mezuzah

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The Many Secrets of Mezuzah

This week we study the Torah portion of Eikev, which we will be reading this Shabbat in synagogues. This Torah portion contains the second section of the Shema, Vehayah im shamo’ah, where the commandment of mezuzah is given a second time. Traditionally, this is the week when we discuss mezuzah. Coincidentally, tonight, the twentieth day of Av, is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, a prominent Kabbalist and the father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson.[1] Rabbi Levi Yitzchak has an interesting short commentary on the word mezuzah. In honor of his yahrzeit, I would like to expound upon and expand his commentary. The sages of the Talmud say that forty days before a fetus is formed, it is announced in heaven that this child is going to be married to [...]

By |2022-08-17T11:31:08-04:00August 16th, 2022|Uncategorized|0 Comments
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It Is Not Good For Man To Be Alone

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)   The end of this verse is rather puzzling. Why would the woman designated as a helpmate for Adam be opposite (literally “against”) him? One can perhaps soften things by translating the Hebrew eizer kenegdo as “counterpart.” However, in a literal translation, the question remains. A simple explanation is well known: if a man is worthy, his wife would be his best friend, ally, partner, companion, and helpmate. If the man is not worthy, however, his wife would be his opponent and antagonist. An esoteric interpretation offered by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, in his commentary on this verse in “Torah Ohr,”[1] provides a deeper meaning. He writes [...]

By |2020-02-07T13:30:15-05:00February 7th, 2020|Bereishit, Bereshit, Collapse of the wavefunction, Creation, Genesis, G‑d, Isaiah, Kabbalah, Names of G‑d, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Sefirot, Space, Symmetry, Time, Uncategorized, Wavefunction, Zechariah|0 Comments
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Ẓiẓit, Koraḥ, and Wave-Particle Duality

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes [ẓiẓit] 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. 15:37,38) They [Koraḥ and his men] assembled against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and the Lord is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above the Lord's assembly” (Num. 16:3) The Torah portion Shelach deals primarily with the fiasco of the spies sent by Moses to scout out the land of Canaan. The portion ends, however, seemingly out of turn, with the commandment to [...]

By |2023-06-18T09:58:51-04:00July 2nd, 2019|Bamitbar, Korach, Numbers, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Physics, Quantum Theory, Sefirot, Shlach, String Theory, Uncategorized, Uncertainty Principle|3 Comments
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Brit Milah in Six Dimensions

Sefer Yetzira speaks of three dimensions: Olam, Shanah, and Nefesh.  Olam literally means "world" and signifies space. Shanah literally means "year" and signifies the dimension of time. Nefesh literally means "soul" and signifies the spiritual dimension. In another place, recognizing the space itself is three dimensional, Sefer Yetzira speaks of five-dimensional space which is a Minkowski spacetime with an addition of the fifth spiritual dimension. This construct is very similar to the Kaluza-Klein five-dimensional generalization of the General Theory of Relativity (a theory that is near and dear to my heart, because, unaware of its existence, I independently rediscovered it as a teenager.) Kaluza-Klein, first forgotten, is now experiencing a revival as a special case of the string theory. Sefer Yetzirah In every one of these dimensions, G‑d created the domain of holy [...]

By |2018-09-23T03:48:50-04:00September 18th, 2018|Uncategorized|1 Comment
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Standing and Moving

According to the Saadia Gaon, these two Torah portions – Nitzavim and Vayelech – are really one portion, which sometimes is split into two.  In the language of Quantum Mechanics (QM), the two portions are entangled, in a manner of speech, and are described by the single "wavefunction."  Needless to say, this is not meant in a literal sense, as QM describes physical objects, whereas these biblical chapters are certainly not.  Nevertheless, taking poetic license, we can loosely say that these portions are entangled, i.e., they are really one.  Nitzavim and Vayelech, however, speak of the opposite themes – “nitzavim” connotes standing( lit., you stand), while “vayelech” connotes walking (lit., …and he walked). As much as it seems paradoxical at first, from the physicist’s point of view, it is not surprising at all.  Typically, [...]

By |2020-10-15T22:53:46-04:00October 9th, 2016|Collapse of the wavefunction, Deuteronomy, Devarim, Devarim, Entanglement, Nitzavim, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Quantum Theory, Rosh HaShanah, Superposition, Uncategorized, Vayelech, Wavefunction|1 Comment
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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
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Mezuzah in Three Dimensions

The mezuzah is one of the few miẓvot ([divine] "commandments") for which the Torah states its reward. In this case, the reward is a long life for oneself and one's children: And you shall inscribe them on the doorposts ("mezuzot") of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be prolonged upon the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers for as long as the heavens are above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:20-21 According to the Tosafot and the Shulḥan Aruch, the main function of the mezuzah is to protect the house from evil. Because of this attribute, the mezuzah has been called "the coat of arms in the knighthood of G‑d."* To begin to understand the mechanism of this effect of the [...]

By |2023-08-04T16:51:34-04:00August 15th, 2014|Deuteronomy, Devarim, Eikev, Mashiach (Messiah), Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Space, Spirituality, Time|0 Comments
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Splitting of the Sea

Do you like riddles?  Here is a riddle – what do these two figures represent in the context of Exodus?   No Idea?  How about a hint? Still no idea? Okay, here is the answer: Yes, the first figure represents two doorposts and the lintel marked with the blood of Passover sacrifice, as it says: וְלָקְחוּ, מִן-הַדָּם, וְנָתְנוּ עַל-שְׁתֵּי הַמְּזוּזֹת, וְעַל-הַמַּשְׁקוֹף--עַל, הַבָּתִּים, אֲשֶׁר-יֹאכְלוּ אֹתוֹ, בָּהֶם And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it.  (Ex. 12:7) The second picture is of the splitting of the sea, as it says: וַיָּבֹאוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם, בַּיַּבָּשָׁה; וְהַמַּיִם לָהֶם חוֹמָה, מִימִינָם וּמִשְּׂמֹאלָם And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the [...]

By |2019-01-16T05:59:50-05:00January 12th, 2014|Beshalach, Collapse of the wavefunction, Dreams, Entanglement, Exodus (Shemot), Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Quantum Theory, Shemot, Superposition, Time, Uncategorized, Uncertainty Principle|0 Comments
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Riddle — the answer

And the answer is... (drum roll, please)   Yes, the first figure represents two doorposts and the lintel marked with blood of Passover sacrifice and circumcisions as is says:  וְלָקְחוּ, מִן-הַדָּם, וְנָתְנוּ עַל-שְׁתֵּי הַמְּזוּזֹת, וְעַל-הַמַּשְׁקוֹף--עַל, הַבָּתִּים, אֲשֶׁר-יֹאכְלוּ אֹתוֹ, בָּהֶם And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. (Ex. 12:7) The second picture is of the splitting of the sea, as it says:  וַיָּבֹאוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם, בַּיַּבָּשָׁה; וְהַמַּיִם לָהֶם חוֹמָה, מִימִינָם וּמִשְּׂמֹאלָם And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. (Ex. 14:22) And both have to do with time. But this is a [...]

By |2014-01-11T23:39:35-05:00January 10th, 2014|Beshalach, Bo, Exodus (Shemot), Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Shemot, Time, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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Mezuzah and Time

Bo: Exodus 10:1 – 14:16 The Erev Shabbat parshat Bo (the Eve of Sabbath of the week when we read the Torah section Bo) 2014 was my lucky day – I seem to have found an answer to a nagging question of many years. During several years from 1989 to 1996, I had been working on a book on Mezuzah.  This was not a book about halachot (ritual laws) of mezuzah – there were many books on that subject – this was a book about the meaning of mezuah – its significance in Jewish history, philosophy, ethics, and mysticism.  By 1996, the book was finished and I signed a contract with the leading publisher of English Judaica – Jason Aronson.  I was supposed to deliver the finished manuscript in a few months, but [...]

By |2017-02-02T22:34:18-05:00January 5th, 2014|Bo, Exodus (Shemot), G‑d, Names of G‑d, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Shemot, Time, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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