Lonely But Not Alone: A Spiritual Autobiography

by Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Lonely But Not Alone tells the highly unusual story of Dutch–Israeli Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo, a child of an intermarriage between a Christian woman and Jewish man who discovers Judaism in his teens and subsequently undergoes a ritual conversion. Weaving together his history and his novel approach to Judaism borne out of his unconventional experiences, Cardozo tackles the problems of religiosity, doubt, faith, and the holy land of Israel and offers his vision for an improved Judaism. This volume blends Cardozo’s personal account, testimony by his mother about concealing his father’s family during the Holocaust, seminal essays on Jewish thought, and an interview with the author.

250 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo is a prominent lecturer and author who is world renowned for his highly original insights into Judaism and his ability to communicate the relevance of Jewish values and practice in today’s complicated world. A native of the Spanish-Portuguese Jewish community of Holland who holds a doctorate in philosophy, Rabbi Lopes Cardozo received rabbinic ordination from the Gateshead Talmudic College and studied in Israel at the Institute for Higher Rabbinical Studies of Chief Rabbi Unterman and at the Mir Yeshiva. In addition to teaching Jewish audiences, Rabbi Lopes Cardozo often lectures to non-Jewish groups, including Christian leaders, about comparative religion and the fundamentals of Judaism. A number of his many books and articles have been translated into several languages.

Reviews

[Hollisa Alewine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short work contains a volume of material one might find in a much longer book. The author's experience is poignant, and it augments his overall message. His willingness to explore the pain of living in two worlds, that of private struggle and public observance, made a deep impression on this reader. Rabbi Cardozo's work encourages those who have this inexplicable yearning to serve the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in cooperation with the Jewish people, and R' Cardozo's scholarship nurtures the learner who doesn't fit the Orthodox Jewish mold by birth, ethnicity, or religion.

The spiritual message of this work transcends our "boxes," such as Jew, non-Jew, Orthodox Jew, Christian, Noachide, or those who are still establishing beginning steps with the Torah. The heart of Torah, and therefore Judaism, is to love HaShem with all one's heart, soul, and strength. As instructed in the book of purities, Vayikra (Leviticus), it is also to love one's neighbor. Rabbi Cardozo's thoughts, so eloquently transferred to the page, are filled with this embracing spirit of the Torah.

This may be a short autobiographical work, but it has had a profound effect on this reader. For those who have a lost familial connection with Jewish parents or grandparents, are Jewish on the "wrong" side of the family, or simply are drawn to the eternal fire of the Torah without any known Jewish lineage, Lonely, But Not Alone will encourage thoughtful steps on the journey of return.