Shannon entropy

By Alexander Poltorak Abstract This essay explores the profound connections between the biblical laws of tzaraath (Leviticus 13-14) and modern concepts of entropy and the holographic principle in physics. Tzaraath, often misunderstood as mere leprosy, is interpreted as a physical manifestation of underlying spiritual and social disorder and discord, particularly linked to destructive speech (lashon hara). The essay argues that the elaborate rituals of diagnosis, isolation, and purification for tzaraath function to contain and reduce this spiritual/social entropy, restoring social order and inner harmony. Parallels are drawn to Jacob Bekenstein’s discovery that black hole entropy is proportional to its surface area, and the subsequent idea that the information content of a spatial volume might be encoded on its boundary—the holographic principle. It is suggested that a spiritual analog of Beckenstein-Hawking entropy expressing the [...]