Ten Commandments

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The Standard Model

Introduction What could possibly be in common between the Standard Model of particle physics with some biblical accounts of Israelites’ travels in the Sinai desert, or with Kabbalistic doctrines related to the unfolding of spiritual worlds, or with the arrangement of the letter in the Name of G‑d? To suspect any connection or parallel between such different concepts may sound farfetched indeed. However, this is exactly what we are going to do in this essay. Remember that in structural analysis, we do not concern ourselves with the specifics or the nature of the objects at hand—we are only interested in the interrelationship between the objects, the high-level structure, or the storyline. So, let us not worry that particle physics speaks of… well, particles, whereas the Torah speaks of the arrangement of Jewish tribes [...]

Holy Smoke

And the entire Mount Sinai smoked because the Lord had descended upon it in fire, and its smoke ascended like the smoke of the kiln… Exodus 19:18 In the last post, Thou Shall Not Collapse G‑d's Wavefunction, we discussed the notion that G‑d only appears to man in a cloud of smoke, for which reason, the Kohen Gadol – High Priest – had to fill Kodesh Hakadoshim – the Holy of Holies – with the smoke of ketoret (incense), before entering it. On Shavuot, we read the Torah portion from Shemot (Exodus), Ch. XIX, in which this concept is made very explicit – "The entire Mount Sinai smoked because the Lord had descended upon it…" There is great symbolism in this smoke, which preceded the Revelation, when G‑d gave Jewish People Ten Commandments. As we discussed [...]

Thou Shall Not Collapse G‑d’s Wavefunction

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 died. 2. And the Lord said to Moses: Speak to your brother Aaron, that he should not come at all times into the Holy within the dividing curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, so that he should not die, for I appear over the ark cover in a cloud. (Leviticus 16:1-2) This parshah describes the service of the Kohen Gadol – the High Priest – performed on Yom Kippur. Why does it start by referencing the death of the two sons of Aaron (the first Kohen Gadol), Nadav and Avihu?  What relevance does this have to the topic at hand?  As we read earlier, [...]

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