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(continued)
Of the many codes found, some of the most famous include the assassination of former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin; the holocaust; the Gulf War; the existence of certain diseases such as AIDS and George W Bush being elected to presidency in 2004.
This breakthrough is becoming so widespread, that special software is being designed to ease the difficulty involved in extracting these complex codes.
So, for a Jew in today’s world, what is an appropriate reaction to this new finding? Is this perhaps a genuine example of scientific evidence endorsing the truths of our faith?
The concept of extracting pieces of information from the letters of the Bible has its origins within the writings of several great Rabbis in Jewish history. The Zohar states1 that G-d used Torah as a blueprint to create the world. Nachmanides was of the opinion that every name, as well as every event to occur throughout history, can be found within the letters of the Torah Portion, Haazinu.2 The twelfth century Talmudist and Kabbalist, Rabbi Eliezer Rokeach, enumerated3 73 methods of understanding and interpreting the letters of the Torah. Amongst them is “the method of skipping”.4 The Vilna Gaon often encouraged his followers by finding their names hidden within letters of the Torah.
G-d used Torah as a blueprint to create the world
To appreciate the issue of Bible codes, there are three points that need consideration:
However, when another child who experiences an occasional fleeting doubt about his parents, receives a compliment about his smile being akin to his father’s smile, it makes him more assured, more confident than he already is. It provides his belief in his parents with the extra boost it needs.
Our recognition of the Bible stems from a far greater and deeper source
So, for a Jew who already believes sincerely in the truth of the Bible, the response to the discovery of Bible codes should be one of fascination. Isn’t it wonderful to see that the very truths that we believe in are being confirmed and demonstrated by so many people outside of our religion! But in no way does this discovery authenticate our belief. For us, it is like a bonus. If, hypothetically, some great prophet suddenly appears and invalidates the Bible-codes, it will not diminish our belief in even the slightest way. Our recognition of the Bible stems from a far greater and deeper source.
[Ed. note: It should be noted that bible code scholars only find things after they already happened. They don’t make any predictions. Needless to say, it can’t be used to predict anything, and definitely not to change a Torah law. For even an authentic prophet could not change Torah law, much less so a computer or math system].
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Torah » Codes and NumbersTorah » G-d's WisdomMiscellaneous » Hebrew / Languages » Codes and Numbers
