Synopsis The narrative of the “stolen blessings” in Parashat Toldot presents a profound moral paradox: How could Rebecca, a righteous prophetess, and Jacob, the archetype
(Parshat Vayeira, Genesis 21:14-21) Hagar and Ishmael are dying of thirst in the desert. In her despair, Hagar places her son under a bush and
“Ein simchah ke’hatarat ha-sfeikot”—there is no joy like the resolution of doubt. On the eve of Rosh HaShanah, our sages describe a cosmic pause: the
The ten days between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur are called Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (Ten Days of Penitence). As the prophet says: Seek G-d while
By Alexander Poltorak Introduction In the first installment of this essay, “Collapsing the Wave Function of Urim and Thummim,”[1] we discussed the inherent duality of
By Alexander Poltorak Dedicated to the refuah shaleimah (a complete and speedy recovery) of David ben Leah And thou shalt put in the breastplate of
By Alexander Poltorak This essay is dedicated to the Upsherenish of our dear grandson, Tzemach Asher Noam, Sheyiḥiyeh, which took place today in Houston. May
By Alexander Poltorak The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge as Metaphors for the Wave Function and Measurement Summary This essay proposes a
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife: “Behold now, I know
This essay explores a novel parallel between quantum mechanical principles and the biblical creation narrative through etymological analysis of the Hebrew terms “erev” (evening) and
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
The current Torah portion Beshalach tells about the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. As I discussed in my essay, “Collapse and Revelation,” the splitting
Structurally identical biblical accounts of creation, destruction, and restoration are viewed as a manifestation of dialectic triad thesis-antithesis-synthesis.
Noah’s flood was a cataclysmic event with no parallels in recorded history. All of humanity (along with flora and fauna)—except for Noah and his family
The collapse of the wave function is the process of revealing hidden possibilities. Reducing uncertainty reveals information. Until the wave function collapse, the system is
And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. (Genesis 30:21) In my previous essay, “The Conflict Between Joseph And His Brothers—A Gender
And Rebekah spoke unto Jacob, her son, saying: “Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying: Bring me venison, and make me
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
In the previous post “Physics of Tzimtzum I—The Quantum Leap”, we gave a general overview of the mystical doctrine of tzimtzum—the cornerstone of Lurianic Kabbalah.
It is related that on the day that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi died, the Sages decreed a fast, and begged for divine mercy so that he
And the Eternal G‑d said: “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmate opposite him.” (Genesis 2:18)
As we discussed in the earlier post, The Tree of Knowledge as a Metaphor for Superposition of States and Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, the Heisenberg uncertainty
As always in science, every answered question breeds new questions. Now that we understand that the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge are
Today is Chol Hamo’ed Sukkot – the intermediate days between the first and the last days of the holiday of Sukkot. These days are not
Meditations on the Maaseh Merkavah – IV This is the fourth and the final installment in the series of posts related to Ezekiel’s prophesy, Ma’aseh
(A popular summary of the paper “Towards Futuristic Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics” by Alexander Poltorak being currently prepared for publication) Quantum mechanics (QM) is one
Meditations on the Maaseh Merkavah – III This is the third installment in the series of posts related to the Ezekiel’s prophesy, Maaseh Merkava, “The
And all the tithe of the herd or the flock, whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:32)
Welcome to the premiere of our first film, Quantum Torah. You can watch the film here: Don’t forget to subscribe to my channel here:
I am excited to announce that the premiere of our film “Quantum Torah” is scheduled for this Friday, March 1st. You can see the trailer
Coming soon to a theater near you. Watch a trailer:
And G‑d saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good, and it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day.
The Torah portion, Re’eh, talks about the Sabbatical Year—in Hebrew, Shemitah—the Seventh year. When the Sabbatical year comes, all loans are forgiven, and Jewish servants
The Torah portion Re’eh, begins with the verse: Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse. (Deut. 11:26) The first word
And he [Abraham] lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him… (Genesis 18:2) On this blog, we often discuss
Ye are standing this day all of you before the Lord your G‑d: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the
This they shall give, everyone who goes through the counting: half a shekel according to the holy shekel. Twenty gerahs equal one shekel; half of
Today, Yud Shvat, is the yartzeit (anniversary of passing) of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, a.k.a. the Rebbe Rayatz, or the Frierdiker
As I wrote in my post, Schrödinger Menorah: Burning And Not Burning, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, explains the miracle of Chanukah as
According to the Saadia Gaon, these two Torah portions – Nitzavim and Vayelech – are really one portion, which sometimes is split into two. In the
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
What came first, the Schrödinger cat or the fig of Rabbi Akiva? You be the judge. Today we present a guest post by Rabbi Dr. David
Today is the eighth day of the month of Tevet. On the 8th of Tevet of the Jewish year 3515 (246 BCE), the Torah was
Today is Yud Tes Kislev — Rosh HaShanah of Chasidut. Today I received two gifts, which I’d like to share. Lately, while learning Samach Vov,
A man once came to a rabbi with said news – his cat just died. Rabbi politely expressed his sympathy to the owner of the
A strange episode at the end of the last Torah portion, Balak, where Phinehas (Pinchas) slain a Jewish prince caught in the act with a
And G‑d opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Bilam: “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these
The story of Sotah, a suspected adulteress, is very troubling on the first blush. Why would a woman be subjected to such humiliation? The Lubavitcher
In quantum mechanics, the state of a physical system is described by the so-called wave function (or the “wavefunction”). All attempts by Schrödinger, who first
Today is Rosh Chodesh Adar Bet – the New Moon and the beginning of the second month of Adar. If we ever to have a month
Reading the Haftorah this Shabbat brought to mind scenes from the 2004 Republican National Convention in Madison Square Garden in New York City where attendees where
And the house of Israel called the name thereof manna; and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers
Do you like riddles? Here is a riddle – what do these two figures represent in the context of Exodus? No Idea? How about
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
By the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall the one liable to death be put to death; he shall not be put to
Massei — Bamidbar-Numbers 35 Whoever kills a person, based on the testimony of witnesses, he shall slay the murderer. A single witness may not testify
Acharei Mot 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, when they drew near before the Lord, and they
Vaikra-Leviticus 14:35-36 (Metzora) 35. and the one to whom the house belongs comes and tells the kohen, saying, “Something like a plague has appeared to
B’reshit bara Elokim et hashamaim v’et haaretz… In the beginning, G‑d created heaven and earth… Alternative translation: With two beginnings G‑d created heaven and earth…
On the Age of the Universe in the Many-Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics[*] Alexander Poltorak Abstract The present paper addresses the apparent discrepancy
Towards Reconciliation of Biblical and Cosmological Ages of the Universe[1] Alexander Poltorak Abstract Two opposite views of the age of the universe are considered.
A story is told about a bachur (an unmarried young man) who came in the 60s to the Lubavitcher Rebbe for the yechidus (private audience)
And he shall take the two he goats, and place them before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And Aaron shall
In the Torah portion Tazriah (Leviticus 13), the Schrödinger cat[1] gets leprosy. Well, it’s not really leprosy, it’s a mysterious supernatural disease called tzara’as, nowadays translated