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Jewish Law as Rebellion: A Plea for Religious Authenticity and Halachic Courage
Jewish Law as Rebellion is unconventional and controversial in its approach to the world of Jewish Law and its response to religious crises. The book delves into the contemporary application and development of halacha and pointedly protests many accepted methods and ideals, offering new solutions to existing halachic dilemmas. Rabbi Cardozo discusses hot topics such as same-sex marriage, conversion, and religion in the State of Israel and presents a critical analysis and explanation of the application of halacha.
456 pages, Hardcover
Published February 16, 2018
About the author
Nathan Lopes Cardozo
17 books11 followersRabbi 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.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 30, 2018
Conservatism in politics and religion has captured the thinking in many countries today. This, like most things in life, can be good, but it can go to an extreme. Unfortunately, it affected Judaism terribly and prompted Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo to write “Jewish Law as Rebellion.” He, in essence, suggests that rabbis need to change radically or be replaced.
Nathan Lopes Cardozo is a Dutch-Israeli rabbi, philosopher, and scholar. He is the author of more than a dozen thoughtful books in which he addresses the all-to-many crises among Jews. Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks called him a man with a wide intellectual horizon, unafraid to confront challenges. His books are fascinating and are often, as this one, thought-provoking calls to action.
In this book, among much else, he focuses on rabbis who call themselves Posek haDor, deciders for the generation, who teach Daas Torah, the truth of the Torah. They portray themselves as supreme decision makers of Jewish law. The very language they use signifies arrogance and ignorance of Judaism, and this makes a farce of their idea. They fail to recognize that since ancient time, Judaism recognized that there are differences of opinion about Jewish law, and this is reflected in the Talmud which contains various opinions about many laws. Their insistence of using the out-of-date Ashkenazi pronunciation Daas instead of the Modern Hebrew Daat, dramatizes how they prefer to live in and even speak the language of ancient times. Cardozo stresses that their view of Judaism and life generally is static and confining. He encourages rabbis to return to authentic religiosity.
The Israeli Chief Rabbinate, for example, refuses to recognize the conversion process of most Orthodox rabbis who live outside of Israel relegating the procedure to themselves alone, refusing to admit that conversion is not a biblical procedure, was invented most probably in the second century BCE and can be changed. Similarly, they refuse to allow many women abandoned by their husbands to be divorced by a court because of an outdated psychological view “a woman would prefer to live even with an abuser than to live alone.” Even children in high school would recognize that this psychology no longer exists.
These Posek haDor rabbis must understand that times have changed, which may well mean that God demands different decisions from those in the past. Cardozo quotes Abraham Joshua Heschel who wrote: “Indeed, the essence of observance has, at times, become encrusted with so many customs, and conventions that the jewel was lost in the setting. Outward compliance with the externalities of the law took the place of the engagement of the whole person to the living God.”
They must also learn how to make Judaism exciting, ennobling, and relevant to the twenty first century, how to deal with secular Jews and non-Jews, and with the problem of Hareidi Jews not participating in defense of their country in the military. They must also try to bring religion and science together.
He writes: “We should be very thankful that we witness the disintegration of rabbinic authority in our days. Nothing can be worse for Judaism and the Jewish people than having rabbis admired as great spiritual halakhic leaders when for the most part they are not.”
Nathan Lopes Cardozo is a Dutch-Israeli rabbi, philosopher, and scholar. He is the author of more than a dozen thoughtful books in which he addresses the all-to-many crises among Jews. Former Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks called him a man with a wide intellectual horizon, unafraid to confront challenges. His books are fascinating and are often, as this one, thought-provoking calls to action.
In this book, among much else, he focuses on rabbis who call themselves Posek haDor, deciders for the generation, who teach Daas Torah, the truth of the Torah. They portray themselves as supreme decision makers of Jewish law. The very language they use signifies arrogance and ignorance of Judaism, and this makes a farce of their idea. They fail to recognize that since ancient time, Judaism recognized that there are differences of opinion about Jewish law, and this is reflected in the Talmud which contains various opinions about many laws. Their insistence of using the out-of-date Ashkenazi pronunciation Daas instead of the Modern Hebrew Daat, dramatizes how they prefer to live in and even speak the language of ancient times. Cardozo stresses that their view of Judaism and life generally is static and confining. He encourages rabbis to return to authentic religiosity.
The Israeli Chief Rabbinate, for example, refuses to recognize the conversion process of most Orthodox rabbis who live outside of Israel relegating the procedure to themselves alone, refusing to admit that conversion is not a biblical procedure, was invented most probably in the second century BCE and can be changed. Similarly, they refuse to allow many women abandoned by their husbands to be divorced by a court because of an outdated psychological view “a woman would prefer to live even with an abuser than to live alone.” Even children in high school would recognize that this psychology no longer exists.
These Posek haDor rabbis must understand that times have changed, which may well mean that God demands different decisions from those in the past. Cardozo quotes Abraham Joshua Heschel who wrote: “Indeed, the essence of observance has, at times, become encrusted with so many customs, and conventions that the jewel was lost in the setting. Outward compliance with the externalities of the law took the place of the engagement of the whole person to the living God.”
They must also learn how to make Judaism exciting, ennobling, and relevant to the twenty first century, how to deal with secular Jews and non-Jews, and with the problem of Hareidi Jews not participating in defense of their country in the military. They must also try to bring religion and science together.
He writes: “We should be very thankful that we witness the disintegration of rabbinic authority in our days. Nothing can be worse for Judaism and the Jewish people than having rabbis admired as great spiritual halakhic leaders when for the most part they are not.”
January 1, 2026
I am sorry that this book is over. He said read it slowly and I did. It took me 8 months to read this book. And I savored it and I thought about a lot of things. He surprised me constantly. He also said things I have been thinking. I have been very affected by many things he said. What a bold thinker.
This is not a review as much as the reactions I jotted down at different points:
So bold to say the codification of Rambam and shulchan aruch stultified halacha
And yet of course halacha is too rigid like he says. And it is so difficult to get rabbis to be bold and flexible.
I like the idea of Judaism being the ivri, the other, the statement of other philosophies and ways that go against negative aspects of human culture in every generation.
Bold approach about yayin nesech. I hear what he's saying about what it states about the nations and their potential, especially as few do nesech in modern day. I disagree though that it does nothing to make a separation because we can still drink hard liquor. I think it still makes a very big separation.
Condemning Noach too
36% interesting and helpful interpretation of cheyt haegel
Not sure I agree about yeridas hadoros because I think that particular problem would have started from the sin that Adam and Eve did which changed the nature of their relationship to the physical
Very interesting discussion about mamzerus
Halacha as a way to deal with life's absurdity. Interesting
Really fascinating about how throughout history Jews were able to be spectators in other forms of government and sit back and feel smug that we would be able to do it better but we never had to try it out because we didn't have a country. And now we have a country and we see it's not that easy
His ideas about making Shabbos more accessible and easier to keep in the land of Israel are phenomenal and should be implemented immediately. Genius amazing (I hope to write a substack based on these ideas)
The Rav did change the world with his approach to women learning Talmud. I do have to agree that he was more conservative to our detriment in other halachic areas of women's status when perhaps there is more wiggle room. He does not pull punches about the Rav. There are halachic arguments and psaks that would free agunos and he did not take that path
The rebuttal also interesting and made good points
This is not a review as much as the reactions I jotted down at different points:
So bold to say the codification of Rambam and shulchan aruch stultified halacha
And yet of course halacha is too rigid like he says. And it is so difficult to get rabbis to be bold and flexible.
I like the idea of Judaism being the ivri, the other, the statement of other philosophies and ways that go against negative aspects of human culture in every generation.
Bold approach about yayin nesech. I hear what he's saying about what it states about the nations and their potential, especially as few do nesech in modern day. I disagree though that it does nothing to make a separation because we can still drink hard liquor. I think it still makes a very big separation.
Condemning Noach too
36% interesting and helpful interpretation of cheyt haegel
Not sure I agree about yeridas hadoros because I think that particular problem would have started from the sin that Adam and Eve did which changed the nature of their relationship to the physical
Very interesting discussion about mamzerus
Halacha as a way to deal with life's absurdity. Interesting
Really fascinating about how throughout history Jews were able to be spectators in other forms of government and sit back and feel smug that we would be able to do it better but we never had to try it out because we didn't have a country. And now we have a country and we see it's not that easy
His ideas about making Shabbos more accessible and easier to keep in the land of Israel are phenomenal and should be implemented immediately. Genius amazing (I hope to write a substack based on these ideas)
The Rav did change the world with his approach to women learning Talmud. I do have to agree that he was more conservative to our detriment in other halachic areas of women's status when perhaps there is more wiggle room. He does not pull punches about the Rav. There are halachic arguments and psaks that would free agunos and he did not take that path
The rebuttal also interesting and made good points
July 12, 2018
He says so very many provocative things, envisioning an Orthodoxy that is open and refreshing and humane. But by the end, you wonder: who will answer this challenge? They'll be painted (as Cardozo has been by some) as "not Orthodox," and that's that. His vision of halacha as a rebellion against the values of the world is lovely and inspiring, but by the end you think, ok, but the right wing always wins because the people who want a good world are too nice to do anything but lose.
October 4, 2020
4.5
It was well-written, I think. There were certainly parts where I disagreed or questioned--but that is not in itself a bad thing, especially in a philosophical Halakhic book. To me, personally, this was a good introduction to philosophy in general and a very good further introduction to Jewish philosophy from the bits and pieces I studied in class.
It was well-written, I think. There were certainly parts where I disagreed or questioned--but that is not in itself a bad thing, especially in a philosophical Halakhic book. To me, personally, this was a good introduction to philosophy in general and a very good further introduction to Jewish philosophy from the bits and pieces I studied in class.
September 16, 2019
Not only the best explanation for why Jewish law is so convoluted and invasive, but also the best explanation for what a radical approach would be to make it relevant and capable to take on the 21st century Jew.
August 26, 2019
Dont agree with most of the book. But tought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews