The universe began out of nothing 13.7 billion years ago and has expanded in an evolving process that resembles one that Jewish mystics envisioned centuries ago. In Let There Be Light, astrophysicist Howard Smith clearly explains the modern scientific understanding of the cosmos and explores how it complements Judaism’s ancient mystical theology, Kabbalah. He argues that an underlying harmony exists between science and religion, and he uses cosmology and Kabbalah as detailed examples to show that a dialogue between the two sheds light on ethics, free will, and the sanctity of life. At the same time he rejects fundamentalist misinterpretations and the pseudoscience of creationism.
Accessible yet based on the most current scientific research, this extraordinary book investigates the intriguing parallels between the Big Bang theory and biblical images of creation as developed in Kabbalah. Along the way, the author explores modern quantum mechanics, relativity, dark matter, and cosmic acceleration. Smith delves into complex ideas without resorting to jargon or mathematical equations, creating a lyrical, authoritative work that brings new and surprising insights to the deepest mysteries of the cosmos.
About the webpage banner: The first letter of the Bible is the Hebrew letter BET, which appears in the banner for our website. The first word of the Bible is “B’Resheit,” usually translated as “In the beginning.” But the Kabbalists note that in Hebrew, BET can also mean “with” and they understand the first word of scripture as “With the Resheit.” As the book explains (starting on page 23), the Resheit is their name for what we know today as the point-like origin of the big bang. (Graphically, that point is represented by the small dot inside the BET that hardens its sound from ‘v’ to ‘b’ .)
