Quantum Physics in the Torah – Godly Wisdom in Science
by Rabbi Shlomo Ezagui
“..May everything that has been made know that You have made it, may everything that has been created understand that You have created it, and may everyone who has the breath of life in his nostrils declare that the Lord God of Israel is King and His kingship has dominion over all…”
Rosh Hashana Prayers.
My articles on physics and science are not to provide validation or proof for our Holy Torah from science. Our Torah needs no modern-day science that will likely change or be modified to endorse an eternal, unchanging truth and reality. Torah has withstood the test of time and has persevered despite countless historical challenges. Over the ages, the Torah has proven its enduring strength in adversity. Torah is THE most authentic historical manuscript on the face of the earth. PERIOD.
Unfortunately, when hearing “the Torah says this or that,” many people respond, “That’s antiquated!” “We’ve moved on from there.” “Today we have science…”
As in Plato’s allegory of the cave or the parable of the baby outside the womb trying to convince the baby inside the womb there is a better, bigger, and brighter world outside the cave or the womb, my message is: Look, even the scientists in the cave are finally accepting and recognizing the same truths conveyed to us for thousands of years by our Mystics and sages of our tradition.
If finally “respected” “modern” scientists can use the same language and same concepts as our Holy Torah, I say use these examples as strong signals that you don’t have to wait for those still in the cave to confirm or reassure you every single one of the truths in our Torah.
The few examples that people in the cave are starting to recognize of the sun outside the cave and the shadows we experience inside the cave should be enough for an intelligent person to take the hint we have been taught for thousands of years of the real truth versus the deception so many subscribe to in the darkness of the cave.
Another thing.
Torah explains the world as a byproduct of its blueprint, our holy Torah. Those who study Torah know with certainty what’s in the building and how to address life in this world since the builder is trustworthy to place everything as described in His “blueprint.”
Others, however, need to see the building to be reassured that the blueprint is authentic and accurate and more accurately envision the principles and concepts of our Holy Torah in complete confidence.
When we most recently, in particular, see modern-day science recognizing and talking the exact language as our sages, it takes only a tiny little effort to see past the materialistic veneer and realize the actual material and essence behind this universe. In other words, as Maimonides says, “Science and understanding how the world operates can help many better appreciate God to love and to fear Him.”
On that note.
“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool.” Richard P. Feynman (American theoretical physicist 1918-1988)
This sounds credible because an intelligent person said so. I also sound smart because I associate myself with the wisdom of a brilliant theoretical physicist.
If I quote the same thing from a “Rabbi” in the 1800s, why does it have an entirely different ring? And this “Rabbi” adds more expansively to the concept and has stronger sources for his wisdom?
“Three things you must know to be an adult: • Don’t fool yourself. • Don’t fool others. • Don’t let others fool you. — and do it all without trying to impress anybody.” Rabbi Shalom DovBer of Lubavitch (1860-1920) to his son before his bar mitzvah (1893).
The Godly wisdom implanted in our Torah and Holy Traditions is eternal and accurate, even if we don’t get it YET. Intelligent people know the Torah has always been ahead of the societal science curve. Studying the Torah and practicing its dictates will always place people in the best, wisest places long before “people” come to their senses.
The following is another example of the modern-day cutting-edge science in our Torah long before it was discovered in the Standard Model of particle physics, Quantum mechanics.
In Quantum mechanics, we discovered that light (essentially electromagnetic energy) travels in wave-like and particle forms. The crazy thing is that these two states seem to collapse at a certain point, and until then, the matter is in a superposition. (The idea is that a system is simultaneously in all possible states until it is measured. After measurement, it falls to one of the fundamental states forming the superposition, thus destroying the original configuration). Erwin Schrodinger mused, “How can the cat be alive and dead at the same time?”
Another feature of Quantum Mechanics is super entanglement. When two particles, such as a pair of photons or electrons, become entangled, they remain connected even when separated by vast distances. What happens to one affects the other faster than the speed of light! Albert Einstein famously called this “spooky action at a distance.”
In the Torah, there is a law that if a Husband suspects his wife of illicit behavior (and since the husband is spiritually entangled with his wife, the rite only works to discover the innocence of the wife if the husband himself is not guilty of adultery) after she was warned to keep away from a specific individual, she becomes forbidden to her husband until she is tested with special water in which the name of God was placed.
During this time, she is not considered divorced and yet forbidden to her husband. She is in a superposition of both married and not married simultaneously. Once she is tested with the water and found innocent, at that time retroactively, even if her husband did cohabit with her during the unknown state, he is now considered innocent since we know now she was innocent all along (the cat was always alive).
If she is found guilty, not only would she be punished, but at the “same instant,” the paramour, who was also now super entangled in this situation, will die in the same way she does, “wherever” he may be because of his behavior (back in time) which triggered this entire procedure.
Another Torah example of superposition.
The Torah also speaks of the laws of the Nazarites. (As a mature person, someone voluntarily takes upon themselves not to drink wine, touch dead bodies, and let their hair grow.) Samson, the Judge, was inducted to this state of a Nazarite by the Angel and his mother before age 13! It was only when he reached the age of Maturity and willingly accepted this way of conduct we consider him to have been a bona fide Nazarite — from the time of birth.
The Torah is operating and giving credence precisely to the principle of superposition. There are states where we must live and operate under the reality that it is both and neither, simultaneously until the time we will retroactively affect the past.
Super entanglement retains the connection between two entangled particles even when physically at great distances.
Here is a quote from the Rambam (Parah Adumah Chapter 14) on super entanglement and the connection between a person and his possessions even when physically separated in two locations!
“…….Similarly, sacrificial foods and liquids are not protected from impurity by being in a sealed container. Nevertheless, water that had not been sanctified and an empty container that was purified for use in this purification process are protected by a sealed container……”
“…..When does the above apply? When the owner was pure. If, however, the owner contracted impurity, the water is disqualified, no matter where it is located…..”
“…..What is implied? If a person’s water was in a sealed container and he and it were both under the same shelter as a corpse, they are both impure. If he is outside and water that is not sanctified is inside, they are both pure. If he is inside and the water is outside, just as he becomes impure, his water is also disqualified….”
The person’s possession, the water, remains entangled, and its status is affected by the person who owns the water, even at far distances.
Rabbi MM Schneerson once told an attorney in a Private audience, “Torah is not dependent on science but far higher .” 10 Shevat 5740 Rabbi David Weitman & Attorney.
“Torah and its commandments is our life and the length of our days, and in it, we will explore (spend our time) day and night,” even if it takes another hundred years for “scientists” to discover the benefits of its directives.
