Emunah in Time and Space

The advances in modern science over the years have allowed us to learn much about the history of the world. Scientists have been able to establish a pretty clear picture of all that preceded us. However, the instant of creation is a point beyond which no discoveries may be made. Even the most prominent of scientists, such as Stephen Hawking of the University of Cambridge, have come to the realization that "the creation lies outside the scope of the presently known laws of physics." What existed before the creation of the world is beyond human understanding. The simple explanation for this is that before the world was created, whatever it was that existed lacked the basic components necessary for human conception.

All the matter in the universe exists in three dimensions - length, width and height. We do not live in the two-dimensional world of comics and cartoons, nor can our minds conceive of something physically consisting of more than three dimensions. When a cube of a given volume is removed, it leaves behind a space, filled with air, of identical volume. However, before the creation of the world, there was nothing. The second pasuk of the Torah asserts that before creation, the world was "tohu vavohu." Rashi explains "vohu" as emptiness and void. He writes that "tohu" denotes astonishment and wonderment, as one would have been astounded by the emptiness that existed. Indeed, we are astonished to the point of incomprehension at the very idea of nothingness. It is beyond the grasp of human thought and will never be understood. An integral component of creation was the establishment of the infrastructure necessary for the existence of the world as we know it. On the second day, the waters are divided into the upper and lower waters. This is the first evidence of a dimension in creation. However, there was only one. Left, right, forward and backward did not yet exist - only up and down. The next day the waters were collected to form the oceans and reveal land. The three dimensions were now in place.

Although a physical object may be comprised of no more than three dimensions, there is another dimension commonly included as the fourth - time. Before the creation of the world, time did not exist either. In fact, the word "before" is probably a misnomer. Before implies that which preceded in time. If there is no time, there can be no precedence. This, too, is beyond the comprehension of the human mind. With the first day of creation, the concept of time was implicitly infused into the universe.

Perhaps, these ideas are directly pertinent to one of the central laws of Keriyas Shema. The essence of Shema is the acceptance of HaShem’s kingship upon us. One is required to include this concentration with the recitation of Shema or he does not properly fulfill the mitzvah (Shulchan Aruch OC 60:5). Ideally, this is accomplished with specific focus on the "ches" and "dalet" of "echad," as explained in 61:6. The ches corresponds to HaShem’s rule over the earth and the seven levels of Heaven. This is a one-dimensional focus in concurrence with the events of the second day of creation. The dalet corresponds to the four directions, essentially, the other two dimensions, over which HaShem rules. This coincides with the events of the third day. Hence, HaShem’s dominion over the three physical dimensions. The Mishnah Berurah (63:11), in the name of Levush and Magein Avraham, writes that "Baruch Sheim Kevod, etc." is subject to the same concentration requirements as the first pasuk. In this pasuk, as the words clearly indicate, we assert the eternity of HaShem’s kingship. In essence, we are declaring HaShem’s rule over the fourth dimension, time.

It also occurred to me that perhaps the requirements set forth in 61:6 regarding the specific כוונות should be augmented for modern times. The שולחן ערוך declares that we are to (mentally) proclaim השם's kingship on the heavens and earth and the four directions of the world. But in those times, that was the extent of what your average Yosef could fathom. The average layman knew little about the celestial bodies and what lies beyond our earth. However, nowadays, when all young school children are taught about the extent of our universe and are aware of the planets that make up our solar system, perhaps it is incumbent on us to have this in mind and proclaim השם's kingship on all of the universe as we know it.

The Two Luminaries

Pasuk 16 refers to the sun and the moon as "shnei hame'oros hagedolim", the two large luminaries but concludes by referring to the sun as the "maor hagadol" and the moon as the "maor hakaton". On this pasuk there is the well-known Rashi, quoting the Midrash, that the moon and the sun were created equal but the moon complained that "two kings cannot share one crown". Therefore, it was reduced to a smaller luminary. However, this is certainly an allegorical understanding of the pasuk. What, then, is the simple understanding?

In In the Beginning: Biblical Creation and Science, a fascinating book reconciling the Biblical account of creation with modern science, Professor Nathan Aviezer offers an eye-opening interpretation. An astronomical body is measured both by its true size and by its apparent size or angular diameter. The apparent size specifies how large it appears to an observer on Earth. This figure is the ratio of the true size of the object to its distance from the Earth. This figure is expressed as the angle that the object subtends from the position of an observer on Earth. That means, if you were pointing to the bottom of the object, the apparent size is the number of degrees you must rotate your arm to be pointing at the top of the object. The sun is 400 times bigger than the moon. It is also exactly 400 times further away from Earth. As a result, the apparent size for the sun and moon are identical at 0.53 degrees! Now we can understand the pasuk as follows: The first part of the pasuk is referring to the point of view of an Earth observer. From our point of view, the sun and moon are the biggest heavenly bodies and in fact, appear identical in size. The second part of the pasuk refers to the true size of the sun and moon.

Please see Pi's comment below with some nice alternative understandings of this פסוק.

Jews are from Jewpiter

The Gemara (Shabbos 156) tells us that Avraham Avinu was incapable of having children because of his associated astrological influences. We are told that Avraham Avinu was considered to be under the astrological influence of Jupiter (צדק) and that its position in the west was inhibiting Avraham Avinu from having children. The Gemara then cites from Sefer Yeshayau (41:2),

"'מי העיר ממזרח צדק וגו"

“Who awakened righteousness from the east, etc.”

The word righeousness, צדק, can also mean Jupiter. The Gemara understands that Hashem placed Jupiter in the east in order for its influence to be a positive one for Avraham Avinu. Seder Olam (1) teaches us that Avraham Avinu was seventy years old at the time that Hashem joined with him in the everlasting covenant that is discussed in this weeks parsha, Lech Lecha (15).

Interestingly enough, the Gemara cited earlier tells us that the verse from Sefer Yeshayahu was Hashem’s response to Avraham Avinu when he asked Hashem about having children. This question of Avraham Avinu is found in this same chapter of Bereishis. Perhaps, this is why the chapter of Sefer Yeshayahu that contains its verse is read as the Haftarah for this portion of the Torah.

If one looks at Jupiter’s postion during that year 1744 B.C.E. (based on the chronology of Seder Olam) he will see that it was visible in the western portion of the sky, relative to the Sun (meaning it would be in the sky already at sunset, obviously it will rise and set throughout the night. Most celestial objects move from east to west on any given night) early in the year and then was too close to the Sun, so it was not visible for a duration of time. It became visible again, this time to the east of the Sun, just before sunrise, on October 6 (Julian).

What is fascinating about this event is that on this day, it was so close to Venus, that, to the naked eye, they appeared to be touching. To have these two objects touch is extremely rare (to come so close to touch can be hundreds of years in between instances for any given location), and such an event would be witnessed as a spectacular event. Venus is the brightest star in the sky (sometimes even confused with aircraft) and Jupiter is the second brightest. The two together would have been seen to be shining brilliantly in the east. Venus is also associated with fertility (see Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma) and this was the issue that Avraham Avinu was discussing with Hashem.

Another fascinating point is that this evening would have marked the night of Yom Kippur (based on actual lunar visibility, not calculation). As is noted by Rashi in Bereishis (15) some of the animal offerings of the covenant were symbolic of the Yom Kippur offerings, and many of those that were not, were still symbolic of offerings of repentance. We may not have a reference to this convenant being enacted on Yom Kippur, but the symbolism between the two is remarkable. Couple that with this extremely rare event occurring on that day, and one cannot help but wonder if this is what the Gemara meant when discussing Jupiter shining from the east.