What is Death?
A Tribute
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
How could it be possible that souls speak immortal words, think eternal thoughts, create art and music, and then just evaporate into nothingness and vanish?
Thoughts to Ponder
Thoughts to Ponder is a weekly invitation to think dangerously and question passionately. Drawing on the Torah portion, classical Jewish sources, philosophy, and the crises of contemporary life, Rabbi Cardozo challenges religious complacency and spiritual comfort. These essays are written for readers who seek a Judaism that disturbs, questions, and ultimately deepens the human encounter with God and responsibility.
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Who Is Really a Jew?
In Converting to Judaism and Jewish Thought and Philosophy by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
What makes one a Jew? Being born to a Jewish mother? Converting to Judaism? Not really. It is living by the spiritual order of Judaism that makes one a Jew; living through the Jews of the past and with the Jews of the present and future. We are Jews when we choose to be so; when we have discovered Jewishness on our own, through our search for the sacred; when we fight the never-ending spiritual struggle to find God, realize that the world needs a moral conscience, and carry that exalted burden so as to save the world and provide it with a mission.
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My Brother and the Kosher Wine Bottle
Defensive Halacha and Prophetic Halacha
Laws such as issur maga nochri become an obstacle to the universal mission of the Jewish people when they are applied to those to whom they are not applicable.
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Our Struggle with God’s Goodness
In The Kotzker Rebbe, Theodicy and Parashat Chayei Sarah by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
To believe in God is to believe not only that there is ultimate meaning to our existence but also that this meaning is completely beyond our comprehension. We do not know why God created the universe and man; to know that, we would have to be God.
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Will Our Boys Fight Again?
There Is No Security For Israel Unless It Is Secure In its Own destiny.
Throughout the centuries, historians, philosophers and anthropologists have struggled with the concept called Israel more than with nearly any other idea.
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Prayer on Behalf of the Jewish Soldier
In English and in Hebrew
In Liturgy & Ritual and Yom HaZikaron by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
A prayer for the Jewish soldier on behalf of those dwelling in the Diaspora.
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On The Israeli-Arab Conflict: A Biblical Perspective
In Abraham, Israel and Parashat Bereshit by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
History is not made up of social, political, or economic factors alone, but also of spiritual forces that have far-reaching moral implications. The Torah and Jewish tradition may help us achieve deeper insight.
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The Danger of Universal Love
We live for love. We are prepared to give up anything to experience it. But we should never forget that love means preference. No one craves universal love.
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The Splitting of the Red Sea and the Miracle of the State of Israel
The establishment of the State of Israel was no doubt an epoch-making event. Only when the establishment of the State of Israel is seen in the light of the miracle at the Red Sea does the true miracle emerge.
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Spinoza’s Sub Specie Aeternitatis and Yeshiva Students
In Halacha and Spinoza by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Whenever I think of the huge demonstration of Chareidi yeshiva students at the beginning of this month, I think of Gateshead Yeshiva in England where I spent many years studying Talmud.
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Halacha and Absurdity – Part 3
In the first two parts of this essay, we have seen that no objectivity is possible in Halacha. This enables us to understand not only why there are many opposing opinions in the Talmud, such as those of Beit Hillel and Beit Shamai, but also that the weltanschauung (world view) and ideologies of the halachic authorities play an enormous role in the way they decide halachic issues.
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Halacha and Absurdity – Part 2
Once the human being has recognized that ultimately there is no way to know why God created the world and mankind, he can make his way back to reason and meaning. Once he leaves this “divine absurdity” behind as an unsolvable problem, his intelligence is able to guide him through the labyrinth of human existence.