Rabbi Cardozo is not a systematic philosopher, but a smithy, sending sparks flying in all directions with each strike of his hammer in his effort to forge a new type of Orthodoxy.
He begins this wide-ranging collection of his writings by observing that Orthodox yeshivot have “retreated from creative thinking” and that halachah has “been jailed in compartmentalized and awkward boxes”. It is “time to liberate it,” he says.
Rabbi Cardozo wants halachah to rededicate itself to the task of shaping human character and bringing God into the world. Halachists need to abandon the straightjacket imposed by the medieval codes (eg the Mishneh Torah and Shulchan Aruch) and to return to the Talmud, which records a plurality of views.
Halachists also need to pay more attention to the historical context in which earlier decisions were made (eg in relation to women and non-Jews) and to be more robust when legislating for the “needs of the hour”.
Issues discussed include riding bicycles, permitting essential public works and using driverless trains on Shabbat, and possible new solutions to issues concerning the agunah, illegitimacy, and conversion. Halachists should consult with those for whom the laws are made, as well as the poet, the theologian and the artist in order to understand the spirit of the people.
Individuals should also be invited to find their own halachic path and, if necessary, to adopt minority opinions.
This is heady stuff, which no doubt will cause some to view this book as a rebellion against Jewish law rather than an exposition of Jewish law as rebellion. Others will be put off by Rabbi Cardozo’s tendency to oversimplify, for example when discussing the Reform and Conservative movements, from which he wishes to distance himself.
But all this is to overlook Rabbi Cardozo’s profound commitment, the bravery of his challenge and his call for us all to think bigger and deeper about Judaism’s place in the world, which can only be for the good.
Rabbi Cardozo will be delivering the Louis Jacobs Memorial Lecture in London on July 15
