaning is “the way” — the path along which Jewish life unfolds. Rooted in the Torah and shaped through centuries of debate, interpretation, and responsa, Halakhah is not a static code but an ongoing conversation. It seeks to sanctify daily existence, bringing Divine presence into the concrete details of life.

  • The Genius and Limitations of Rabbi Joseph Ber Soloveitchik z”l

    In Eliezer Berkovits, Halacha and Heschel by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Rav Soloveitchik himself was a traditionalist, who combined that ideology with religious Zionism and tried very hard to give it a place in the world of philosophy and modernity. He was unable to overcome the enormous tension between these two worlds and so became a “lonely man of faith,” with no disciples but with many students, each one of whom claimed their own Rav Soloveitchik. The truth is that the real Rav Soloveitchik was more than the sum total of all of them – a man of supreme greatness who was a tragic figure.

  • Rabbinical Tyranny and Freedom of Thought

    In Halacha by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Religious condemnations, whether by bans or by other means, reflect negatively on those who issue them. Truth will not be served by imposing bans and issuing condemnations, but only by honest investigation and dialogue.

  • Innovative Halakhic solutions already exist: Do we have the courage to use them?

    In Halacha by Yael Shahar

    In the process of adapting from exile to statehood, halachah may need to be uprooted and transplanted, or even cut back to its deepest roots and regrown in a larger pot, where it can flower more freely. This will probably result in the “secularization” of some of our halachot, offset by a cultural “Judification” of our secular society. Can we use the lessons learned during the galut to survive in an increasingly decentralized and globalized world?

  • Shabbat desecration, the Olympics and the dilemmas of a Jewish State

    In Halacha, Israel and Shabbat by E.S.

    Several recent events—the Olympic Games and the proposal to work on the railway line construction on Shabbat—are excellent opportunities to start a conversation on the role of halacha in the Jewish State. The question is: what form should the conversation take? It should not, I believe, primarily take the form of a formal halachic argument.

  • Faith and Truth: A necessary trade-off?

    In Halacha and Jewish Thought and Philosophy by The Cardozo Academy

    Our relationship with God as we know it is not just about what we think or understand. There is also a faith that is not based in intellectual belief. This is a faith that is based on our own inner resonance with the practices and beliefs of our tradition. What happens to our emotional faith when our intellectual faith runs up against facts that seem to contradict that faith? How do we keep our balance?

  • The Chaos Theory of Halacha – Part 3 of 3

    In Education and Halacha by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Halacha is in need of more “chaos.” It must allow for many ways to live a halachic life unbound by too many restrictions of conformity and codification. It must make room for autonomy on the part of individuals, to choose their own way once they have undertaken to observe the foundations of Halacha.

  • The Chaos Theory of Halacha (Part 2 of 3)

    In Halacha and Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    One of the most remarkable aspects of Orthodox Halacha is that it is almost an open market within the confines of the masoret, an unwritten and undefined tradition going back thousands of years. Some will view the masoret as a minimal and almost fundamentalist observance, and others will view it as a maximal and highly flexible tradition, which allows for much innovation.

  • The Chaos Theory of Halacha (Part 1 of 3)

    In Halacha and Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Chaos is God’s signature when He prefers to remain anonymous. The same can be said about Halacha. Halacha is the chaotic way through which God wants the Jew to live his life, according to strict rules that seem to be part of a well-worked-out system. People do not come before God as actors in a play that has been planned down to the minutest detail. If they did, they would be robots and life would be a farce.

  • Blessed Are Those Who Eat Chametz!

    Just not on Pessah

    In Halacha, Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Passover by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Why is it prohibited to eat or to possess chametz (leaven) on Pessah? What is there in the nature of leaven that makes it forbidden, and why only on Pessah? The Talmud offers an insightful answer.

  • Are We Really Eating Kosher?

    On Hypocrisy and Hiding behind the Kashrut Laws

    In Education, Halacha and Parashat Shemini by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Why did the Torah need to state that some non-kosher animals chew their cud or have cloven hooves? Would this not suggest that perhaps they are, after all, kosher!

  • Hareidi-Bashing, Modesty, and Normative Values: A response to Yael Valier

    In Halacha by E.S.

    There is a limit to how far we should accommodate Hareidi norms in the public space. A normative system doesn’t simply respond to reality; it actively shapes and influences people’s perceptions of reality. The rules followed by the Hareidi world actively encourage a perception of women as little more than dangerously arousing sexual objects. They do not encourage a perception of women as responsible members of society fully the equal of men in all matters of intelligence and competence. Hence these norms should not be indulged in the public sphere.

  • Open Think Tank meeting - March 2017

    Session 8: The Founding of the State of Israel and the Challenge of Halachic Living

    In Halacha and Israel by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    The think tank discusses whether the founding of the State of Israel has changed how we approach Halacha and its mode of development, as well as what kind of changes can be made to the halachic system.

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