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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 [...]

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) [...]

Sensing Spirituality

It is unsurprising, then, that spiritual phenomena have never been experimentally detected in a laboratory setting. Spirituality, by definition, is non-physical. Consequently, no physical laboratory equipment can detect anything spiritual; it is inherently "neutral" to it. Physical elements do not interact with the spiritual, much like a neutron does not couple with an electromagnetic field, or an electron with a strong nuclear field. So, what does interact with spirituality? Only spirituality itself.

I Am Who I Am: Conversation at the Burning Bush

…And behold, the thorn bush was burning with fire, but the thorn bush was not being consumed." (Ex. 3:2) Every theologian worth his salt along with many philosophers, from Plato and Aristotle to Descartes and Kant, attempted to prove the existence of G‑d.  Tomas Aquinas, for instance, offered not just one but five “proofs”!  Others, such as Hume and Nietzsche, tried proving the opposite.  Little did they understand that proving the existence (or nonexistence) of G‑d is a fool’s errand.  Here are at least ten reasons why G‑d's existence cannot be proven (or disproven): The existence of G‑d cannot be proven because… G‑d doesn’t “exist,” not in the ordinary sense of existence anyway.  One can say that something exists only so long as it may exist or may not. By stating that something [...]

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

Koraḥ Disentangled

Koraḥ the son of Yitzhar, the son of Kehos, the son of Levi took [himself to one side] along with Dasan and Aviram, the sons of Eliav, and On the son of Peles, descendants of Reuven. Num. 16:1 There is a curious aspect to the story of Koraḥ’s rebellion. We can understand why Koraḥ (or Korach), being of the tribe of Levi, may have had a claim to the priesthood thus causing a rebellion against Mosheh and Aaron HaKohen, the High Priest.  The Torah tells us, however, that some Reubenites, that is, members of the tribe of Reuven, got entangled with the followers of Koraḥ in this rebellion as well.  But what did they have to do with it?  Not being descendants of Levi, they surely had no claim on the priesthood.  Why [...]

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