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Orchard of Delights
The Zohar’s second prediction is that by learning the secrets
contained in the Zohar and the inner dimensions of the Torah, we
hasten the arrival of the Messianic era (Zohar 3:124b). According to
tradition the seventh millenium will inaugurate the long awaited
redemption with the Mashiach’s arrival. The fact that the world is
changing at such a rapid and dizzying pace as we draw near to the end
of the sixth millenium is no coincidence. Just as Noah’s Flood created
a new world, the flood of secular knowledge and Torah wisdom will
also create a new world by ultimately imbuing humanity with a new
level of consciousness.
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bereishit תי ִׁשא ֵר ְּב
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The Torah as Archetype
The Torah as Archetype
The Torah as Archetype
The Torah begins with a description of the creation of the world that
spans only thirty-four verses. Humanity’s story, from its inception
to Noah’s death, some 2,000 years later, is also astonishingly brief,
given the complexity of the subject. The traditional Jewish sources
on this Torah portion alone would take a lifetime to master. They
have produced breathtaking insights into virtually every field of
human endeavor. Especially in the last generation, great minds
comfortable in both the worlds of Jewish tradition and secular
knowledge have revealed amazing parallels that bridge the two
worlds. Physics, biology, astronomy, zoology, anthropology,
mathematics, philosophy, psychology, and ethics are just some of
the subjects reflected upon.
The Torah’s account of creation, though comprised of broad,
sweeping generalities and couched in symbolic terms, sheds much
light on the Divine creative process and its meaning to human beings,
created in God’s image. Recent discoveries in physics and cosmology
confirm in great measure the wisdom revealed in the Torah account
of creation. What were once thought to be two conflicting versions of
events are now increasingly seen as accounts written in two different
languages, describing the very same events. The consonance between
Torah wisdom and secular knowledge is becoming ever clearer, as
will be demonstrated throughout this book.
From this perspective, we can understand the story of Adam,
Eve, and the snake in the Garden of Eden, as a profound allegory
addressing the existential reality of humanity. The story, as
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