Posts Tagged: Rabbi Nathan Cardozo
Why All People Need a Shabbat
It is well known that the institution of Shabbat is one of the best inventions God ever came up with. It no doubt qualifies Him...
We Should Be Grateful for Yom Kippur
In older times, no hours were more extraordinary than those just before the onset of Yom Kippur. These were times of intense religious upheaval in the human...
Were God Merely to ‘Exist,’ Our Prayers Would Be Meaningless
“God is a circle whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere,” said Voltaire. Indeed, trying to describe God is like trying to present something that is more...
Dogma Is No Substitute for Faith
Faith can only be found in the light of one’s soul -- never in dogma. Dogmas reach only the mind, not the human heart. Trying to translate...
Afterthoughts on Tisha B’av
I must confess that this year’s Tisha B'av, a few days ago, was the first time in 54 years (since I was 16) that I...
Can You Enjoy Someone Else’s Success?
One of the most beautiful human virtues is the ability to enjoy the achievements of others and encourage them to reach even higher goals. It’s...
There Is No Faith Without Uncertainty
Faith means striving for faith. It is never an arrival. It can only burst forth at singular moments. It does not arise out of logical...
Material Goods Do Not Make Us Happy or Fulfilled
“Your threshing season will last until your grape harvest, and your grape harvest will last until the time you plant. You will have your fill...
Israeli Independence Day: An Unyielding Marriage of 3,500 Years
This year’s Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israeli Independence day) commemorates the 68th anniversary of a marriage that has lasted more than 3,500 years. This may sound like a...
Blessed Are Those Who Eat Chametz!
The Talmud (Brachot 17a) poses the following question: Why is it prohibited to eat or to possess chametz (leaven), such as bread, on Pesach? What is there in the nature...
Can Jewish Law Truly Define Who Is ‘Jewish’?
I was born by breech delivery, a very painful procedure that my mother endured with iron strength. We nearly did not make it. It was Friday night,...
We Must Show Our Children That Judaism Is a Religion of Rebellion
The establishment of the state of Israel, together with the challenges that modernity has presented to the Jewish people, have confronted Judaism with a reality...
