The Abuse of Halacha: Keeping Halacha Under Control
The book of Bereishit keeps Halacha under control. It restricts and regulates it, and ensures that it will not wreak havoc.
The Deliberately Flawed Divine Torah: The Theology of the Halachic Loophole
I believe that the Torah is often morally, deeply, and deliberately flawed, and that furthermore, God Himself intentionally made it flawed. It is the latter issue that I will discuss in this essay.
Chanukah and Divine Emanations
The Maccabees knew logically there was no chance of their revolt succeeding, but God created a notion of revolt in the minds of the Maccabees and correctly they followed this heavenly directive.
The Remarkable Paradox of Sukkot
The Sukkah represents our life span on earth. For what is a Sukkah but a frail structure which we need to dwell in for 7 days and these 7 days represent man’s average life span of about seventy years
Parshat BeShalach: Jewish Self Delusion
Though rooted back in our servitude in Egypt, to this day, similar attitudes of Jewish self-deception often create the foundations of Jewish self-rejection and self-hate, which become the root of animosity toward anyone who does not join this self-imposed denial of the Jewish cause.
Seventy Years of an Unyielding 3,330-Year Marriage
Like the prophets of old, our religious leaders must generate a spiritual revolution, triggering an ethical-religious uproar that shakes the very foundations of the state. Israelis are waiting for such a move, and there is little doubt that their response will be overwhelming. Only then will the Jewish people fully re-engage with its land.
Parshat Vayikra: The Trouble with Sacrifices
Perhaps the institution of sacrifice is grounded in deep symbolism, the meaning and urgency of which escapes our modern mentality.
Judaism without God
Whatever the reason for this phenomenon, Jews have to stop deluding themselves that they are just one member in a community of nations. They are not and never were.
Parashat Re’eh: Traveling to Home Base and Eternal Life
While there is no proof of life after death, everything seems to allude to it. Our existence in this world resembles a station at which we arrive when we are born and from which we leave when we die, returning to “home base.”
Parashat Behaalotecha: Theocracy, Democracy, and Halacha
Ran, this great talmudist and thinker launched a theory in which he argued that Judaism does not subscribe to the idea of a full-fledged theocracy, but in fact favors a halachic democracy
Jesus, A Warning to Our Rabbis
The astonishing fact that Jesus, one Jewish child considered the Messiah in the eyes of billions but utterly rejected as an apostate by his own people makes us wonder even more. What went wrong?
Yom HaShoa – Jewish Life or Just Israeli Life? Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai and...
What Rabbi Yochanan taught us is that Jews will survive without Israel, as long as there is Torah, the portable homeland; but Jews will not survive solely because of the existence of Israel—however powerful it may be—if Israel does not incorporate a large percentage of Jewish traditional resources.
The Chief Rabbinate and Its Disgrace: Who Is an Exceptionally Great Sage?
The Talmud teaches only when making a sincere effort to reduce the pain of fellow human beings can one be called a great person! Those who do follow this approach are unsuited to be religious leaders
Simchat Torah: The Unyielding Sefer Torah
Looking at and taking notice of a Sefer Torah is therefore of great value. Here is an item that has not changed an iota. Its physical nature attests to its stability. It is the only thing in the world that would not give in to innovation.
What is There in a Sound That Words Cannot Express — and Why Do...
What is there in the sound of the shofar that words can't express? The blowing of the shofar proves we can surpass ourselves. By our own voice we cannot produce this penetrating terrifying resonance
Calling for Religious Unity Only Leads to Division
Nobody doubts that unity of the Jewish people is of crucial importance. Still, we have to ask ourselves if in all cases unity is really THE highest value to strive for.
Parashat Yitro: Racism and the Wisdom of a Gentile
Yitro's suggested solution to Moshe's workload is basically a simple one and does not require any extensive judicial knowledge. So why did Moshe, who possessed great wisdom, not think of this himself?
Speaking Lashon Hara about the World
The purpose of genuine religious life is to protest against delusion and to teach us to reframe our spiritual spectacles. It is not that religion shows us something new. It shows us what we have seen all our lives but have never noticed.
There is No Greater Failure than Not Trying
Rabbi Cardozo's Mission Statement on education and the pursuit of Judaism
Megillat Esther and the Nervous-Syndrome Chess Game
Purim Sameach!
Be Fearful of Religion: Parashat Veyetze
Yaakov introduces a great foundation of Halacha: To give a religious moment an ongoing effect it must be translated into the tangible, the mundane. He picks up a rock.
Rabbi Soloveitchik and his Paradoxical Influence: An Answer to a Friend
Rabbi Cardozo responds to a letter concerning his article on Rav Soloveitchik (zt"l)
Pesach: God’s Sporadic Presence and Overwhelming Absence in Human History
It is perhaps this fact that makes Pesach so relevant for our own times: The realization that even at the time of the greatest of miracles, many years passed without God revealing Himself openly.
Simchat Torah: The Rush and the Stagnation
The possibility of chidushm - looking into the same text with new eyes - is crucial. The call for new interpretations, not just repeating what has been said, is fundamental to genuine Torah learning
Scandalous Halachic Decisions: Ethiopians and Wine
Despite a clear ruling by famous Chief Rabbi of Israel Ovadia Yosef z"l that these Ethiopians are surely Jewish (Yabia Omer 8, Even HaEzer 11)— the rabbinical council of the Eida HaHareidit decided that there is doubt about their Jewishness
Circumcision: Why Risk Your Child’s Well-Being? A Call to All Israelis
Spinoza, who left all Jewishness correctly observed, circumcision is the secret to the miracle of Jewish survival. What those Jews who oppose circumcision should never forget is that the attempt to outlaw this rite may not just make Jewish life impossible, but would probably end all Jewish existence
Thought to Ponder: The Betrayal of Freedom – Yom Ha’atzmaut 2024
The nature of the people of Israel is to live by a sacred mission. The existence of the people of Israel is dependent on its refusal to surrender to normalcy.
The Purpose of Sefer Bereishit
The foremost point of departure in any halachic decision must be that all people are created in the image of God and that ALL human life is holy.
Kriyat Yam Suf: Jumping Into Deep Waters
Judaism is about new ideas. It is dependent on fresh concepts deeply rooted in its tradition. We must be aware that if we do not apply new remedies we should expect new evils,
Collapsed Halacha and Moshe’s Mask
Are today’s rulings transformative, or do they promote stagnation? Shall we have prophetic halacha, or collapsed halacha? We have to re-create halacha so that it once again becomes the manifestation of holy deeds that generate marvel and amazement in every part of our lives.