Community Magazine April 2013

BY RABBI ADI COHEN Mastery of the Sciences – the Wisdom Beyond Space and Time This article will present a number of examples of the Torah’s mastery of the sciences. The Torah demonstrates knowledge of zoology, biology, astronomy, botany, and embryology – knowledge that did not originate in well-funded scientific research, or by means of advanced measuring devices and computers. It must be emphasized from the outset that despite the fact that exact scientific information can be found in the Torah, the Torah’s intention is not specifically to inform us about scientific facts. Rather, its intention in relaying scientific information is to provide the basis for a certain piece of Jewish law, or an ethical teaching. The Torah’s main purpose is behavioral instructions for man’s spiritual benefit, and not the material dimension of reality. THE WORLD IS A SPHERE In ancient times, the widespread belief was that the world is flat and rested on the tails of three whales, or upon the backs of four giant elephants that stood on a gigantic turtle swimming in the ocean. Only a small handful of people held the view that the world was round as a ball. They were considered lunatics, because such a theory was difficult to deal with. Later, a number of Greek philosophers accepted the idea that the world was a globe, but the vast majority of humanity believed the world was flat, or at most a semicircle like a baseball cap. Obviously, those who believed the world was flat could not entertain the possibility that there was life on the other side. Similarly, until the time of Copernicus (1473—1543), the common belief was geocentric – that the Earth was positioned at the center and sun and the stars revolved around it. Only after THE SCIENCE OF TORAH When a team of scientists that researched embryonic development found that the embryo’s first brain activity begins at the 40th day of pregnancy, they had no idea that this discovery was already known to man for thousands of years, concealed in the parchments of the Torah scroll. Likewise, the scientists who investigated the process of formation of the continents had no idea that their momentous discovery was already known about 3,000 years ago – that the continents were once all connected. These pieces of knowledge, and many more like them, are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the Tanach and Talmud. Another example is the studies demonstrating that the method of animal slaughter used by the Jewish people for thousands of years causes the least amount of pain to the animal, as it takes into account the special structure of the system of arteries in the animal’s neck. 34 COMMUNITY MAGAZINE