CYRIL DOMB

TORAH AND SCIENCE--ARE THEY CONVERGING

The Jewish year 5600 (1840 CE) is highlighted in one of the passages of the Zohar as heralding the opening of the floodgates of knowledge in preparation for the seventh (Sabbatical) millennium. The Vilna Gaon was much influenced by this passage, which he interpreted as a preparation for the messianic era. He related it to the interaction between general and Torah knowledge, and to the ultimate revelation of the supremacy of Torah knowledge. We present here a historical survey of the major scientific innovations which took place shortly after 1840. Developments in the subsequent 150 years are analysed in a number of fields, and their impact on Torah Judaism is assessed.

YEHUDAH (LEO) LEVI

WORLD-TORAH HARMONY

According to Judaism, man's raison d'etre is to serve his Creator, and both the physical world and the Torah exist for his use in achieving that purpose, with the world providing the means and the Torah the guidelines. Consequently the physical world plays a central role in Torah life. This role bears no resemblance to non-Jewish religious concepts of the physical world as an undesirable distraction from spiritual concerns or as a source of evil temptation.

According to Jewish tradition, the Torah was created before the world and served as its blueprint. It also teaches that the Creation was conditional on Israel's acceptance of the Torah. We are wont to see the Torah as an effort to solve the problems posed by the world. Jewish tradition sees the world as the means for realizing Torah--it is not a problem, but rather the "solution". complementing the Torah, much as the hardware of a computer system serves the software to achieve its purpose.

After considering the inner unity between Torah and the world, we discuss some of its ramifications. We would expect the Torah to be well-adapted to the world, providing material benefits to those following its regulations. Also, this unity ought to grant us deeper insight into the meaning of mitzvot and even enable us to resolve practical Torah issues.

MORDECHAI HALPERIN

PARTURITION

The Medical Background of Some Halakhic Maimonidean Rulings

According to Halakhah, saving life takes precedence over the prohibitions of Shabbat. A seriously ill person should, therefore, always be given the most efficient treatment available. If such treatment involves performing an act normally forbidden on Shabbat, it is sometimes possible, without any harm to the patient, to perform that act in a manner other than that of the standard, usual and ordinary procedure "beshinnuy"). The question is whether it is necessary in such circumstances to minimize the Shabbat prohibition as far as possible by using a shinnuy in applying the treatment. Maimonides and Nachmanides hold different opinions in this matter.

According to Nachmanides, the requirement to use a shinnuy where possible is derived from the Talmudic rule concerning a woman in labour on Shabbat, when any act to comfort her and set her mind at ease should be performed if possible with a shinnuy.

On the other hand, Maimonides, who practised medicine in Morocco and Egypt, differentiates between the psychological needs of a woman during the first stage of labour and the medical care needed during the life-threatening stage which begins at the second stage of labour.

By clarifying both the medical background and the halakhic opinion of Maimonides, most of the difficulties raised by the commentators concerning Maimonides' ruling are avoided.

GERALD SCHROEDER

EVOLUTION? A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE PROCESS

The extreme similarity of analogous organs has challenged the long-held assumption of convergent evolution, i.e., that analogous organs evolved independently. In five of the six animal phyla having visual systems, the same gene controls eye development. This gene codes for 130 amino acids. That this gene evolved independently five times is statistically so highly improbable as to be functionally impossible. The gene must have been present in a common ancestor. For the analogous human and squid eyes to have evolved independently by convergence, the mutation rate would have had to have been between 100 and 1,000 times higher than currently observed, and the required genes must already have been neutrally present and were merely activated by these mutations. Analogous organs could not, therefore, have evolved independently.


SHMUEL SAFRAN

METHODOLOGIES COMMON TO SCIENCE AND HALAKHAH

This article outlines areas of overlap in the methodologies used by both Halakhah and science as developed by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Professor Richard Feynman, respectively. In their writings, they both contrast the subjective worldview of the artist or the person of Faith who asks "why" with the quantitative, objective approach of the scientist or the halakhic individual who asks "how" or "what". The common methodologies involve the issues of unique languages, the role of idealization and approximation, and the ability to use a small number of unifying principles to deal with very complex phenomena. Finally, and not surprisingly, considering their own contributions to their fields, they both have emphasized the role of creativity in furthering science and Halakhah.





MORRIS PODOLAK

WHEN SCIENCE CONFRONTS HALAKHAH

A halakhic ruling is often based on a certain view of the world. Occasionally, as a result of scientific advances, that view is changed. As a result the halakhist must respond to the new world view. One example of this is a set of Mishnayot which discuss the birth of a yotzeh dofen (apparently a cesarean section). The Mishnayot imply that the mother survives, but this was contradicted by the scientific "facts" of the Middle Ages. A second example is the discovery that the liquids we are accustomed to drinking are full of "worms" (microbes). The approach of Halakhah to such problems is discussed and then the issue of the computation of the tekufa, which is based (from the scientific point of view) on an inaccurate astronomical calculation is presented. A halakhic framework in which this "inaccuracy" may be understood is proposed; i.e., that the length of the year chosen as the basis of the calculation was deliberately taken to be approximate to allow for ease of computation. Several arguments are presented to support this suggestion.

NATHAN AVIEZER

MISREADING THE FOSSILS:

THE DARK SIDE OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY

A discussion is presented of various proposed scientific interpretations of famous hominid fossils, including Neanderthal Man, Piltdown Man and Hesperopithecus. It is shown that all these scientific interpretations were incorrect, sometimes ludicrously so, even though proposed by the leading experts in the field and universally accepted by the scientific community for many years. It has become clear to contemporary authorities in hominid paleontology that, rather than being guided by scientific objectivity, earlier researchers of hominid fossils were all too often motivated by considerations of national pride, professional jealousy, and preconceived notions. The inevitable result was a series of profound misinterpretations and even outright blunders that remain a source of embarrassment to evolutionary biologists. The conclusions relevant to the Torah Jew are discussed.

A.J.GREENFIELD

THE MESSAGE OF BIBLICAL MIRACLES

We show that a careful examination of the description of miracles in the Tanach indicates:

(I) Miracles are not necessarily in violation of the laws of nature.

(2) The inclusion in the description of certain scientific processes and/or facts unknown to those who were present, gives credence to the authenticity of the text. (3) These same inclusions tend to support the conclusion that the text is divinely inspired, since no human at the time could possibly have written such a description.





SHUBERT SPERO

JUDAISM AND THE AESTHETIC

The relatively new approach in philosophy of art of perceiving the arts as possessing a common quality called the "aesthetic" opens new possibilities of understanding the relationship of Judaism to the arts. In working with the view of D.W. Prall, that art deals with the surface qualities of sensuous experience, one uncovers a profound appreciation in Judaism for the aesthetic values perceivable in nature. The theory of John Dewey, who relates the aesthetic to ordinary experience, is explored to shed light on the dynamics of Shabbat observance. The Shabbat is "made" anew each week as an aesthetic experience by giving it form, structure, rhythm, and a unity of its own.






GEORGE NATANN SCHLESINGER

NO PEACE FOR THE WICKED ?

The well-known question, whether one might be able to offer a convincing reason to a secular individual as to why he should act morally, is discussed. An outline of a possible suggestion is described, according to which, in the long run, wickedness is bound to boomerang and bring punishment upon its perpetrator. However, it is concluded that if such an attempt to show that "crime does not pay" and thus justify altruism were to prove successful, it would handicap rather than benefit the defenders of secular morality.m is assessed.








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