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Signature of the Torah
by Yosef Sebag, physicist, electrical engineerIs there a signature of the Torah in the universe?
The Midrash says G-d used the Torah to create the universe. Just as a builder first makes a blueprint and then constructs his building using it, so too G-d made the torah first and then He "looked" into the torah and created the universe (Beresheit Rabba 1:1).
What part of the Torah was used to create the universe? According to the Midrash (Otiyot d'Rebbi Akiva, Beit, pg.37), G-d used the opening letter of the Torah - the Beit to create the universe.According to the Vilna Gaon, the Beit contains the essence of creation. It consists of two parallel lines and one connecting line. The top line represents heaven (the spiritual, the soul), while the bottom line represents earth (the physical, the body). The connecting line is man's purpose - to connect or bring down the spiritual into the physical. This he says is man's job in this world.
Let us examine if the physical universe reflects the letter Beit.
Duality in the Quantum Realm
At the most fundamental level of the universe is the mysterious quantum realm of atoms, subatomic particles, etc.
In this bizarre world of quantum mechanics, all charged particles ever discovered so far have a corresponding anti-particle (ex. electron-positron, proton-antiproton, quarks-antiquarks, leptons, etc.) with all properties inverted (matter-antimatter).
Even energy photons such as light consists of alternating electric and magnetic fields which continuously invert each other.
Likewise every "particle" itself (including light) and every quantum entity exhibits a dual nature (particle/wave duality). This strange duality leads to all sorts of baffling paradoxes which make no logical sense.Physicist John Wheeler famously said: "If you are not completely confused by quantum mechanics, you do not understand it".
And likewise Einstein said: "We are faced with a new kind of difficulty. We have two contradictory pictures of reality; separately neither of them fully explains the phenomena of light, but together they do."
Thus, I think it is safe to say that a mysterious duality permeates the universe at the fundamental level of atoms, subatomic particles, photons of light, etc. etc.
Let us move to our experience on the human scale.
Dual Symmetry in Life
We find that almost all living creatures exhibit symmetry. The dominant form of symmetry for the vast majority of creatures we encounter is mirror (bilateral) symmetry. Namely, the creature can be divided into two mirror image halves which are identical to our eye.We see this for example in insects, birds, fish, reptiles, mammals, and of course human beings. Likewise in fossils of ancient creatures.
(note that there are other forms of symmetry in nature such as radial symmetry in plants and starfish, etc.. but the dominant form of symmetry in creatures we encounter is undoubtedly mirror symmetry.
Furthermore, for human beings which we encounter the most, the symmetry is mirror symmetry).
Strangely, we frequently find the mirror symmetry is perfect to the eye, even down to colors of feathers or hairs.
We also find virtually all animals exhibit the duality of male/female.
Other examples of duality we encounter are night and day, the moon and the sun (which amazingly appear to us the same size to us. even though the sun is 400x bigger, it is also 400x further away).Likewise, we see the duality of sea versus land, heaven and earth, body and soul, good and evil, life and death, and many others.
Thus, it seems our life experience is likewise permeated with duality. Another possible manifestation of the Beit.
Fibonacci Patterns
Another interesting area where the number two comes up everywhere in nature is in the Fibonacci sequence. It is a simple sequence of numbers where each number (Fibonacci number) is the sum of the two preceding numbers.
It starts like this:
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, and so on, endlessly.
Its ubiquity and astounding functionality in nature suggests its importance as a fundamental characteristic of the Universe. This fact has intrigued mathematicians, artists, designers and scientists for centuries.
Some examples of where this appears are flower petals, seed heads, pinecones, tree branches, shells, body and limb proportions, hurricanes, and even spiral galaxies. Again, we have a weird appearance of the number two permeating the universe.
Let us look at the universe as a whole.
Dual Symmetry of the Universe
Recent studies in the cosmic background radiation permeating the universe have revealed an axis of symmetry around the entire observable universe.This means, if one divides the universe into two halves, the cosmic background radiation (hot and cold regions) is symmetrical. Amazingly, this axis of symmetry is none other than the earth's equinox plane around the sun.
Baffled scientists have dubbed this the "Axis of Evil" (see here for intro).
To confirm it was not an error, scientists conducted follow up tests with newer satellites with better sensors and more advanced technology. After years of study, not only did the bizarre dual symmetry remain but to make things worse they found two additional axis of symmetries around the earth - the quadrupople and octopole. Namely, if you divide the sky into four quadrants and eight quadrants, they are also symmetrical around the earth.However, the temperature variations of the quadrupole and octopole symmetry are hundreds of times weaker than the dipole symmetry. Thus, the dominant symmetry in the universe is the dipole (mirror) symmetry. Hence, the entire universe exhibits a dual symmetry around the axis of our planet. Crazy no?
But wait, hang on to your chair. Even weirder still, the axes of the quadrupole and the octupole lie in the same plane, while the dipole lies in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the quadrupole and octopole (see diagram on left). Thus, we have two parallel lines and one perpendicular line - just like the Beit has two parallel lines and one perpendicular line. Hence, the universe has a giant signature of the Beit in these three axis of symmetries! (Interestingly, in the torah, the first Beit is written larger than normal. Perhaps a hint to this giant Beit. The Beit also has a dot on the top, a possible hint to the singularity of the Big Bang, if it happened. Also, in these three axes the perpendicular line (dipole) is strongest since it represents man's job in the world as the Vilna Gaon said earlier).Some Other Signs of the Letter Beit
Free Will
The Heaven/Earth duality of the Beit also hints to the concept of free will which is so central to the universe. Everything was built around this concept. This is why everything including life has an opening for being interpreted according to the atheistic views. For this too is the essence of the universe - to provide an arena where human free will can function.
Fine Tuning of the Universe
The letter Beit means "house" (Bayit) in Hebrew. Even its form is like that of a house with a roof and opening. For the universe is built around being the house of man, as written in Duties of the Heart, gate 1, ch.6.
In our times, scientists are finding out the hard way just how incredibly fine-tuned the universe is for life. This "fine tuning" of the universe is a causing a huge commotion within the scientific community and beyond, with many physicists calling for interactions with philosophers [1].
Afterword: (advanced) note that the duality in quantum mechanics also has a practical reason. For example, our vision works thanks to the weird duality of quantum mechanics. In order to see things, light needs to bounce off objects and into our eyes. This works best if light is wave. But for detecting light in the molecular machines in our eyes, it works best if light is a particle. Fortunately, it is both. Without this duality our vision would be far worse.
Another example, the "Uncertainty Principle" is a bizarre rule that limits the precision with which certain pairs of physical properties can have for any particle. As a physics student, I struggled to understand this strange rule of nature. But the answer is obvious. G-d needs this rule for without it, electrons would crash into protons thus destroying the universe as physicist Richard Feynman said[2]:
"You know, of course, that atoms are made with positive protons in the nucleus and with electrons outside. You may ask: "If this electrical force is so powerful, why don't the protons and electrons just crash into each other?" The answer has to do with the quantum effects. If we try to confine our electrons in a region that is very close to the protons, then according to the uncertainty principle they must have some mean square momentum which is larger the more we try to confine them. It is this motion, required by the laws of quantum mechanics, that keeps the electrical attraction from bringing the charges any closer together." end quote.
Sometimes the rules of quantum mechanics are overridden. One of the biggest "mysteries" in modern physics is why there is an imbalance of matter over antimatter? According to quantum mechanics, matter and antimatter are always produced in pairs. This is what we observe always in experiments. Yet, the universe has an imbalance of matter. The baffled physicists cannot understand this. But the answer is also obvious. For if matter and anti-matter were balanced, the anti-matter would destroy all matter in the universe. The universe is not a machine running on its own. There is an Aleph behind the Beit, i.e. behind the creation. The One G-d does not want this balance of anti-matter so He made an exception.
The scientists cannot accept this. So they turn their heads inside out with all sorts of wild and crazy theories that can never be checked or tested to try to explain the universe. This too is hinted in the Beit. The Midrash (Genesis Rabbah 1:10) teaches that the Beit is closed on the right side (in the word Beresheit) to teach that one must not ask what was before the creation of the universe. For this is beyond the limits and powers of human comprehension (science), and will only damage a person. "Be simple with G-d" (Deut.18:13).
• btw, if anyone can help me do a short video version of this article, please contact me.
>> Next: Torah and the Speed of Light
Footnotes
- [1] http://dafyomireview.com/article.php?docid=427&d=16
- [2] http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/II_01.html#Ch1-S1
- [3] see Duties of the Heart, Gate 1
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