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Rosh HaShanah: The Beginning of Change II

Abstract This essay explores the profound connections between language, philosophy, physics, and spirituality in the context of Rosh HaShanah. By examining the linguistic roots of “shanah” (year), “shinui” (change), and “shnei” (two), the essay uncovers a rich tapestry of meaning that addresses the fundamental question: Why is there change rather than permanence? The study traces the metaphysical concept of change from ancient Greek philosophy through medieval Jewish thought to modern physics, highlighting the paradoxical relationship between the Infinite Creator and finite creation as expressed in Kabbalistic and Chassidic concepts of mati ve’lo mati and ratzo va’shov. The essay concludes by proposing a relational view of time and change, aligning Jewish mystical thought with contemporary physics, and presenting Rosh HaShanah as an opportunity for renewing and deepening our relationship with the Divine. Introduction In [...]

By |2024-10-16T10:48:27-04:00October 15th, 2024|Creation, G‑d, Holidays (Yomim Tovim), Kabbalah, Metaphysics, Philosophy, Rosh HaShanah, Science, Spirituality, Sukkot, Time, Uncategorized, Yom Kippur|0 Comments
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Rosh HaShanah—the Beginning of Change I

It’s All in the Name Rosh HaShanah is usually translated as the New Year. When translated literally, it means the “Head of the Year.” In this essay, I suggest an alternative (almost literal) translation that reveals a new meaning. The word "rosh" is cognate with "reishit," meaning “beginning.” The word "shanah" is cognate with "shinui," meaning “change.” Therefore, Rosh HaShanah can be translated as the Beginning of the Change. Aristotle equated time with change (Physics). Change itself is unthinkable outside of time as change can only occur in time—first, there was something, and then, it became something else. So, change and time are essentially synonymous. Thus, we can translate Rosh Hashanah as the Beginning of Time.  Moreover, what is the beginning? Any process extended in time has the beginning, the middle, and the end. However, what is the [...]

By |2024-10-07T21:20:18-04:00October 2nd, 2024|Physics, Rosh HaShanah, Science, Symmetry, Time, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Why Are the Torah’s Mysteries Revealed in Fundamental Theories of Physics?

Look forth from Thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given us, as Thou didst swear unto our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. (Deuteronomy 26:15) When I studied Quantum Mechanics at university, I was puzzled by its mysteries. Technically, it is not a complex theory. With elementary knowledge of linear algebra and some wave physics, one can get pretty far in studying Quantum Mechanics. However, the conceptual difficulties astound everyone who dares to grapple with this theory. It is unlike anything you have seen before. Electrons simultaneously spin clockwise and counterclockwise, particles are in two places at once, cats are both dead and alive, and entangled particles remain connected no matter how far apart. Studying quantum mechanics makes you feel like [...]

By |2024-09-26T20:09:12-04:00September 25th, 2024|Creation, Deuteronomy, Devarim, Kabbalah, Ki Tavo, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Quantum Theory, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Bet HaMikdash as a Singularity in Space-time

Introduction In this essay, I intend to draw a parallel between the singularity in space-time, such as the putative point of origin of the universe in the Big Bang cosmology, on the one hand, and the Jerusalem Temple (Bet HaMikdash) as it existed on the terrestrial plane before its destruction and as it continues to exist on the celestial plane—in the four spiritual worlds of the Universe of Tikkun. Another unexpected parallel between the cosmological singularity and the Bet HaMikdash as the embodiment of ten sefirot (divine emanations) is that in cosmology and in Lurianic Kabbalah they both play the role of a  “wormhole”—a channel connecting different universes. As a brief introduction, Lurianic Kabbalah is a school of Jewish mysticism developed by Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), also known as the Holly Ari or [...]

By |2024-08-14T22:16:33-04:00August 14th, 2024|Big Bang, Cosmology, Physics, Sefirot, Singularity, Tisha B'Av, Uncategorized, Zohar|1 Comment
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Zealotry and Mercy: Parallels Between Pinchas and the War in Gaza

Zealotry and Mercy: Parallels Between Pinchas and the War in Gaza The biblical story of Phinehas (Heb. Pinḥas or Pinchas) presents a complex moral scenario in which an act of violence is divinely sanctioned as a means to restore order and peace. This narrative brings the ethics of conflict into sharp relief. The story of Pinḥas is found in Numbers 25:1-15. It takes place when the Israelites are encamped in Shittim, and some of them begin to engage in sexual immorality with Moabite women, as well as worshipping their gods. This angers G‑d, who sends a plague upon the Israelites. At the height of this crisis, an Israelite man named Zimri brings a Midianite woman named Cozbi into the camp, in full view of Moses and the whole assembly. Pinḥas, grandson of Aaron [...]

By |2024-07-26T18:53:06-04:00July 26th, 2024|Bamitbar, Numbers, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Pinchas, Reincarnation, Sefirot, Uncategorized, Zohar|0 Comments
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The Mystery of the Eighth Day

And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Leviticus 12:3 In the Torah portion of Tazria, we are commanded to circumcise a male child on the eighth day. In the previous Torah portion, Shemini, we read that the dedication of the Tabernacle (Mishkan) also took eight days, and only on the eighth day the Shechinah (“divine presence”) rested on it. What is the significance of the eighth day? Chasidic philosophy interprets the eighth day as the day after seven days. In numerous writings (ma’amarim) and talks (siḥot), the Rebbes of Chabad stated that seven days represent nature, whereas the eighth day is a day above nature.[1] The eighth day represents the supernatural. Why, you may ask, do the seven days represent nature? We are told that the number [...]

By |2024-06-23T21:50:37-04:00April 14th, 2024|Kabbalah, Leviticus, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Space, Spirituality, Tazria, Time, Uncategorized, Vayikra|0 Comments
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Breaking Symmetry to Inaugurate the Priests

The Torah portion Tzav describes a ritual performed by Moses in consecrating Aaron as the High Priest (Kohen Gadol) and his sons as priests (kohanim): And the other ram was presented, the ram of consecration, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And when it was slain, Moses took of the blood thereof, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And Aaron’s sons were brought, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot; and Moses dashed the blood against the altar round about. Leviticus [...]

By |2024-04-02T21:26:16-04:00April 1st, 2024|Biology, Chemistry, Leviticus, Malachi, Parshah, Purim, Sefirot, Standard Model, Symmetry, Tanakh, Tzav, Uncategorized, Vayikra|0 Comments
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Gazing at the Shekhinah

In his commentary on this week’s Torah Portion, Yitro, Rabbi Chayim Vital, writing in the name of his teacher, the Ari-zal, states that Abel was punished for gazing at the Shekhinah—the divine presence.[1] But what relevance does this have to the Torah portion retelling the greatest event in Jewish history (and, indeed, the history of human civilization)—the Sinaitic epiphany—the giving of the Torah? This is the Torah portion, where we read the Ten Commandments. What is the relevance of the sin of Abel to the Ten Commandments? More generally, what is Abel’s connection to this Torah portion? That is easy to understand. The Torah portion Yitro starts with the story of Jethro (Yitro), Moses’s father-in-law, coming to Moses in the Sinai desert with his daughter—the wife of Moses—and her two children. Rabbi Chayim [...]

By |2024-02-05T15:05:18-05:00February 4th, 2024|Bayesian probability, Collapse of the wavefunction, Exodus (Shemot), G‑d, Kabbalah, Neuroscience, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Reincarnation, Superposition, Superposition, Uncategorized, Wavefunction, Wavefunction of G‑d, Yitro|2 Comments
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