Cosmology

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The Cosmological Problem of Initial Conditions and the Universe of Tohu

Now the earth was unformed and void.Genesis 1:2 We have a big problem in cosmology: the problem of the initial conditions of the universe at the time of the Big Bang.[1] Before we can explain this problem, however, we need to review some basic concepts of thermodynamics. Thermodynamics developed by Boltzmann and others[2] described the behavior of gases and liquids and the transfer of heat. A key concept in thermodynamics is entropy. Entropy is a measure of disorder, of chaos. The second law of thermodynamics states that in an isolated system, entropy always increases with time. The second law of thermodynamics explains universal decay. And entropy is the measure of that decay.[3] Shining stars produce entropy. Stars collapsing into black holes produce entropy. Evaporating black holes produce entropy.[4] Entropy is increasing in the universe.[5] Let us [...]

Noah’s Ark—Three Layers of Reality

A light shalt thou make to the ark…with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. (Genesis 6:16) We mentioned in the previous posts that Noah’s ark was a microcosm.[1] As we discussed in the previous post, “Noah’s Ark—Three Layers of Being Human,” most structural parallels related to Noah’s ark are based on its tripartite structure —that is, its having three tiers. In Chasidic thought, the three levels of Noah’s ark correspond to three worlds of BiYA—Beriyah (the World of Creation), Yetzirah (the World of Formation), and Asiyah (the World of Action). In this essay, we will investigate how the tripartite structure of Noah’s ark is reflected in the structure of reality. We might say that the totality of existence comprises three layers—physical, informational, and spiritual. The classification of reality into three [...]

Physics of Tzimtzum I — The Quantum Leap

Introduction “In the beginning G‑d created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) “In the beginning G‑d created the heavens and the earth,” the Torah says. However, what was before the “beginning”? It is like asking, What was before the Big Bang? In physics, until relatively recently, such questions were discouraged. The prevailing wisdom was that time and space had been created by the Big Bang, and there was no “before” before the Big Bang. Mishnah discourages such thinking, too. The sages point out that the first letter of the Torah, the letter bet, is open on the left and closed on the right:[1] The text of the Torah and the history of the world proceed from that opening on the left. The closed right side of the letter bet visually walls off [...]

Cosmology and the Tetragrammaton

As we discussed in the previous post “Singularity and Paradise,” Paradise offers a beautiful metaphor for modern cosmology wherein Eden is the initial singularity preceding the Big Bang, the river flowing from Eden to water the garden[1] is the expanding universe, and the garden itself is our planet Earth. This metaphor fits nicely with an old Kabbalistic allegory of a glassblower who maps the various stages of the glassblowing process with the four letters of the Tetragrammaton—Y‑H‑W‑H, or yud-heh-vav-heh. To create a glass object, the glassblower must first have a seminal idea of what he desires to create—this corresponds to the letter י (yud) of the Tetragrammaton, because yud represents Chokhmah, which itself represents the seminal idea and inspiration. Before the process of creation begins, the glassblower must inhale air into his lungs—this [...]

Singularity and Paradise

These are the chronicles of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the Eternal G‑d made earth and heaven. (Genesis 2:4) The second chapter of Genesis contains many repetitions, the most famous of which is the second rendering of the story of the creation of Adam and Eve. The classical commentators explain that this chapter adds further details to the original story of creation told in chapter one. Indeed, the Torah itself makes it clear by stating that “these are chronicles of the heaven and the earth…” Thus, the biblical cosmology sketched out in the first chapter of Genesis is retold here in greater detail. *** And a river went out of Eden to water the garden. (Genesis 2:8-10) This verse positions Eden as the wellspring [...]

Chanukah Menorah – the River of Time

In a Kabbalistic meditation on lighting Chanukah Menorah, the Arizal links the menorah lights with a supernal river (see Candle on the River). The Arizal’s principal disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital, writes: One should meditate on the idea that the initials of the words "…l'hadleek ner Chanukah [to light the Chanukah candle] are the holy name called "Nachal."Shaar HaKavanot, Inyan Chanukah The first letters of the words  “l'hadleek ner Chanukah” are three letters, Lamed (L), Nun (N), and Chet (Ch). Rearranged, these letters spell the word NaChaL, that is, a stream or a small river. As I wrote in my essays, “On the Nature of Time and the Age of the Universe,” and “Joseph—the Master of Time,” a river has been the metaphor for time across many cultures. Does this Kabbalistic meditation hints at a connection between Chanukah lights and [...]

Big Bang

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא Genesis 1:1 The Torah starts with two words—Bereshit bara—“In the beginning, G‑d created…” (or, as Rashi translates it, "At the beginning of creation by G-d...") Bereshit in Hebrew means “in the beginning,” and bara means “created.” What is interesting is that both words begin with the same letter, bet, the equivalent of b. Another two-word expression that describes the process of creation and each of whose two words also starts with the letter b is, of course, the Big Bang. While this linguistic parallel may be a coincidence, the parallel between the biblical cosmogeny as understood by classical biblical commentators and the Big Bang is unmistakable. An early rabbinic source, midrash Tanchumah (c. 8-9 CE) states that when G-d created the world it was not even as big as the black [...]

Gravitational Waves – Listening to Chirping of the Cosmos

Gravitational waves discovered last year and announced last week are converted into sound waves giving the astronomers the ear into the cosmos. Characteristic sounds of gravitational waves are called “chirping.” In Hebrew the  word for bird is tzipor – “chirping.” King Solomon was said to have understood the language of birds. Listening to and understanding the chirping of birds has been a long tradition among prophets of Israel. Tradition has it that Baal Shem Tov listened to and understood the chirping of birds. Rabbi Chaim Vital, the principal disciple of the Ari-zal, writes in Ruach HaKodesh, “Every animal, beast, bird, and creeping-crawly is empowered by a spirit. These spirits are keepers of great mystery. Therefore, through a chirp of a bird, for example, or the sound of any animal, one can also discover [...]

By |2016-02-15T21:47:21-05:00February 15th, 2016|Cosmology, Science, Uncategorized|5 Comments

Black Holes and Gravitational Waves

A hole in Kabbalah is called “rah” (evil). The reason for that is, as content is lost due to a leakage through the hole, forces of evil get their nourishment from leakage of light. Kabbalah views the world as divided into two domains – a domain of holiness (“sitrah d’kedushah”) and a domain of evil, so-called "the other side" (sitrah acharah). A hole is viewed as a portal from the domain of holiness into the other side – the domain of evil. This is why, for example, we are commanded to attach mezuzot to the doors of our houses. Doors viewed as portals of evil, through which good energy of the house can leak into the outside – the domain of evil. The mezuzah containing the affirmation of the oneness of G‑d, plugs these [...]

By |2016-02-15T21:30:47-05:00February 12th, 2016|Cosmology, Science, Uncategorized|3 Comments

When was the World Created?

There is a dispute in the Talmud as to when the world was created. According to Rabbi Eliezer, the world was created in the month of Tišrei, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar when we celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah (or Roš HaŠanah). According to Rabbi Yehoshua, the world was created in the first month of the year, the month of Nisan (Talmud, tr. Roš HaŠanah, 10b). The Hassidic thought attempts to reconcile these opposite opinions suggesting that both opinions are correct—the world was created in Nisan in thought, whereas in deed, it was created in Tišrei.  The problem with this approach is that for halaḵic (Jewish ritual law) purposes of calculating the Jewish calendar, the planets are deemed to have commenced their heavenly orbits in Nisan, not in Tišrei!  [...]

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