The Blogs | The Times of Israel » Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Few matters are more difficult to understand than the nature and purpose of Yom Kippur. What is it that this awesome day wants to tell us? What does it want to accomplish? There is basically only...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/yom-kippur-the-confrontation-with-undeserved-life/

Something strange happens on Rosh Hashana. We spend hours declaring God’s majesty, using poetic and unique phrases. We refer to Him as the Ultimate King and Mover of the World. We ask Him to st...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rosh-hashanah-the-challenge-of-the-shofar/

Advice to the Reader: “To read is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him, and travel in his company.” – Andre Gide, Third Imaginary Interview, Pretexts, 19...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/my-spiritual-problem-with-the-26-letters-of-the-alphabet/

I often wonder how all the Jewish customs, and religious rituals, which I completely and wholeheartedly participate in, are perceived from the perspective of an outsider. I frequently ask myself ...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/making-sense-of-a-mixed-marriage/

In memory of our great unforgettable teacher Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz z.l. Advice to the Reader: To get a better understanding of the nature and intention of this autobiography, I suggest that the r...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/turning-the-foreign-into-jewishness/

Advice to the Reader. As we slowly retrace the first steps along the path of my rediscovery of the Jewish Tradition, it cannot be overemphasized that the reader should not jump to any conclusions...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/franz-rosenzweigs-disturbing-demand/

This is Chapter 5 of my Contemplative Autobiography. It is the story of how I rediscovered—and continue to rediscover—what I believe to be authentic Judaism. It is the story of a search for d...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/hearing-through-the-deed/

Faith and Defiance Chapter 4 This is Chapter 4 of my Contemplative Autobiography. It is the story of how I rediscovered—and continue to rediscover—what I believe to be authentic (Orthodox?) J...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/inner-enigmatic-struggles/

Catch 22 In my last essay, I mentioned that I decided to reevaluate my commitment to Judaism from scratch, since the reason for my conversion was based on a simplistic understanding of the Jewish...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/faith-defiance-chapter-3/

I was recently asked why I felt that I had fallen victim to a kind of simplistic Orthodox Judaism, why I needed to rethink my Judaism. The main reason is that I started to read much more widely a...

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/faith-defiance-a-return-to-the-beginning/