e-geress Vol. 1., No. 4. January 14, 2000
Publisher: Rabbi Yechezkel Fox
Editor: Rabbi Yisrael Rutman
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In the final week of 1999, Time magazine’s millennial edition named Albert Einstein the Man of the Century. Perhaps some of us allowed ourselves a measure of pride and pleasure at the selection of a Jew as the most influential person of the last 100 years. But we may not have considered that by taking a closer look at Einstein’s most famous legacies through the lens of centuries-old Jewish wisdom, we open for ourselves a window onto the remarkable interface of science and Torah. THE ATOMIC BOMB The laws of Newtonian physics would have us believe that all reactions are proportional to the forces that produce them. This implies that only Olympian events can bring about Olympian repercussions. But Einstein turned Newton on his head, cracking open the Pandora’s box of atomic energy and revealing to us with horrifying clarity that one tiny action can produce cataclysmic results. . How does an atom bomb work? Two small masses of seemingly innocuous matter confined within a controlled space are subjected to a relatively tiny force, thereby producing a reaction powerful enough to raze an entire city and incinerate millions of people. In the early Forties it would have sounded ludicrous that so insignificant a cause could result in so devastating an effect. Thirty years later, high school students wondered if their world would survive long enough for them to grow up in it. Yet we have not adequately applied the forbidding lesson of the atom to ourselves. We have failed to recognize that the hidden power of atomic energy serves as a poignant example of the potential that lies within every human spirit. Indeed, contemporary society measures the stature of an individual with the superficial yardsticks of fame and wealth, headlines and stock portfolios. Not so the Torah, by whose definition genuine greatness depends upon whether a man accords honor to others and contributes to his community, upon whether he raises his children to become conscientious citizens and acquires a reputation for personal integrity. Therefore the Sages of the Talmud ask: Who is mighty? The one who conquers his impulses. Such a person, however humble he may appear, holds the reigns of real power, and before him the heavens shake and the earth trembles. For as such a person changes the world in subtle, almost imperceptible ways, the ripples of his good deeds and his pure motives spread from his family and from his community to every corner of the world. RELATIVITY Space is curved. Mass is energy. Time slows as velocity increases.These are some of the better known concepts that have come down to us as Einstein’s theory of relativity. And had we not learned in school to accept them we would think them absurd and their author mad, as indeed many did when the special theory of relativity was first published. Similarly, many things are not as they appear. The ceramic mug that holds my morning coffee, the chair in which I sit, and the roof over my head are really not solid objects at all, but empty space trapped within fields of energy shaped by invisible particles spinning around at unimaginable speeds. Yet, we take atomic structure for granted, even though no scientist has ever seen an atom. Why don’t we object to this model of creation, since it blatantly defies our senses? Quite simply, we don’t object because we don’t care. It doesn’t matter to us a whit whether our furniture is made up of solid matter, whirling electrons, or green cheese, as long as it suits our needs. On the other hand, the suggestion that the physical universe rests upon a spiritual foundation is vehemently resisted by many. Why? Primarily because the notion of a Creator implies the possibility of personal responsibility, whereas the society around us is passionately devoted to the ideal that every individual is responsible to no one other than himself. Ironically, Einstein himself is partly to blame for this prevailing attitude. Historian Paul Johnson observes that by popularizing his theory of relativity, Einstein unwittingly let loose the floodwaters of relativism. And thus the scientific concept of a physical universe governed by fluid laws and varying measures sparked a social revolution based upon inconstant values and subjective truth, powered by the conviction that every person can be his own moral authority and write his own moral definitions. Albert Einstein, however, was neither an atheist nor a moral relativist. He recognized that the infinite complexity of our universe suggests a single, cosmic masterplan, and he did not apologize for the possible moral ramifications. He is truly the man of the century insofar as his revelations in science spur us on to seek out our own revelations in spirituality. His model of a unified physical universe compels us to contemplate the greater unity that transcends our mere physical world and binds us to a higher plane of reality. By Rabbi Yonason Goldson We welcome your questions and comments. Our address: fox@moreshet.co.il 
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