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.

  • Rabbi Cardozo, guest presenter on The Philosophical Jew

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

    In this thought-provoking interview on the Philosophical Jew podcast, Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, delves into the dynamic nature of Halakha and the importance of spiritual authenticity in modern Judaism. Drawing from his work Jewish Law as Rebellion, Rabbi Cardozo challenges us to view Torah not as a static legal code but as a living, breathing call to moral and spiritual revolution.

  • Tragedy and Hope

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

    Zionism will not hold if it is not deeply rooted in Judaism. But this Judaism must radiate grandeur. In exile, Judaism was strangled and reduced chiefly to the private domain. It could not prove its enormous potential as an all-compassing ethos that included all dimensions of human existence. It is the task of great teachers, Jewish thinkers and Halachic authorities to show the way back to this ethos.

  • My Judaism – An Introduction (Part One)

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    The biggest questions about life are unanswerable. Not one philosopher has ever given a satisfactory answer to these questions; neither has science or any other form of human knowledge. Logic and science tell us about the “what” and the “how” but not about the “why”. They fall flat when it comes to the “ultimate” questions. But if this is the case, why ask questions which are unanswerable?

  • Finding Meaning in the Book of Job

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Calev Ben-Dor

    About nine years ago, the 929 project was launched. Similar to (but much easier than) Daf Yomi, individuals study one chapter of Tanach a day five days a week, completing the entire cycle in 929 days (3.5 years). Those engaged in it are currently learning the Book of Job, which offers us wisdom in these trying times. 

  • Judaism without God

    In Franz Rosenzweig, Heschel and Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    With the terrible pogrom which took place in my hometown, Amsterdam, and the ongoing Anti-Semitism in Europe, the United States, and indeed worldwide, it is time to give proper attention to one of the great mistakes of modern Jewish history. This is the myth that if Jews would only “normalize” themselves, anti-Semitism would come to an end. This constantly repeated mantra has proven to be entirely wrong and in fact, dangerous.

  • Ido Pachter’s Introduction to Jewish Law as Rebellion – Part 4

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    When I decided to study at the ultra-orthodox Gateshead Yeshiva, I learned that Judaism consists of a world view of tremendous depth, which is expressed in deeds and rituals that penetrate the deepest dimensions of the human being. I discovered Judaism in a different way than my fellow Yeshiva students did. They had grown up within Judaism, and thus were not able to see it from the outside as I did. They were so used to the splendor of Judaism that they were blinded by it and so no longer could they perceive it. At a later stage of my life, I myself fell victim to this same problem. I realized that I had lost my earlier fascination and had to start all over again. In this essay, Rabbi Pachter explains how I tried to do this.

  • Ido Pachter’s Introduction to Jewish Law as Rebellion – Part 1

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Rabbi Dr. Ido Pachter has provided an intriguing introduction to his Hebrew translation of my book: Jewish Law as Rebellion, A Plea for Religious Authenticity and Halachic Courage (Urim Publication, 2018). The book was published by Yediot Acharonot in May of this year under the title: ההלכה כמרד: קריה לדתיות מקורית והלכה נועזת I have translated Rav Pachter’s introduction into English, Part 1 of which is included here.

  • Wedding canopy in a sunny meadow

    Rabbi Akiva’s Time Capsule – The Song of Songs in Context

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Yael Shahar

    Imagine that civilization was going to be destroyed within five years, and that you were tasked with deciding what literary treasures to preserve? That is the background of the Tanakh that we have today. The Talmud records the bare bones of discussions where scholars fought for the inclusion of those writings that were dear to them, often against ferocious opposition from their colleagues. Amazingly, of all the possible things to include, the famous Rabbi Akiva chose a collection of bawdy wedding songs! What lay behind such an odd choice?

  • The Miraculous Nature of Normality

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Tzav by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    The most challenging question in all of life is what do you do, and what do you believe when you are not sure. It is this question that moves the scientist, the philosopher, and most of all the religious personality. We must destroy the security of all conventional knowledge and undo the normalcy of all that is ordinary. To be religious is to realize that no final conclusions have ever been reached, nor will ever be reached.

  • Spinoza, the Alter Rebbe, and the Eternal Fire

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Spinoza and Parashat Tzav by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    The Talmud states that all the sacrifices were consumed by a heavenly fire, not by the fire lit by the Cohanim. This seems to imply that there was absolutely no need to keep the human fire on the altar burning so as to consume the sacrifices. So why were the Cohanim commanded to keep the fire on the altar lit? It seems that an answer may be found in contrasting the teachings of two very different thinkers--Spinoza, who famously did not believe in miracles, and the Alter Rebbe, who believed the existence itself is a miracle.

  • Prayer, Sexuality, and the Pleasure Principle

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Metzora by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    Why are males and females physically attracted to each other? What is there in their physical appearance that makes them so excited that they want to be intimate, to the point where they consider this a great joy? The Sages of Israel understood the enormous power of sex and its immense challenges. Unlike other religions, such as classical Christianity, they never saw sexuality in a negative way. This is because sexual attraction is a reflection of Divine love.

  • Putting God on Trial: The problem of Divine Collateral Damage

    In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Theodicy and Parashat Acharei Mot by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo

    The Jewish Tradition never told people not to question divine justice. Such questions are not only legitimate, they are holy because they rise from a deep realization that God is righteous and at the same time honest enough to admit that He is at fault.

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