Op-Ed: Scientific Discovery Affirms Alter Rebbe’s Word

by Anonymous

A scientific rendering of particles smashing at the Geneva accelerator.

Yesterday, 14 Tamuz (July 4, 2012), the science world went crazy over the [possible] discovery of the Higg’s Boson, also called “the God particle,” which confirms the existence of ‘dark energy.’

In that very day’s Hayom Yom, the Rebbe writes in detail about a Maamar the Alter Rebbe privately said in this week’s parsha that disputes science’s understanding of the function of gravity.

The scientific discovery of dark energy proves that gravity alone is not the force that keeps everything in its place, as the Alter Rebbe explains in that Maamar!

Without getting into any scientific discussions, the mere fact that: 1. The Alter Rebbe said this Maamar in Parshas Balak, and 2. The Rebbe writes about it in Today’s Hayom Yom – is nothing short of a miracle.

42 Comments

  • Milhouse

    “The scientific discovery of dark energy proves that gravity alone is not the force that keeps everything in its place”

    This is nonsense. Not only isn’t it right, it’s so nonsensical that it’s not even *wrong*.

    And it certainly is gravity, and *only* gravity, that keeps us (no matter where we live) attached to the ground. Without gravity there is no such concept as “up” or “down”.

    As for the Alter Rebbe’s maamar, there has never been such a “kushyas hatochnim”; no astronomer has ever asked such a question. And the AR’s “answer” adds up to saying, correctly, that the question makes no sense.

  • Anonymous

    I don’t think this person has the faintest clue what the CERN announcement signifies.

  • Stupidity

    If you look up the source of the Hayom Yom, you will see that the Alter Rebbe was not discrediting gravity – he didn’t mention it!
    He was disputing another theory – that each element is drawn to its element, and that man – being from earth – is drawn to earth. This, the Alter Rebbe says, is not true.
    The Alter Rebbe’s explanation is perfectly in tine with the theory of gravity, in fact explaining the spiritualistic side of it.

  • Stupidity

    If you look up the source of the Hayom Yom, you will see that the Alter Rebbe was not discrediting gravity – he didn’t mention it!
    He was disputing another theory – that each element is drawn to its element, and that man – being from earth – is drawn to earth. This, the Alter Rebbe says, is not true.
    The Alter Rebbe’s explanation is perfectly in tune with the theory of gravity, in fact explaining the spiritualistic side of it.

  • Explain Please

    Can you explain how that Hayom Yom has anything to do with the Higgs Bosson, and how the discovery of the Higgs disputes gravity?

  • Another anonymous Idiot

    You should first understand what the G-d particle is before comparing it to the Hayom Yom.

    You should also try to understand the Hayom Yom before comparing it to the G-d particle.

    Do you love to waste peoples time?

  • before you post...

    Before you post an anonymous article on science, it behooves the editors of Crownheights.info to do basic research.

    1. The Higgs Boson particle is NOT what is refereed to as “dark energy”.

    2. the Alter Rebbe says that the reason that the people in America dont fall off, is because we are on a sphere. and there is no top and bottom on a sphere. that is NOT what the scientists have learned from the confirmation of the existence of the Higgs Boson!

    3. the confirmed existence of the Higgs Boson explains how anything in the universe has mass. gravity is a result of mass. no scientist will tell you that the confirmation of the Higgs disproves gravity! punk farkert!

    4. science today very much believes in gravity! The question was: if the strength of gravity is dependent on the size of the mass of the two objects, what in general gives any object which is made up of atoms etc. its mass?
    Where does mass come from?
    it is that last question that scientists have answered and confirmed with the confirmation of the Higgs.
    IE the Higgs particle explains how all the sub-atomic and atomic particles in the universe get their mass. once mass exists at the atomic level, the more atoms that are grouped together (IE a big planet or star) the stronger the mass will be… the stronger the gravitational force will be…

    5. So in actuality the hayom yom and the scientific discovery have nothing to do with each other.

    6. this is not to be taken as taking sides between the Alter Rebbe and science. Chas vesholom! but that doesn’t mean they are saying the same thing?!
    If you want to present science as agreeing with Torah and chasidus, you need someone who knows both TORAH and SCIENCE!!!

    – Someone who follows science a little

  • my opinion

    Whoever wrote this piece and I don’t know why the name is anonymous Has absolutely no clue what they are talking about

  • anon

    that is not the peshat in the hayom, do not show everybody your amaratzus.

  • Use your chabad

    Absolute gibberish! If you can’t explain it scientifically, just shut up

  • noah

    ‘Without getting into any scientific discussions…’

    I would agree with the author if what the Rebbe wrote in Hayom Yom had any correlation with the discovery of the Higgs Boson. The Higgs Boson may explain the existence of mass but it doesn’t do much for explaining why people on one side of the earth don’t fall head first into space (not to mention what keeps planets in orbit). The explanation in Etz Chaim for this phenomenon seems fairly esoteric and Hayom Yom doesn’t really explain its meaning.

    Yes, it’s intriguing that the discovery was announced on the same day as the mention of gravity in Hayom Yom. But ‘nothing short of a miracle’ seems a bit excessive.

  • DeClasse- Intellectual

    So, the question becomes–how many more years will it be before the scientists and physicsts scratch the surface of what our greeat sages teachers and kabbalists knew about creation and the function of the world????? Remember what the Rebbe stated about Einstein back when?

  • Author

    Not exactly how I put it. (I understand that you need to trim the article down, but…)

    Dark energy was discovered in the last few decades. The Alter Rebbe zt“l spoke about this 210 years ago (parshas Balak) when he said that their opinion (on gravity) is ‘not emes’. (As confirmed by the NASA links I sent you.)

    The possible discovery of Higg’s Boson (which turns physics on its ears) supposedly confirms existence of a particle closer to what we call in Chassidus ”Koach Hayolee“.

    The key points though are that:
    1. The Rebbe zt”l elected to write about this topic EXACTLY on this date in Hayom Yom.
    2. The Alter Rebbe zt”l spoke about this science on this Parsha and used America as an example. And CONTRADICTED the [widely believed] gravity theory, back then.

    This issue is important because it strengthens our emuna and demonstrates that Tzadikkim not only understood Science a magnitude greater than all scientists combined, they also with their kedusha, foresaw world events decades and centuries into the future. (Obviously they have access to *God’s particle*!)

    On that note, I once saw in a sefer (forgot the name) a detail remez on the exact date when man will land on the moon. On the posuk where Hashem created the moon!

    Thank you very much for posting.
    And by all means, please, pretty please, keep me anonymous.
    Thanks again.
    A gut Shabbos.

  • translation of hayom yom chabad.org

    The Tzemach Tzedek notes in one of his discourses: “On Tuesday of parshat Balak 5562 (1802) our master,1 of blessed memory, said to his sons as follows: To understand the problem posed by the astronomers, that since the earth is round and spherical like an apple, why do not those people fall who live on the side of the globe opposite to ours, ‘down below,’ in America?… Their answer is not the true one… Our master,1 of blessed memory, said that the answer lies in explanation of the Etz Chaim that the Nine Spheres are nurtured by that state termed igulim, ‘Circles,’ and in a circle there is no above or below. For this reason those who live opposite us, ‘down below,’ have their heavens high above them arching in one continuity with the heaven above us, and the earth there is below, relative to the heavens over it.”

  • Plus

    In addition, that same Hayom Yom (14 Tamuz) speaks about America and was the Hayom Yom for this year’s Independence Day.

  • just a jew

    where did dark energy come in? please explain that because that is not what the Boson is coming to prove… the whole reason why they think its the gd particle is well to prove it was something other then hshem who created this universe.

  • no science no peace#false

    Without getting into any scientific discussions, the mere fact that: 1. The Alter Rebbe said this Maamar in Parshas Balak

  • Ohev Emes

    It has been pointed out before that the theory that the Alter Rebbe was negating was another, older theory. The theory of gravity was not known at the time and the scientific works chasidus references are many hundreds if not thousands of years old. Additionally, I suspect the upshots of this particle are not what you’re making them out to be.

    You could certainly make the case, however, that this maamor cited in Hayom Yom is a great representation of the earlier Rebbeim’s attitude towards science, and the coinciding of events is indeed remarkable.

    • @ #14

      While your other points are correct, Newton’s theory of gravitation already existed…..Newton wote “Principia” in the late 17th century

  • Disaffected

    Oh, please.

    That particle will be the final weapon in the war between scientific progress and the darkness of religion. There is no miracle here or anywhere else.

  • fin vu nemt men ah bisseleh chabad

    wow! still no comments?! I wonder why?!
    maybe you should consider getting someone other than this chosid shoteh to write on science.

  • To Milhouse

    Please google on ‘dark energy’ and check out results from NASA. They openly say that another energy and NOT gravity keeps things in place. They also say that they do NOT understand this energy although it definitively exists…

  • CR

    I, for one, would like to know what was the “tirutz” that the A“R calls ”untrue”. We cannot tell from this elided excerpt what he was objecting to.

  • A little perspective...

    With the theory of gravity, Issac Newton was able to give apikursus an ideological foundation.

    The conecpt is as follows: If there is such a thing as gravity, then this means that the earth is a far away planet in a lost corner of the universe. It also implies that the earth orbits the sun, and that the sun orbits the center of the milky way galaxy, and that the milky way galaxy orbits the center of the universe.

    According to this theory, even if there was a g-d, he long ago ago forgot about us and we are now on our own. May the strongest win.

    Obviously, this runs counter to everything in Torah.

    The problem with the theory of gravity is that it has never been proven to the point it can be integrated into the other three fundamental theories that underly quantam physics (the strong nuclear force, the weak nuclear force, and electromagnetism).

    For the past hundred years science has been looking for the answer to this conondrum. Dark matter is only the latest attempt to justify the theory of gravity. They are trying to prove that the unexplained forces that hold the universe together (and cannot be explained by the theory of gravity) are in fact invisible i.e. dark matter. This is genius. If no one can see it or measure it, then no one can say it’s wrong.

    No matter how long they search for a way to support the theory of gravity, they will never succeed. Thet is because the theory is flawed.

    Etz chaim explains why things “Fall Down”. But if you accept the explanation in Torah, then you also have to accept that the earth is the center of the universe and that every action we do has a profound effect. you can no longer behave immorally.

    This is the real reason for the zealotry shown by advocates of gravity. They dont want to have to modify thier behavior. They would rather go on for the next hundred years looking for the “Missing Piece” to the theory of gravity.

  • Boruch-s Boson

    “The possible discovery of Higgs Boson (which turns physics on its ears)” The more you write, the bigger yold you prove yourself to be. Since 1964 scientists been saying that Higgs boson exists. The built the collider to FIND Higgs boson. Higgs boson CONFIRMS what Peter Higgs and others proposed. It doesn’t turn anything on its ears except your own head. I hope you (Author) aren’t a rebbie in Yeshiva or a Mashpia somewhere, because you have a krumeh mind and you are an ignoramus. What’s worse, you think you are smart and you like to darshen about subjects about which you obviously know nothing.

  • Mendy

    listen- if the alter rebbe said it then it is true !

    How dare some scientists challenge the wisdom of the alter rebbe !!!!

  • stop the personal attacks

    why is there so much hostility and negativity in these discussion boards? We are supposed to have discussions, not arguments. Personal attacks and insults are just plain childish.

    • @ #32

      Because this amaratzus is bordering a chillul hashem (Chv”S), since this is a public post on a prominent website.

      I think the author lacks a proper understanding in both the science he is talking about and the subject of the Alter Rebbe’s Ma’amar. As other’s pointed out, there is no connection. As far as extrapolations talking about the inner meaning of scientists desiring to believe certain things, that is a separate topic and really unrelated to this particular subject. I will say separately that the fact that some “scientists” call the Higg’s boson the “God particle” is stupid itself and shows their lack of understanding of Hashem yisboruch, and I am sure there was some level of attempted ridicule towards believers involved in the moniker.

      After Einstein postulated the photon , a boson carrying electromagnetism, it was soon observed thus confirming his hypothesis. Where you can hurl serious questions at scientists is the fact an alleged gravitational force carrying boson ( preemptively named a graviton) has yet to be discovered after almost 100 years of looking for it. As well as the fact that gravity is an extremely weak fundamental force compared to the others. Thus making it seem likely that it is currently misunderstood to an extent and perhaps it is even unified with a different force in some way and we are just seeing a different perspective of this force.

  • we are pressed down

    Isn’t there a chassidic explanation, of the force keeping everything on Earth, which goes like this: it’s not that we are pulled down (Gravity), we are actually held down by a force which PUSHES us down from above.

  • Dark Energy and Gravity / from NASA

    Dark Energy, Dark Matter

    In the early 1990’s, one thing was fairly certain about the expansion of the Universe. It might have enough energy density to stop its expansion and recollapse, it might have so little energy density that it would never stop expanding, but gravity was certain to slow the expansion as time went on. Granted, the slowing had not been observed, but, theoretically, the Universe had to slow. The Universe is full of matter and the attractive force of gravity pulls all matter together. Then came 1998 and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations of very distant supernovae that showed that, a long time ago, the Universe was actually expanding more slowly than it is today. So the expansion of the Universe has not been slowing due to gravity, as everyone thought, it has been accelerating. No one expected this, no one knew how to explain it. But something was causing it.

    Eventually theorists came up with three sorts of explanations. Maybe it was a result of a long-discarded version of Einstein’s theory of gravity, one that contained what was called a “cosmological constant.” Maybe there was some strange kind of energy-fluid that filled space. Maybe there is something wrong with Einstein’s theory of gravity and a new theory could include some kind of field that creates this cosmic acceleration. Theorists still don’t know what the correct explanation is, but they have given the solution a name. It is called dark energy.

  • Spiritual Heavyweight

    It’s getting late for comments here, but what about the next entry in HaYom Yom, for Tamuz 15:

    The Rebbe Rashab writes in one of his Ma’amorim: “Due to spiritual delight experiencing G-dliness it is possible to become bodily fat. It is said of HaRav Nachum of Chernobyl that his body was fat from answering Amen Yehei Shmei Rabba.”

    Sure, to explain this people cite what it says in Gemroa Gitten (56b), on the verse “good tidings make the bones fat” (Mishlei 15:30) – but can that explain someone being overweight? Meanwhile other Tzadikim, presumably with equal spiritual delight in Torah and Mitzvos, including in saying ‘Amen Yehei Shmei Rabba,’ are somehow able to avoid the increased body-weight.

    Was R’ Nochum Chernobyler for some reason some kind of magnet for extra heavy “dark matter”? Anyone care to try to explain?

  • Spiritual Heavyweight II

    My answer would be that the Rashab o.b.m. never affirmed this saying was literally true. All he did was say over what others said – OBVIOUSLY IN GOOD HUMOR – to try to excuse R’ Nochum for being overweight.

    Most likely the real culprit was some combination of genetic predisposition, hormonal imbalances, metabolic disorders and/or limited physical exercise (although I suppose even for a Tzadik, too much “bread and salt” will also fatten one up).

    We can be fairly sure that “Dark matter” had nothing to do with it, and in my humble opinion, despite the scientific consensus today, their hypothesized “Dark Matter” and “Dark Energy” do not exist.

  • T-dashen

    36
    Talmud Gittin attributes the physical fact that the newly elected Caeser was unable to put on a second shoe to Shmua Tova Tedashen Atzem.
    Was this too in good humor?

  • Spiritual Heavyweight III

    36 “T-dashen”:

    I already reference Gittin 56b – which I’ll explain shortly – but first of all, has everyone read the continuation of the Gemorah there? It states:

    “What is the remedy? Let someone whom you dislike come and pass before you, as it is written, ‘A broken spirit dries up the bones’ (Mishlei 17:22). He did so and the boot went on…”

    — Now consider this, didn’t R’ Nochum Chenobler, after getting fat saying ‘Amen Yehei Shmei Rabba,’ sooner or later encounter anyone in his surroundings that was genuinely dislikable, perhaps a Chosid Shoteh or two (like many Op Ed writers and posters to this site), that would provide the “remedy” and cause “his bones to shrink”?

    — If the Gemorah is taken so literally the way you take it, then there would be no need for fancy diets and/or exercise to lose weight, one could merely hang out for a while and observe some of our fellow Chassidim in this Dor Yosom. That should be enough to take off quite a few pounds!

    — My explanation of the Gemorah will follow, Im Yirtza Hashem.

  • Spiritual Heavyweight IV

    The verses in Proverbs teach that good tidings “invigorate the body,” and the converse, bad tidings or the sight of something displeasing has the opposite effect.

    For the beginners in the audience, the Soncino translates and explains on 15:30 (a verse which all Lubavitchers should be familiar with) “’The light of the eyes rejoices the heart; And a good report makes the bones fat.’ From the context it is to be deduced that the phrase describes the brightness which shines in the eyes when one is brought good news… makes the bones fat.. Invigorates the body…” The converse is stated on verse 17:22, “’A merry heart is a good medicine; But a broken spirit dries the bones’… The verse deals with the physical effects of a cheerful disposition and its opposite.”

    As for the Gemorah, when R’ Yochanan ben Zachai met Vespasian and called him “King,” and then a messenger from Rome arrived saying that the Caesar had died and he was appoint the new King, he was unable to finish putting his boots on, and when some he disliked passed by all of a sudden his boots fit him again. It is possible the Gemorah embellishes the story a bit, for it is clear that the Gemorah often uses exaggeration as a common method of driving home lessons, but certainly Vespasian experienced difficulty at that time and his boots all of a sudden became too tight for him for a while.

    It is possible that the good news he received may have caused his heart to pound a little harder, enriching the blood supply to his body and relaxing the muscles and tendons in his feet, so that they actually did, at least temporarily, swell a bit, making his boots too tight. Alternately, there may be a psychological explanation, that upon realizing that he was now a King, he subconsciously picked up on the slightest tightness in his boots, which he previously had ignored as insignificant, but now as a “King” he felt he shouldn’t have to put up with even that slight irritation, and his boots suddenly seemed too small. The “remedy” works simple enough, either physiologically, seeing someone who “chilled him to the bone” would have caused constriction of his blood flow and his muscles and tendons, and presto his boots fit him again, or psychologically, through the realization that even as a King he would have to deal with troublesome people and affairs he subconsciously no longer felt irritated by a slight misfit of his boots.

    — BTW, the Alter Rebbe’s statement also does not necessarily need to be understood literally, as a true “scientific” explanation of why things on the other side of the world do not fall off the earth and disappear into space (and may we are the ones on the “other side”). At any rate, such an idea would be completely wrong as far as the physical world is concerned. At least in the Alter Rebbe’s times the scientists – and the Rabbis – started to get it right, that the earth is spherical, which is light-years ahead of the thinking of the scientists and Rabbis in the time of the Gemorah, when for the most part they believed that the earth was flat. And if the Alter Rebbe did intend his explanation as the truth physical-scientific explanation, then of course he too would be wrong about it, but throughout history the Sages were never the experts in understanding science, and that would hold true with regard to the Alter Rebbe as well.

  • Not a Spiritual Heavyweight, justlogical

    Spiritual Heavyweight IV,

    “The other side” clearly is a relative description, the fact that it is called “other” implying that it is not the primary is because a person and the things closest to him will always be the primary when relating two things. E.G. “I do not want THIS one I want THAT one” is absolutely grammatically correct when “This” is referring to the closer one…

    As to “the other side” implying that there are only two sides, I think you really got it wrong here:

    If we experience a force pulling everything towards the ground than the way to strongest question its consistency around a sphere is by referring to its complete opposite side which should have the most opposing force. I thinks this is very easy to understand, we didn’t need it to be coming from the Alter Rebbe to justify that it’s purely logical.