Exodus (Shemot)

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Carpe Diem

As we have discussed in the post, It’s the time, stupid, Pharaoh never got the message that it’s all about mastery of time. To make sure Jews did get this message, G‑d gave them the very first commandment—the commandment of keeping time, of marking new months: This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you.(Ex. 12: 2) It is important to note that Jews were not only commanded to keep time, they were commanded to “make” time. Indeed, in Biblical times, the new month was not calculated according to a calendar, as it is done today, it was proclaimed by a Bet Din (an ecclesiastic court) based on the testimony of two live witnesses, who observed [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2018-01-19T06:54:12-05:00January 2nd, 2014|Bo, Collapse of the wavefunction, Exodus (Shemot), Holidays (Yomim Tovim), Omer, Parshah, Passover (Pesach), Pentateuch (Chumash), Quantum Theory, Rosh HaShanah, Shabbat, Shavuot, Shemot, Spirituality, Superposition, Time, Uncategorized, Wavefunction, Witnesses|0 Comments

It’s the Time, Stupid!

There is a continuous thread about the mastery of time that weaves through the last chapters of the book of Genesis (Bereshit) and continues through the beginning of the book of Exodus (Shemot). The story of Joseph’s incarceration ends with his successful interpretation of the dreams of the Pharaoh’s chief butler and the chief baker. Joseph's genius was not only in interpreting ordinary objects (tendrils of grapes and baskets of bread) as symbols of the units of time but in understanding that the engagement in time (manifested in the chief butler’s personally squeezing the grapes into the cup and placing the cup in Pharaoh’s hand) symbolized life for the chief butler and the passivity of the chief baker (who dreamt of baskets of bread sitting on his head, with birds eating from the baskets) [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2021-01-14T23:27:27-05:00December 31st, 2013|Dreams, Exodus (Shemot), Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Time, Uncategorized, Vayeira|0 Comments

The Theological Uncertainty Principle

I came across a post by Rabbi Herzl Hefter on Mekom Torah that I found so profound, I felt compelled to repost it here. The Theological Uncertainty Principle The Theological Uncertainty Principle emerges from the teachings of Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner (1800-1854) (henceforth RMY) and his son Rabbi Yaakov Leiner both of Ishbica. Let us consider the following commentary offered by RMY in his work the Mei HaShiloah (henceforth MH) on Parshat Yitro: “I (in Heb., Anochi) am the Lord your G‑d”. The verse does not state ‘Ani,’ for if it stated ‘Ani’ that would imply that the Holy One Blessed Be He revealed then the totality of His light to Israel, precluding the possibility of further delving into his words, for everything is already revealed. The letter “Kaf” (of Anochi), however, denotes that the [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2017-02-16T06:23:12-05:00February 1st, 2013|Creation, Exodus (Shemot), G‑d, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Uncertainty Principle, Yitro|1 Comment

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