Jewish Thought and Philosophy

To think Jewishly is to stand at the edge of certainty and still choose to believe, question, and seek. Jewish thought lives in the tension between faith and doubt, law and freedom, eternity and change.

  • The Perfect Torah Versus the Evolving Torah – Part 3

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and The Ishbitzer by Yehuda DovBer Zirkind

    The two different approaches to the Torah: the “perfect Torah” and the “evolving Torah” approaches are related to a broader theological question about the nature of the mitzvot: Do the mitzvot reflect God’s ultimate and unconditional will (kvayachol), or do they reflect God’s instrumental will for humanity, providing an instruction manual for how to redeem the world? In other words, is the main purpose of the mitzvot for the sake of God (i.e. that humankind should fulfill God’s wishes) or for the sake of man (i.e. that God’s plan for humanity should be realized)?

  • The Perfect Torah versus the Evolving Torah – part 2

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and The Ishbitzer by Yehuda DovBer Zirkind

    The giving of the Torah has radically altered the course of Judaism and we cannot revert to a pre-Torah age. Nevertheless, Rabbi Cardozo believes that the vision and spirit of this formative era, i.e. the vibrancy of an inchoate and incipient Judaism - or to borrow a metaphor from biology, a “stem cell” based Judaism - should be kept alive and maintained as a counterweight against the ethos of textual fixation and rigid Halachic codification which is so prevalent within the contemporary Orthodox Jewish world.

  • The Perfect Torah vs. the Evolving Torah

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and The Ishbitzer by Yehuda DovBer Zirkind

    Part 1 of a series discussing the ideas of the Chassidic master, Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica, Poland (1800-1854), also known as the Mei Hashiloach, after the title of the book containing his teachings.

  • Rembrandt and the Quest for Integrity

    75 Years After the Holocaust

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Theodicy and Yom HaShoah by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Rembrandt reminds us that if we want to really live we must show flawless integrity and demonstrate great authenticity. It is all about making a genuine contribution to the world, with no regard for gain, and even being prepared to pay the price of one’s rank and position in the conventional community. A person must make sure that he can look himself in the mirror at the end of his life and say, I lived my life; it did not just pass me by.

  • The Unorthodox Education of Moshe Rabbenu

    In Defense of Heresy

    In Converting to Judaism, Education, Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Moses and Parashat Shemot by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Judaism was born out of opposition, rebellion and protest. It overthrew and outlived mighty empires and gave the world a radically new understanding of itself. Judaism has nothing to fear. It has prevailed over all those who criticized it but has also learned much about itself by listening to opposing voices. Through these voices, it has been able to sharpen its own claims and if necessary change its mind when the inadequacy of these claims has become clear. Only in this way will it continue to play a central role in the future of mankind.

  • The Talmudic Olympic Games

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Last week, something remarkable happened. Thousands of Jews from all over the world came together to study the last page of an old book with the ineffable anticipation of starting to study it all over again from page one and not to lose a minute.

  • The Religious Value of Doubt

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Faith means striving for faith. It is never an arrival. It can only burst forth at singular moments. It does not arise out of logical deduction, but out of uncertainty, which is its natural breeding ground. To have faith is to live with unresolved doubts, prepared to rise above ourselves and our wisdom. Looking into the Jewish tradition with its many debates, one clearly understands that those who deny themselves the comfort of certainty are much more authentic than those who are sure.

  • The Dangerous “Day After” Yom Kippur

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Yom Kippur by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    The day after Yom Kippur, the synagogue service really should be a completely different experience from what people are used to. Yom Kippur should still be in the bones of all synagogue participants. Its spirit should still be felt with every prayer. It should be completely impossible for synagogue services to return to their old ways, in which prayers are  said as if “nothing happened.”

  • Is Torah from Heaven

    A Letter to a Friend

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Why do we believe that revelation may be possible? If revaluation is by definition not amenable to scientific investigation, what other faculty is available to us to contemplate the prospect of revelation? Believe it or not, this depends on our openness and capacity to wonder, to be perplexed and stand in amazement, which happens when we have no other way of dealing with something extraordinary.

  • The Purpose of Judaism is to Disturb

    Halacha and the Microscopic Search for God

    In Halacha, Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Re'eh by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Judaism is a protest against taking life for granted. There are no insignificant phenomena or deeds in this world, and it is through Halacha's demands and interference in our daily life that we are made aware of God as our steadfast Companion.

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