Truth: The Rebbe on Torah and Science

By Daniel Friedmann

This book is a compilation of the Rebbe’s answers to questions about Torah and science, subject by subject, synthesizing his many letters on these topics. Every attempt is used to present his original words. Topics relating to the creation of the universe and life on Earth are addressed, as well as the Rebbe’s approach to questions about Torah and science. The fundamental principle guiding the Rebbe’s answers is that science cannot contradict religion. Religion/ Torah is true, and science is true.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Daniel Friedmann
• Release date: Jun 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9780463932766

Daniel Friedmann

Daniel Friedmann P.Eng., M.A.Sc., a Readers' Favorite 2013 International Book Award Winner, studies the origin of the universe and life on earth from both the scientific and biblical perspectives. His work on reconciling the biblical account with scientific observation utilizing his biblical clock formula has been reported in conferences, various newspapers, magazines, television and radio talk shows.He is Chairman of Carbon Engineering, a company dedicated to removing co2 from the air to solve climate change. He was the President and CEO of a global communications and information company until May 2016. He holds a master's degree in engineering physics and has published more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific papers on space industry topics and cosmology. He is also a longtime student of religion and for the past 15 years has attended the Vancouver Kollel center for learning.Daniel Friedmann's first book, The Genesis One Code, demonstrates an alignment between key events and times as described in the creation narrative in the book of Genesis with those derived from scientific theory and observation. His second book, The Broken Gift: Harmonizing the Biblical and scientific accounts of human origins demonstrates an alignment between the key events and timeline recounting the appearance of humans in the book of Genesis with those derived from the fossil record and genetic studies. His third book, Roadmap To The End Of Days: Demystifying Biblical Eschatology To Explain The Past, The Secret To The Apocalypse And The End Of The World, was published February 2017.The fourth book, The Biblical Clock, co-authored with Dania Sheldon, is a narrative describing Friedmann's quest for answers that produced the prior three books. It is a stand-alone volume and in relating the story of discovery covers the essential materials in the earlier trilogy.For more information see http://danielfriedmannbooks.ca/For Ideacity talk On The Genesis One Code see http://www.ideacityonline.com/video/daniel-friedman-genesis-one-code/For Ideacity talk On The Broken Gift see http://www.ideacityonline.com/video/daniel-friedmann-reconciles-biblical-scientific/For Ideacity talk On The Roadmap to the End of Days see https://www.ideacity.ca/video/daniel-friedmann-roadmap-end-days/

Book preview

Truth

The Rebbe

on

Torah and Science

Compiled by

Daniel Friedmann

Copyright © 2022

Daniel Friedmann

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the authors.

Website: www.danielfriedmannbooks.ca

E-mail: [e-mail]

APPROBATIONS

"Contrary to popular opinion, science and Torah are not at odds at all. Only a misunderstanding of science—the study of reality—or a superficial knowledge of Torah—the description of reality—can create the illusion of contradiction. The pursuit of truth must lead to a single conclusion regardless of the discipline one may pursue. Here is a book that demonstrates this truism admirably. The truth we have always known from heaven is now sprouting from the earth. Congratulations!"

Rabbi Manis Friedman

YouTube's most popular rabbi and author of

Creating a Life that Matters

Thank you, Daniel Friedmann, for bringing the Rebbe's scholarly views on science to the public eye. The Rebbe did not see science as a conflict with Torah and faith. Quite the contrary, he saw science as a means to help us achieve and strengthen our faith in a Creator of a world of perfection.

Rabbi Moshe Bryski

Dean - Conejo Jewish Academy

Agoura Hills, CA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

APPROBATIONS

APPROACH AND FORMAT

SECTION ONE: FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES IN DEALING WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT TORAH AND SCIENCE

The Torah is absolute

Torah interpretation is constrained by Jewish law

Science should be addressed with scientific arguments

True proven scientific facts must be discerned from speculative science

Torah has a very high regard for true science

Torah and proven science must agree, and such agreement must be based on Torah

SECTION TWO: SPECIFIC TORAH AND SCIENCE QUESTIONS

Introduction

The Universe

The age of the universe

Starlight

Fossils

The special location of the Earth

The origins of the universe

Life

First Life

Subsequent appearance of life

Fossils

EPILOGUE

ABOUT THE REBBE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ABOUT THE COMPILER

OTHER BOOKS BY DANIEL FRIEDMANN

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ENDNOTES

Approach and Format

The Rebbe had a particular approach to matters of Torah and science. This approach is explicitly described in his various letters,¹ often as part of the answer to specific questions. Thus, we proceed in two sections. Section One attempts to fully describe the Rebbe’s approach. This will provide the background necessary to understand his specific answers as well as to inform us on how to deal with possible future questions that were not asked of the Rebbe. Section Two is a subject-by-subject exploration of questions relating to the creation of the universe and life on Earth. For each subject, the Rebbe usually provides a discussion of the proven and not yet proven science, the Torah of the matter, and how the two fit together.

The Rebbe wrote dozens of letters on Torah and science. Often, he covered more than one topic per letter, and the same topic in many different letters—elucidating different aspects of the topic, depending on the actual detailed question and individual circumstance. Thus, it is not possible to present a coherent subject-by-subject text that is a direct quote from a single source written by the Rebbe. The compiler, therefore has to merge information from a few letters, and has to add connective words (not bolded) to the exact quotes from the Rebbe (shown in bold). Every attempt is made to stay true to the Rebbe’s words. Any words in square brackets in the bolded text are added by the compiler for context or translation purposes. Any other information is not bolded to distinguish it from the Rebbe’s original material.

The Rebbe corresponded mostly with people who were very advanced in their knowledge and practice of science and sometimes well versed in Torah. The text provides background and explanations to aid in comprehending the scientific and Torah aspects of the answers, so readers require only basic Torah and science knowledge to appreciate the depth of the Rebbe’s answers. This is also not bolded to distinguish it from the Rebbe’s original material.

Finally, the Rebbe’s letters were written about 50 years ago, so some of the not bolded text also includes updates to the scientific context where such updates help with understanding the Rebbe’s answers.

SECTION ONE:

Fundamental principles in dealing with questions about

Torah and science

The Rebbe’s fundamental principles in dealing with questions about Torah and science can be summarized as follows (in no particular order):

The Torah is absolute, but doubts posed by scientific findings should be addressed.

Needless to say, the Jew whose faith has, as it should, the power of unassailable conviction, has no problem in the first place [with contradictions between religious belief and science]. For to him the Torah and all that it teaches is the Divine Truth, and he rejects a priori anything that contradicts it. On the other hand, since all Jews are required to uphold the Torah and its precepts regardless of the degree of their religious convictions, it is obviously a matter of obligation to help them dispel their doubts and conflicts.²

Torah interpretation is constrained by Jewish law.

Where Halachah [Jewish law] has ruled — this rule must be accepted on top of all interpretations [of the Torah].³

Science should be addressed with scientific arguments.

Scientific theories must be judged by the standards and criteria set up by the scientific method itself. This is precisely the principle I followed in my letter. Hence, I purposely omitted from my discussion any references to the scriptures or the Talmud, etc.⁴ My said letter does not appeal to belief; its premises are scientific based on my years of scientific study, first at the University of Berlin, and later at Paris.⁵

True proven scientific facts must be discerned from speculative science.

We must distinguish between empirical or experimental science dealing with, and confined to, describing and classifying observable phenomena, and speculative science, dealing with unknown phenomena, sometimes phenomena that cannot be duplicated in the laboratory.⁶

Torah has a very high regard for true science.

It should be self-evident that my letter did not imply a negation or rejection of science or of the scientific method… I hope that I will not be suspected of trying to belittle the accomplishments of science, especially as in certain areas the Torah view accords science even more credit than science itself claims; hence many laws in Halacha are geared to scientific conclusions (as e.g. in medicine), assigning to them the validity of objective reality.⁷

Torah and proven science must agree, and such agreement must be based on Torah.

Science cannot contradict religion. Religion/ Torah is true and [empirical/experimental] science is true.⁸

We now explore each of these in turn.

The Torah is absolute

Religious truths are definitive and categorical.⁹ To those who think the Torah is not Divine and think it was written by men, the Rebbe answers: Jews accept the Torah precisely because it was given by G d, not by man. That is why the Torah is the absolute truth, for G d is absolute.¹⁰ The Divine Revelation at Mount Sinai was a fact witnessed by millions of people, all of whom reported it to its minutest detail, accurately, for the whole people of Israel stood at Mount Sinai and witnessed it. We know that this is a fact because millions of Jews in our day accept it as such, because they received it as such from their own parents, and these millions in turn received the evidence from the previous generation, and so on, in an uninterrupted chain of evidence from millions to millions of witnesses, generation after generation, back to the original millions of witnesses who saw the event with their own eyes.

Reviews for Truth

[Budi Christanto · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The author did a good job to describe us what the Rebbe thought about Torah vs science. But he don't give critical arguments about topics written.