By Yaakov Brawer
 | It is not easy to understand how a world view that leads nowhere and ultimately explains nothing became so rooted in the human psyche
18 Comments Posted
The Torah is a great educator because it is G-D in written form. What I mean by this is that the spiritual law has been given to man in an esoteric format using man's mundane materialistic history as a garment for the TORAH. This embedded esoteric science is so perfect that it would literal stun modern scientists whom have nothing in modern times to compare it with. Creation coming from materialism, which for all intent and purpose is nothing: it is the illusion of the senses.
The entire Torah is the first letter of Genesis: BETH, and all else is commentary: from BETH come RESH both have the #2: insert RESH into BETH hence BE-RESH-ITH. Once the religious as well as the world's scientists understand this they will realze that science as we presently know it here in the 21st century is but in its infant stage, whereas, the Torah is so far advance that materialistic man can never fathom its depths. No man can live knowing the depths of the Torah: he would be too spiritual.
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Its amazing that Dr. Brawer's idea's on the nothing of G'd seem to now be confirmed by science. As of the past few days astronomers have announced that there are invisible galaxies made up on dark matter and dark energy. This to me seems to be the same metaphor as Dr. Brawer speaks of. Has science and the Torah-Kabbalah come together ?
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The article was so profound for me. As a man of Science as well as a man of G-d I have been wrestling personally with so many arguments. This article laid it all out on the table and had such a great metaphor for how truly infathomable G-d's abilities are. Thank you for the insight and depth of thought and my Hashem bless you and keep you.
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A splendid description of the wonders of our Creator....
Toda...
דביד
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One of the best articles we have ever read!!!!
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I found your piece extremely well written. I do take somewhat of a juxtapositional viewpoint in that G-D is indeed a 1, wheras everything else is a 0.
What we need to understand first off, is that there are two realms- the spiritual and physical.
What my premise is stating is that God is always existant, eternal light, and Life (eternal existent spiritual realm).
Non-existence or darkness (nothing) and death (temporary physical realm) is the result as a reaction to the existence or light. As He stated in Isaiah, "I form light, and create death." Note the Binary?
The spiritual realm is the norm or light, our current physical realm is the darkness reaction, or non-existence. This is why G-D states that our physical universe is "cloaked in darkness." The separation and understanding is clear, if we view it from G-d's spiritual perspective, not from our own physical perspective.
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I am neither a scientist, philosopher or Jewish, nor have I ever concieved the Torah as a bridge between nothing and myself. Does this article mean that as a Gentile I am forever locked out of this 'unique revelation' to Torah Jews ?.
Fortunately your Psalmists are much more communicative and I find complete identification with whoever wrote Psalm 139 (omitting v19 - 22). G-d may be invisible and physically remote but as the Gnostics taught I sense a spark of Divinity to be part of me -- Wherever I go, whenever, 'thou art with me'. What am I lacking ??
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Perhaps the professor is saying that there is a deeper connection to that transcendental nothingness through deeds than through contemplation and sensitivity.
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It is written somewhere, "My ways are higher than your ways, My thoughts are higher than your thoughts." What I think of as nothingness must actually be somethingness then.
Signals, Transmissions, Carrier waves, and harmonics, sidebands, and differential Lobing these are principles of Radar, and basic radio electronics. the Hebrew word for 'letter'can also mean 'Vibration', or signal. This makes sense of the 1 and 0 thought posted by Don Nordstrom, Big Lake, MN. Also my laptop can not handle the program of a cray 7 supercomputer, some of which lead to windows XP. So while it is not capable of such heights, it can relate in some ways. We exist not in our fleshly shells, but in the magnetic field that surrounds us and permeates us; Let Go of your doubts Luke; Use The Force; Let it fill you; search out with your feelings. Remember that one? Black and white direct photons, this is how meditating upon the shapes of torah letters enters the mind, changing nuthin2sumthin, RU4eeL? Seek
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By creating the universe, G-d created nothing from something, not something from nothing.
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I read this essay several times and found it incomprehensible.
It's grouped in the Creation et Nihilo section which doesn't sound like the concept is exclusively Jewish.
I thought maybe he was talking about the Sustaining Utterance from the Tanya, but this isn't universally accepted by Torah Jews to my knowledge.
Therefore it is somewhat of a relief to me that the title may be backwards.
Perhaps that's the part that is unique to Torah Jews. Perhaps Professor Brawer is referring to the Torah of Beria.
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God was all around. Then he concealed himself, restrained himself, or pulled himself away in order to create a space of nothing for the world to exist. This world was going to give G-D light back. He needed more light. Are we able to give the light back to HIM?
Following the laws, commnadments and decrees gives HIm the light that he needs from us in order to keep us in HIS (thought)creation and existing.
Science created from the mind of our geniuses may have led us astray in some respects by trying to define that nothing in their mind. Did we follow HIS ways with our free will?
We could find a balance by following the instructions in the Torah. The balance of His Light to us and our light to Him would be the only objective.
Mankind doing good deeds, thinking of the other giving light to the other is the behavior needed in order for us to be like HIM. Then we fulfill the way HE wanted us to be. HE made us in HIS image.
We owe a thank you to those who continue to carry the Torah.
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I was taught that Gd made a space within Gdself where the universe could exist.
Then Gd sent emanations from Gdself into this empty space within Gdself.
From these Gdly emanations, the universe was made.
But since ultimately Gd is ayn sof ohr, which is ayn sof, which is Ayin, i.e., Nothing, the universe can be said to be made of NOTHING. Because Gd IS NOTHING. Gd is Maqom.
But to posit Gd spinning a daydream which exists outside Gd's self is to imagine that there can be anything outside Gd's self. And there is no such place. Everything is within Gd. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE, or as the Bible says, Ayn od.
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Thiat was an excellent post Ann, and could well be what Dr. Brawer was trying to say.
This view is hardly universal with observant Jews however. The view that God is infinite is also not unique to Judaism, although the specific Kaballistic descriptions may be.
The arithmetic is questionable however. If infinity plus five is infinity, it doesn't follow that five equals zero.
The previous poster's comment about scientific "geniuses" is obscure. A newspaper appears at my house every morning and I have a theory of how this happens. I may be a genius but certainly not a "scientific genius." I'm not sure what the writer thinks science is.
My guess is that Dr Brawer was attempting to describe a bridge from tzimtzun/ayn sof/ etc to Torah. That case is not made in the article. In addition, the claim that the Kabballistic explanation is universally and uniquely accepted by Orthodox Jews seems false.
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I enjoyed the the essay and the metaphor of creative thought called to mind the tale of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee in Lewis Carroll`s Through the Looking Glass. Alice is disturbed by a puffing sound in the wood;` it`s only the Red King snoring` said Tweedle Dee----`he is dreaming now said Tweedle Dee, and what do you think he is dreaming about?` ` Nobody can guess that`said Alice`.` Why, about you` Tweedle Dee explained `and if he left of dreaming about you--- you would be nowhere, why? you are only in his dream, if the King was to awake you would go out--bang--just like a candle`.
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That's an amazing similarity Brian, thanks for mentioning this.
Mainstream Judiasm has grown more closely associated with it's mystical branch than other major religions. This is probably why Judaism has retained viability over the centuries.
On the other hand, religious authorities have mistakenly treated it as sacred, which has made made it more obscure than it has to be.
Mysticism seems more of a vehicle to getting high without drugs (or cleaving to God) than anything that is ultimately profound.
Looking Glass was popular with the psychedelic counter culture. Although generally considered nonsense, there have been attempts to interpret it. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has a computer which is built to figure out the meaning of life, it's final answer is 42 which is apparently from Looking Glass.
Perhaps Dr. Brawer's comment about a five year old understanding Chumash if he uses Rashi could be expanded to, understanding Kabbalah if he uses Carroll.
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things went so deep. no wonder only few people embrace the beautiful and sweet concept of Judaism. People who are suppose to explain it clearly seems to make it sound complicated.
Or Judaism is for the learned? I hope the Spirit will make this beautiful belief clear to me.
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Thank you for explaining the 'something from nothing concept. particularly the last sentence to see that concept from G-d's perspective and understand the Shema theme that He is all there is. Thank you for encouraging readers to thus raise their level of awareness of Him.
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