1,064,340,000,000,000,000

Dear Family

Hope everyone is well

Mazal Tov to Netanel on his first birthday! Remember with fond memories all the celebrations in the marquee tent last year BH

A few years ago (1998), Uncle Chanan gave me a very interesting book called 'Five Equations that Changed The World'.

This subject interests me very much, and it has been sitting on my bookshelf all these years tempting me to read it - when I find the time.

And I picked it up recently, and it is fascinating. I am still only just finishing the first of the 5.

I feel that what I have read so far is relevant to both last weeks Parsha Bereishis, and this weeks ie Noach.

I hope you can hold out to the end, as it will be a longer Dvar Torah than normal.

Bereishis speaks about the Creation of the world.

The first Equation in the abovementioned book is Sir Isaac Newtons equation on Gravity. (in 1600s)

To show the power of Newtons work , the author takes a long look back at the history of Mans understanding of the Universe, and at the life and work of Newton.

In short one sees Man looking up into the sky, through the ages, trying to make sense of what is going on.

Plato and Aristotle (Greeks) in about 300 BCE came up with the geocentric theory which held for many centuries. They saw that there were 2 realms , earth which is imperfect, and then the Celestial sphere around earth in which everything was perfect and in perfect uniform motion.

They brought religion and science together.

And then you see Man muddling through the centuries, sometimes Religion taking charge , and then sometimes Science in trying to understand the Universe.

In 1543 Copernicus set off a religious - scientific revolution by urging divorce from Aristotle and claiming that the Sun was at the centre of the Universe.

And also scientists were now developing telescopes and were noticing that not everything in the sky moves in a harmonious fashion.

Some bodies in the sky had eliptic paths etc

Science from here on starts to develop more, and we start to for the first time see real brilliance with Newton.

And we can only marvel at his greatness, and his contribution to the world through all his struggles.

Now throughout this period ie about 2000 years, scientists were looking and debating about how many stars there were in the sky, and were seeing about 4000

AND WHAT WAS THE OPINION OF THE JEWISH SAGES (WHICH THEY FOUND IN TORAH)?

1,064,340,000,000,000,000. (1.06 x 10 to the power 18 plus 4,340,000,000,000,000).

And this was in the time of the Talmudic Sages in the period 70BCE to 500 CE!!!

Modern calculations are now coming close to our Sages calculations.

In 1997 NASA estimated the number to be 10 to the power 21

In 2003 the Australian National University estimated 7x 10 to the power 22.

And now the link to Noach (if you can hold out)

The Rebbe says in a sicha quoting from Zohar 'In the 600th year of the 6th millennium (this corresponds to 1840 CE), the gates of supernal wisdom will be opened, as will be the wellsprings of lower wisdom. The world will then be rectified, enabling it to enter the 7th millennium.'

These upper and lower gates are alluded to in the flood of Noah where the ' floodgates of Heaven' and the 'wellsprings of the great deep' opened up and flooded the world.

The Rebbe explains that the 'Gates of Heaven' is referring to Torah Wisdom, and in particular revelation of the esoteric Torah, and ' the Wellsprings is referring to Secular Wisdom ie development of Science and Technology.

Both of these started flourishing in the period mentioned in the Zohar!

This is heading to the Messianic era in the 7th millennium when 'the earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the ocean bed.' - Rambam,

IS IT NOT ALMOST VISIBLE AND TANGIBLE?

Gut Shabbos