Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo (1946) is the founder and dean of the David Cardozo Academy in Jerusalem. Originally from the Netherlands, Rabbi Cardozo studied at several ultra-Orthodox yeshivas, including the Gateshead Yeshiva in England, the Mirrer Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and other kollelim. He is the author of 13 books and numerous articles. In one of his articles, “Ten Questions for Rabbi Cardozo by Rav Ari Ze’ev Schwartz,” Rabbi Cardozo comments:

“Over many centuries, the Jewish people made changes in their way of observing halacha in response to new circumstances arising in Jewish society. Very often this was not made or suggested by the rabbis, but initiated by the community itself. The rabbis simply followed their example. And they did so willingly, because they realized that it was the laity, not they, who had a better perception of the conditions of the times.” Cardozo continues: “There is an almost infinite amount of literature on halachic responses to social change. Responses that have continued into our time. The fact that the rabbis were willing to make the changes showed their courage and, at the same time, demonstrated the enormous flexibility of halacha, which allowed it to remain organic, alive, and relevant.”

Cardozo says: “Tosafot, a text written between the 12th and 14th centuries, is the main and most comprehensive classical commentary on the Talmud, written by hundreds of sages who constantly justified these changes through innovative halachic arguments, but almost always “post facto,” after people had promoted them. They had no choice but to take that position, otherwise Judaism would have become increasingly impractical, unacceptable, or simply irrelevant. A famous example is the case of the “Beit Yaakov” movement, the numerous seminaries for young Orthodox women, which was heavily attacked by rabbis in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sarah Schenirer (1883-1935), a seamstress and the initiator of this movement, noticed that Jewish girls were receiving a poor Jewish education at home, causing many to seek that education outside. Today, this movement has been accepted by almost all ultra-Orthodox communities, and no one questions its validity or halachic justification. Even so, this was not at all the accepted halachic position at the time. In fact, it was completely forbidden to teach women that level of Torah.

“Another case was the famous ruling by Rav Yosef Ber Soloveitchik (1903-1993) on whether women can (and even should) study the Gemara. Here the case was even more symptomatic. Many women had already begun to study the Gemara on their own, without anyone’s permission. So it wasn’t even an innovation or «chidush» by Rav Soloveitchik, but rather a capitulation to new circumstances. What was novel about this was that Rav Soloveitchik realized that any opposition to this fact would be counterproductive.”

“This brings us to our times. All the halachic arguments about why women and men cannot form minyanim, and why women cannot become rabbis, are probably correct if one looks at the primary sources. But by now they are completely irrelevant. The reason is obvious. Modern Orthodox women and sometimes even hareidim have advanced in this field without asking the rabbis.” I add: liberal Jewish movements have long accepted these changes. As Rabbi Cardozo says: changes come from the people, not from the rabbis.

By Marcos Gojman.

Bibliography: “Ten Questions for Rabbi Cardozo by Rabbi Ari Ze’ev Schwartz,” by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo.