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.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
I love to go to Limmud, to listen and to teach. Limmud is a place where I am challenged; where I hear new things (including some utter nonsense); where I can fall in love with my fellow Jews, laugh and cry with them, and share my commitment to and struggles with Judaism.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Rav Kook by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
In the next 50 years, we will see radical changes in the condition and nature of the Jewish people, as well as in Orthodox Judaism and Halacha. While during the last 2,000 years Halacha was “exile-orientated” and “defensive,” we are slowly growing out of this. The sources that until now were the basis for Halacha will have to be replaced by new Orthodox / Israeli “prophetic” Halacha. The first signs of this are already taking place.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Maimonides and Rav Kook by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
However blasphemous this may sound, the Kohein Gadol was to be the original pope. Basically, the papacy is a Jewish function, tasked not with the mission of spreading the gospel, but rather promulgating monotheism, morality and the Torah, as far as it is applicable to the non-Jewish world.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
It is because of my awareness that any religious belief can be justified that I have become so critical of mainstream Orthodox Judaism and skeptical about the way I promulgate my own Judaism, in the way I see it. Do I believe in it only because it’s something I have grown into and feel at home and comfortable with, or is there something more that makes my Judaism’s claim to truth stand out from all the others?
Thoughts for Shavuot
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Shavuot by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
A flame grows or diminishes depending on the combustibility of the material it comes in contact with. So it is with human openness to the divine. Their receptivity to the divinity of Torah is proportionate to the condition of their soul.
In Heschel, Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Mishpatim by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Judaism demands everything—every moment, every action, every detail. And yet, those who live by it celebrate this burden with joy. Why? Because what looks like a system of laws may actually be something far more radical: a covenant of compliments.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The Torah is more than a book of commandments or history—it is a window into the Divine mind. In this thought-provoking lecture, Rabbi Cardozo explores how the Torah serves as a meeting point between the infinite wisdom of God and the spiritual and intellectual development of humanity.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Rav Kook and Parashat Matot by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Natural beauty, art, and music exist to disturb our complacency. Their purpose is to awaken in us a sense of wonder. And while beauty, art, and music facilitate that wonder, the role of religion is to provide us with the means to respond to it.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
It’s important to realize that nobody can inherit religion, not even from oneself. It has to be an ongoing discovery. I converted when I was 16, but over the years I’ve come to realize that to convert only once is almost meaningless.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Passover by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
It is a great joy to study Faith and Freedom: Passover Haggadah, With Commentary from the Writings of Rabbi Eliezer Berkovits. In this Haggadah, not only do we find very interesting insights by Rabbi Berkovits on themes that relate to Pesach, but we also get somewhat of an introduction to his philosophy and unique halachic approach in general.
In Education, Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Rav Kook by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
I strongly believe that new ideas, ideologies and movements are God-given and have great religious meaning. This means that we are religiously obligated to incorporate them into Judaism—sometimes by just accepting them and other times by reworking them.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Rav Kook by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
It is important to remember that great controversies are also great emancipators. They give us new and fresh insights. We are in dire need of them. We should not only allow them but encourage our students to advance them!