Science

Unified Field Theory… and Practice

Unified Field Theory… and Practice

Albert Einstein had a lifelong quest—to develop a unified field theory—the theory that would describe as a single field gravity and electromagnetism (just as Maxwell unified electric and magnetic fields in a single electromagnetic field). Alas, Einstein did not succeed in his quest. Today, the goal is even more ambitious—to unify all four known fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear forces in a single model, the so-called Theory of Everything. If the hypothetical fifth force will be confirmed, it will also need to be included in the Theory of Everything. While theoretical physicists around the world are busy working our various approaches to such Theory of Everything (the leading candidate is the string theory), Jews around the world are practicing this unification during the holiday of Sukkot. During Sukkot, we take [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2019-10-15T22:59:45-04:00October 16th, 2016|Holidays (Yomim Tovim), Names of G‑d, Physics, Science, Soul, Sukkot, Sukkot, Uncategorized|3 Comments

The Fifth Force – Epilog

This post is a continuation and the conclusion of the previous post, THE FIFTH FORCE. Aside from the connection with the last week’s Torah portion, Vayelech, there is also connection with and Aseret Yimei Teshuvah (Ten Days of Repentance) and Yom Kippur. When it comes to physics of fundamental forces, there are two unresolved problems: (i) unification of gravity with the other three fundamental forces (electromagnetic, strong and weak); and (ii) discovery of the fifth force. Both problems are related to repentance (teshuvah), which comes to sharp focus on the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yimei Teshuvah) and Yom Kippur. Firstly, the word “teshuva” doesn’t mean “repentance”, it literally means “return” In Kabbalah tradition, the word TeShuVaH, is read as “ToShuV H” – return of the letter “heh”. It is talking about the [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2018-10-14T16:45:57-04:00October 13th, 2016|Deuteronomy, Kabbalah, Mashiach (Messiah), Names of G‑d, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Sefirot, Soul, Uncategorized, Vayelech, Yom Kippur|5 Comments

The Fifth Force

The Fifth Force

Now, therefore, write ye this song for you, and teach thou it the children of Israel.” (Deut. 31:19) The four known fundamental forces are: gravitational force, electromagnetic force, strong (nuclear) force, and the weak force (beta decay). Newton first described the gravitational force in his famous universal law of gravity. Today, we use Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity to describe gravitation fields. Electromagnetism was described in the 19 c. by Faraday and Maxwell. Strong and week forces were discovered much later, in the second half of the 20 c. Since Albert Einstein started a search for unified field theory, unsuccessfully trying to unify (describe by a single theory) gravity and electromagnetism, the quest for a unified field theory – the “Theory of Everything” – became the holy grail of theoretical physics. Strong and [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2019-10-03T17:33:39-04:00October 11th, 2016|Deuteronomy, Devarim, G‑d, Names of G‑d, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Science, Sefirot, Sefirot, Uncategorized, Vayelech|4 Comments

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

When was the World Created?

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 Tishrei, the seventh month of the Jewish calendar when we celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShanah. According to Rabbi Yehoshua, the world was created in the first month of the year, the month of Nisan (Talmud, tr. Rosh HaShanah, 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 Tishrei. The problem with this approach is that for halakhic (Jewish ritual law) purposes of calculating the Jewish calendar, the planets are deemed to have commenced their heavenly orbits in Nisan, not in Tishrei. How could planets that [...]

By webadmin|2024-04-09T15:56:17-04:00January 25th, 2016|Age of the Universe, Collapse of the wavefunction, Cosmology, Creation, Rosh Chodesh, Superposition, Uncategorized, Wavefunction|6 Comments

Joseph teaches Pharaoh a lesson in fundamental forces

Joseph teaches Pharaoh a lesson in fundamental forces

This week, we read in the Torah portion Vayigash (Gen. 44:18–47:27) about Joseph revealing himself to his brothers and Jacob coming to Egypt with his family. This storyline culminates by Joseph presenting his brothers and his father to Pharaoh. A curious thing, though—instead of presenting all eleven brothers, Joseph presents only five. This fact does not escape the attention of Rashi, who comments as follows: Joseph chose the weakest of his brothers to avoid conscription of the brothers to the military service in the Pharaoh’s army. This explanation always left me dissatisfied. Even if it explains why Joseph presented fewer than all of his brothers to Pharaoh, it does not explain the number—why five? Why not one, or two, or three? The number five in Hebrew is represented by the letter Heh. I submit to [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2018-10-14T16:57:40-04:00December 20th, 2015|Bereshit, Creation, Genesis, G‑d, Names of G‑d, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Quantum Field Theory, Quantum Theory, Uncategorized, Vayigash|1 Comment

Jacob’s Sheep—Particles, Fields and Strings

Jacob’s Sheep—Particles, Fields and Strings

And it came to pass at the time that the flock conceived, that I lifted up mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. (Gen. 31:10) This week’s Torah reading, Vayeitzei (Gen. 28:10-32:3) talks about three kinds of sheep: streaked, speckled, and spotted. Streaked Sheep Streaked sheep (“akudim”) were ankle-ringed. They looked as if their ankles were bound together with a black rope. Hence the name—"akidim" (Hebrew world for streaked, “akud” means bound as in “Akeda”—binding of Isaac). Speckled Sheep Speckled sheep (Heb. “nekudim” from sing. “nakod”.) were sheep with black dots. Spotted Sheep Spotted or flecked sheep (Heb. "berudim") were blotched. What is the significance of these streaks, speckles and blotches that the Torah devotes [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2017-11-24T14:57:34-05:00November 20th, 2015|Bereshit, Genesis, Kabbalah, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Quantum Field Theory, Quantum Theory, Science, Sefirot, Uncategorized, Vayetze|0 Comments

Covenant between the Parts as a Metaphor for Quantum Entanglement

Covenant between the Parts as a Metaphor for Quantum Entanglement

And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other… And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a dread, even a great darkness, fell upon him… And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. Genesis 15:10-17 The above verses from the Torah portion Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1–17:27) describe the Covenant between the Parts (a.k.a. the Covenant of the Pieces), when G‑d entered into eternal covenant with Abraham (at the time called Abram) – a covenant symbolized by halved animals. The simple meaning of this ritual is apparent: just as a halved [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2020-11-03T17:30:36-05:00October 25th, 2015|Entanglement, Genesis, Lech-Lecha, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Quantum Theory, Randomness, Uncategorized, Wavefunction|0 Comments

Adam Kadmon and Holographic Universe

Adam Kadmon and Holographic Universe

Dedicated to the memory of Professor Yaakob David Bekenstein The Torah opens with the word “Bereshit” – in the Beginning – whose first letter, Bet, is written large to signify that it contains a hidden meaning. The gematriah (numerical value) of the letter Bet is 2. It has three sides – top (“roof”), bottom (“floor”) and the right “wall”: Letter Bet of Bereshit may be viewed as the “event horizon” of the Torah. In General Relativity, the event horizon is the area of spacetime beyond which information is inaccessible to an outside observer. For example, the event horizon of a black hole is the boundary surrounding every black hole that acts as information firewall – the light from within the event horizon cannot escape outside and, therefore, information is invisible to an [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2018-10-08T21:52:53-04:00October 11th, 2015|Bereishit, Bereshit, Cosmology, Creation, Genesis, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Science, Spirituality, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Balak – Interference of Souls

Balak – Interference of Souls

Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. Moab became terrified of the people, for they were numerous, and Moab became disgusted because of the children of Israel. Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Now this assembly will eat up everything around us, as the ox eats up the greens of the field. Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. He sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of his people, to call for him, saying, "A people has come out of Egypt, and behold, they have covered the 'eye' of the land, and they are stationed opposite me. So now, please come and curse this people for me, for [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2020-10-15T23:12:39-04:00July 8th, 2015|Balak, Bamitbar, Entanglement, Ezekiel, Kabbalah, Mashiach (Messiah), Numbers, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Sefirot, Soul, Spirituality, Superposition, Tanakh, Uncategorized, Zohar|4 Comments

String Theory

String Theory

Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations, and they shall affix a thread of sky blue [wool] on the fringe of each corner." (Num. 15:38) At the end of the weekly Torah portion Shelach (Num. 13:1–15:41), Torah commands us to attached tzitzit, "tassels," to the four corners of the garment. Reading about the white and blue strings of the tzitzit brought back childhood memories of how I first invented a naïve form of the string theory. It was 1970, as I recall, and I was about 13 years old at the time. Growing up in Russia, alas, I didn’t have a Bar Mitzvah, so I wasn’t busy studying Torah or preparing for [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2019-06-23T14:16:46-04:00June 15th, 2015|Bamitbar, Biology, Numbers, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Quantum Theory, Shlach, String Theory, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Joseph and His Brothers

Joseph and His Brothers

I grew up in Russia and was raised on the metric system based on decimal arithmetic. When we immigrated to the U.S., I had to learn a new for me (but, actually, very old) Imperial system of measurements. I still struggle with it (decimal system, apparently, was hardwired in my brain). There are many number-systems or positional notation systems. Ancient Babylonians used the base-60 system; the Hindu-Arabic system uses the familiar decimal base-10 system; the Mayans used the base-20 system. There are base-2 binary, base-12 duodecimal, and base-16 hexadecimal systems, to name a few. Aside from the binary system used by computers, we humans mostly use decimal and, sometimes, duodecimal systems. The all-familiar decimal system is used in the metric system of measurements. In base-10 positional notation, there are 10 decimal digits—0, 1, [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2020-12-10T20:20:44-05:00December 14th, 2014|Bereshit, Chanukah, Genesis, Holidays (Yomim Tovim), Husband and wife, Kabbalah, Mashiach (Messiah), Mathematics, Mathematics, Names of G‑d, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Science, Sefirot, Uncategorized, Vayeshev|1 Comment

On Tzimtzum, Sefirot and Cardinal Numbers

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, I've been struggling to understand the meaning of Sefirot Ein Keitz. Today, during shacharis shemone esreh, it donned upon me that the literal meaning of Sefirot Ein Keitz is infinite numbers. I suddenly realized that while Sefirot after the Tzimtzum are ordinary numbers, Sefirot before Tzimtzum—Sefirot Ein Keitz—are cardinal numbers developed by the mathematician Georg Cantor at the end of the 19 c. Later during the day, I got the second epiphany that Tzimtzum is the collapse of the universal wavefunction describing the creation. Before Tzimtzum, all creations were in the state of "yecholot" -- potentialities. After the Tzimtzum, i.e., after the collapse of the wavefuction, these potentialities actualized in specific [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2016-01-24T12:30:41-05:00December 11th, 2014|Collapse of the wavefunction, Creation, Mathematics, Quantum Theory, Superposition, Uncategorized, Wavefunction, Wavefunction of G‑d|1 Comment

Forty Two Journeys to the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything

Forty Two Journeys to the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything

These are the journeys of the children of Israel… (Numbers 33:1) When G-d brought the Jews out from Egypt, He brought them out with the mystery of the 42-letter name, just as He created heaven and earth… (Zohar Chadash) The forty-two “stations” from Egypt to the Promised Land are replayed in the life of every individual Jew, as his soul journeys from its descent to earth at birth to its return to its Source. (Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov) Torah portion Massei (Num. 33-35) recalls forty-two journeys of the Children of Israel in the Sinai desert after the Exodus from Egypt. This is not the first time the concept of forty-two journeys appears in the Torah. Commenting on the Biblical verse, "And G‑d said, 'Behold, I Will Cause to Rain Bread from Heaven for You,’” (Ex. 25:5) [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2019-07-30T21:26:13-04:00July 27th, 2014|Creation, G‑d, Massei, Mathematics, Names of G‑d, Numbers, Omer, Pentateuch (Chumash), Uncategorized, Yom Kippur|4 Comments

Creatio ex Nihilo and the Number Theory

As we began this Shabbat reading the Fourth Book of Torah—Numbers, I thought, it would be appropriate to post on this blog an excerpt from my article Creatio ex Nihilo, Number Theory, Quantum Vacuum, and the Big Bang, originally published in B’Or HaTorah (Jerusalem: 2007, No. 17, p.115). Introduction The kabbalistic principle of yesh m’ayin or creatio ex nihilo—creation of something from nothing—is difficult to fully understand because we have no experience of creating something from nothing. Although many human creative activities seem to create something new, in fact, they merely change the form or nature of things. Never do we create something from nothing. A sculptor takes a preexisting slab of marble and shapes it according to his imagination. So does a potter, who molds pottery out of clay; a glassblower, who forms liquid [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2014-05-26T12:34:27-04:00May 25th, 2014|Bamidbar, Bamitbar, Creation, Mathematics, Numbers, Science, Uncategorized|2 Comments

Four Cups and Three Matzoth

On Seder night we drink four cups of wine and eat three matzoth. Why four cups and not three? Why three matzoth and not four? The same numerical relationship exists among our forefathers. We have the patriarchs – Avraham (Abraham), Yitzchak (Isaac) and Yaakov (Jacob). But we have four matriarchs – Sarah, Rivkah (Rebeca) Rachel, and Leah. This dynamics also manifests itself in the holiest name of G‑d – Tetragrammaton – Y‑H‑W‑H. Why does the four-letter Name have only three unique letters, Yud, Heh, and Vav? According to Sefer Yetzirah – a classic text of Kabbalah attributed to Abraham or to Rabbi Akiva – there are three letters of Hebrew Alef Bet called mothers: Alef, Mem, and Shin, which are considered to be “primary” letters. The three mothers represent the basic logical triad [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2017-04-09T23:10:01-04:00April 20th, 2014|Freedom, Holidays (Yomim Tovim), Names of G‑d, Passover (Pesach), Science, Time, Uncategorized|1 Comment

Global or Local?

And let them make me a Sanctuary that I may dwell among them (Ex. 25:8) In modern physics, there are two paradigms usually expressed as locality and nonlocality. Theoretical physics was born when Isaac Newton published his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica in 1687, where he formulated his laws of motion and the universal law of gravity. The law of gravity says that two masses attract each other proportionally to the product of their masses and inversely proportionally to the square of the distance between them. This law said nothing about the nature of the gravitational interaction, it did not explain the mechanism of this attraction at a distance. Newton was bothered by the question of how one body can act on another body far removed from it with nothing in between, i.e., the notion of “action [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2019-02-06T16:45:19-05:00February 2nd, 2014|Exodus (Shemot), G‑d, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Quantum Theory, Science, Shemot, Terumah, Uncategorized|3 Comments

Convergence of Science and Torah

Convergence of Science and Torah

The Torah portion of Yitro (Ex. 18), is the high point of the story of Exodus—the giving of the Decalogue on Mount Sinai. In a strange digression, the progressive narrative of the Exodus from Egypt is interrupted by the side story of Jethro (Yitro), the father-in-law of Moses, who comes to Sinai desert to join the Jewish nation. After hearing Moses’ account of all the miracles G‑d performed for Jewish people, Jethro exclaimed: Now I know that the Lord is greater than all deities. (Ex. 18:11) Jethro said confidently, “I know,” because, as the chief priest of Midian, he indeed knew all pagan cults and all deities worshiped in his time. Moreover, in antiquity, priests were expected to possess all secular knowledge as well (sadly, it is no longer the case). They needed to [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2019-01-20T14:55:32-05:00January 20th, 2014|Exodus (Shemot), G‑d, Mashiach (Messiah), Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Science, Shemot, Uncategorized, Yitro|2 Comments

Moses — the First Scientist

Moses — the First Scientist

And the angel of the Eternal appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said: "I must turn aside, and investigate this wondrous phenomenon, why the bush is not burnt." Exodus 3:2-3 In this Torah chapter, Moses sees a strange sight – a burning bush not consumed by fire. His scientific curiosity is aroused and he does what any good scientist would do—he goes to investigate this “wondrous phenomenon.” Moses was the first scientist recorded by the Bible. We, scientists, chase after wondrous phenomena to investing their nature. However, we often do it with arrogance, caring our own agenda and preconceptions. Torah teaches us otherwise, as G‑d warns [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2021-01-09T23:20:24-05:00December 21st, 2013|Parshah, Science, Shemot, Shemot, Uncategorized|2 Comments

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