The inner fire, or “Familiarity breeds contempt”
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
It is an artform to live as if every moment is new, a challenge, and an encounter with the Divine.
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.
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The Struggle for Faith – Part I
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Faith is one of the most difficult attributes to acquire. To have faith in God has become a struggle for many human beings, including those who are desperately looking for it. In modern times with their tendency to secularize nearly anything, the man of faith often feels alone in a world in which religious beliefs are often looked down on.
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The Struggle for Faith
In Abraham, Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Vayera by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
For the biblical personality and those living in early post-biblical times, the existence of God was apparent. One would discover His fingerprints everywhere: in heaven, on earth, in the colors of a flower, in the stormy sky, in the thunder and lightning, in the smile of a baby or the beauty of the seashore.
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The Struggle for Faith – Part III
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The question to what extent one can actually trust God and rely on His protection is closely related to the question why He created the world. It should be claimed that one can only rely on His protection and help as long as this does not contradict the very purpose of existence.
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The Struggle for Faith – Part IV
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
We established in part III of "The Struggle for Faith" that it is forbidden to trust in God when this trust contradicts God's purpose for the world. Since man must have the possibility of exercising freedom of will, there must be a natural order to the world. If not for the laws of nature, it would not be possible for man to make any moral decision, since he would never be able to know what the consequences of his decisions would be.
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The Struggle for Faith – Part V
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The Talmud in tractate Pesachim 8b gives an interesting example of the tension between trust in God and the natural order of things while simultaneously adding a new aspect to this problem.
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“Es Past Nicht” and Jewish Pride
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Ha'azinu by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
While we've had to fight physical battles to ensure our survival, we must never lose sight of the fact that existence would be meaningless if not for the nation’s spiritual purpose.
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The Sensitivity of the Torah and the Power of Language
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy and Parashat Mishpatim by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The subtlety of this teaching regarding how we should ideally communicate with our fellows is part of the Torah’s greatness.
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The Dimensions of Prophecy and the Eternity of the Torah
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Moses and Parashat Bo by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Two main expressions used for prophecy are "Zeh Hadavar," "This is the word," and "Koh Amar Hashem," "Thus says God." Why these two different expresssions?
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Rabbi Bezalel Rakov z.l. of Gateshead
A Eulogy
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
It is with great pain that I write about the demise of one of the great rabbinical figures of our generation, Rabbi Bezalel Rakov z.l. who headed a small settlement of deeply religious Jews in the city of Gateshead in the north of England.
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In Memory of Ilan Ramon. z.l.
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
At an ever increasing rate, we are starting to see revolutionary changes appearing in our world that no one would have even considered contemplating a few years ago. Suddenly, we realize that we are walking through the door of a new epoch before we even thought to ring the bell.
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“After Modern Orthodoxy, Then What?”
Introductory Remarks
In Education, Jewish Thought and Philosophy and The Kotzker Rebbe by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Thoughts based on Rabbi Cardozo’s introductory remarks before a lecture by Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks at the Cardozo Academy, 25 May 2003