How the Universe has Always Been there - Since the Beginning ofTime - 2 Retraction

Originally published 6/10/11, 3:46 pm.
Upon reflection, and further clarification, I realize that my original post was oversimplified and overstated.
Therefore I'm withdrawing the original piece, pending something better. So, please consider this retraction a Tzimtzum! :-)

In the meantime, I will leave a "baale batish" simplification
Since we perceive matter as of function of time as well as of space - [just think of Einstein's 4th dimension] therefore - whether the universe was at one time not there - is beyond the perception of almost all humans. Thus, it's  a point only relevant to highly sophisticated Philosophers and Mystics.
I won't pretend that I myself have a definitive perception of this.. Rather, let me simply say that it is apparent to me that as most people deal with it - it really IS a semantic issue [Though that may not be true of the highly sophisticated "Mavens"]

Shalom,
RRW

Do Scientific Paradigm Shifts Impact Halachic realities?

Originally posted 12/30/07, 7:20 PM, Eastern Daylight Time.
Do scientific paradigm shifts impact Halachic realities?

On Dec 25, 2007 7:04 AM, Richard Wolberg cantorwolberg@cox.net
wrote on the Avodah List:

What I find most interesting is that the Gemara believed in spontaneous generation which has been scientifically disproven as the world was proven not to be flat. What I find to be ironic and paradoxical is that only God can create something from nothing. You would think this would have occurred to the great minds of the Talmud. True, their argument could conceivably have been that God put that law into motion, but it still could have raised a red flag. The following came from a link given in a previous discussion by Reb Micha [Avodah's Moderator]:

See http://www.aishdas.org/book/bookA.pdf

--
Kol Tuv / Best Regards,
RabbiRichWolpoe@Gmail.com

Is Darwin Kosher?

Originally published 7/8/07, 10:45 PM, Eastern Daylight Time.
See this Wall Street Journal article for an interesting take on evolution and Modern Orthodox thought.

In a recent discussion with some of my chevra , we concluded that TRUE science and TRUE religion - since all of the above emanate from the same God - cannot be in any conflict.

However, in the human realm, we don't really understand the ultimate truths of science yet, as we probably only understand Torah or God superficially. One day, there will live a Rambam and an Einstein all wrapped up in the same person who will get to the bottom of both realms. He will discover that when you really comprehend both Torah and science, their only conflict is semantic.

I believe it was R. Sa'adya Gaon who first posited that we will grasp the rational meaning of more and more mitzvoth over time.

Here is an example: most meforshim interpret "Taninim Gedolim" as sea monsters or whales... This is loosely based on Hirsch on Parshat Vo'eira. He asserts, basing himself on the Haftorah, that we can interpret "Tanim" as crocodile and "Taninim g'dolim" as great lizards - dinosaurs. A little bit of archaeology,  some flexible etymology, and you can point to dinosaurs within the Torah.

What is definitively true of the Torah well before Darwin is that it describes a creation process progressing  from the simple to the complex. Thus, we see the confluence of Torah and Mada as an evolving process - pun most intended.

KT
RRW