Synopsis The essay resolves the apparent paradox in the Torah’s dual command to “remember what Amalek did” and simultaneously “erase the memory of Amalek” by
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like dreamers.” (Psalms 126:1) Abstract This essay reads Exile (Galut) as a dream-state: a mode
Summary This essay proposes an allegorical (remez) interpretation of Genesis 2, reading the second creation narrative as a prophetic template for humanity’s creation of artificial,
Alexander Poltorak Abstract This essay addresses the anigmatic statement of the Jewish Sages, stating that G-d created this world with the letter Heh and the
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
By Alexander Poltorak Abstract The Torah portion of Shemini records the climactic eighth day of the Tabernacle’s dedication, the moment when divine fire finally descends.
By Alexander Poltorak Introduction The relationship between the laws of physics and the conditions necessary for life is among the most profound mysteries in both
By Alexander Poltorak And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the cover, from between the two cherubim
By Alexander Poltorak The Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge as Metaphors for the Wave Function and Measurement Summary This essay proposes a
By Alexander Poltorak I. Introduction The confrontation between Jacob and an unidentified being in Genesis raises fundamental questions about the nature of consciousness, identity, and
This post continues the discussion we began in “Bereshit: The Binary Universe I” and continued in “The Binary Universe II: Angels as Microprocessors.” At the
The parallels we have uncovered between the four elements, the letters of the Tetragrammaton, and the worlds of Seder Hishtalshelut suggest that the ancient sages
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife: “Behold now, I know
This essay explores a novel parallel between quantum mechanical principles and the biblical creation narrative through etymological analysis of the Hebrew terms “erev” (evening) and
Zealotry and Mercy: Parallels Between Pinchas and the War in Gaza The biblical story of Phinehas (Heb. Pinḥas or Pinchas) presents a complex moral scenario
The Temple Menorah served as a lighthouse, illuminating darkness and providing purpose and direction.
And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Leviticus 12:3 In the Torah portion of Tazria, we are commanded to
The Torah portion Tzav describes a ritual performed by Moses in consecrating Aaron as the High Priest (Kohen Gadol) and his sons as priests (kohanim):
In his commentary on this week’s Torah Portion, Yitro, Rabbi Chayim Vital, writing in the name of his teacher, the Ari-zal, states that Abel was
The current Torah portion Beshalach tells about the splitting of the Sea of Reeds. As I discussed in my essay, “Collapse and Revelation,” the splitting
The story of Joseph and his brothers, described in the Torah portion of Vayeshev, presents many problems. Classical biblical commentators interpret the conflict between Joseph
The October 7th attack by Hamas terrorists on Israel was a double surprise. The brutality and barbarism of the attack, the unspeakable cruelty of the
And for the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the purification from sin, and running water shall be put thereto
Introduction What could the Standard Model of particle physics possibly have in common with biblical accounts of the Israelites’ travels in the Sinai Desert, Kabbalistic
Structurally identical biblical accounts of creation, destruction, and restoration are viewed as a manifestation of dialectic triad thesis-antithesis-synthesis.
In the proposed allegorical interpretation, the soldier in the war is a metaphor for the Jewish people, who are all “soldiers” in G‑d’s army Tzivot
This is the fourth installment in the series of essays on the nature of the soul. The first three installments can be found here: What
…[H]e who tries to cure the soul, wishing to improve the moral qualities, must have a knowledge of the soul in its totality and
In the biblical story of the creation of Adam, the Torah states: Then the Eternal G‑d formed man of the dust of the ground, and
In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were all
Yom Kippur means “The Day of Atonement.” Some view it as a frightening day full of regrets of the past and anxiety for the future.
We are quite familiar with space—we move freely in space back and forth; we concur space on land and beyond; we reclaim land from sea;
And afterwards she bore a daughter, and called her name Dinah. (Genesis 30:21) In my previous essay, “The Conflict Between Joseph And His Brothers—A Gender
The confrontation between Joseph and his brothers is one of the most troubling stories of the Bible. Joseph and his brother—twelve sons of Jacob—were the
And these are the chronicles of Isaac… (Genesis 25:19) So Esau went unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives that he had Mahalath the daughter
And Rebekah spoke unto Jacob, her son, saying: “Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying: Bring me venison, and make me
In the beginning, G‑d created the heaven and the earth…[1] (Genesis 1:1) Classical biblical commentators have given the first words of the Torah many
Шавуот Праздник Дарования Торы Aлександр Полторак Закончился праздник Песах. Все евреи поспешно убрали пасхальную посуду в особые шкафы или на чердаки до следующего Песаха.
There is a Biblical Commandment to count the days between the Passover and Shavuot, the “Feast of Weeks” (a.k.a. Pentecost). We start counting on the
And every meal-offering of thine shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy G‑d to be lacking
The Torah portion Vayakhel deals with the construction of the Mishkan, i.e., the “Tabernacle.” In Kabbalah, the Mishkan is viewed as a microcosm that represents
Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad …. of the families of Manasseh, the son of Joseph; and these are the names of his daughters:
And G‑d saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good, and it was evening and it was morning, the sixth day.
The months of Tishrei is full of holidays, and they all share a common theme—the unification of time—past, present, and future. It all starts with
In quantum mechanics, the state of a physical system is described by the so-called wave function (or the “wavefunction”). All attempts by Schrödinger, who first
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
