Excerpts from an article by Avi Rabinowitz and Herman Branover, in B'Ohr HaTorah (book & journal: see below), with some newer material.
https://sites.google.com/nyu.edu/quantum-halacha-analogies/home,
A: FREE WILL, QUANTUM PHYSICS, AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE WAVE FUNCTION**:
A free-willed decision, in order to be truly free in the sense we mean here, has to be unconstrained by the laws of nature and not determined by any physical phenomena - neither the result of deterministic nor random processes. Free will is then unique in operating via interactions which transcend both the determinism of classical physics and the randomness of quantum physics.
Given that free will transcends quantum randomness (as it transcends nature in general) we postulate that if there is any process which can "collapse the quantum wave function"** it would be a mind engaged in a free willed-choice.
Since a consciousness can causally affect the universe only if it has a free will, and a free will is by definition unthinkable without a consciousness, we will assume in the course of further discussion that free will subsumes within itself the concept of consciousness.
Indeed, some eminent physicists have proposed that it is only measurement performed by a conscious being which can transform the quasi-real state into a fully physical real state, and that stipulation applies just as well to the universe as a whole. However I feel that it is free will which underlies this property of consciousness.
B: EXISTENCE OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE ROLE OF FREE-WILLED CONSCIOUS BEINGS
We will now try to apply this perspective to the existence of the universe itself. According to quantum metaphysics, the universe can emerge into reality only when it is observed by a consciousness. This consciousness possibly must function in a nonquantum fashion in order to “collapse the wave function.” The only such nonquantum factor in the universe is free will. Thus, we postulate that it is the presence of a free-willed, conscious being which enables the universe to emerge into reality.
** According to the philosophy of quantum physics, actual physical reality can exist (in the scientific meaning of the term existence) only as a result of measurement. When not being measured, any system – an atom or a rock or the universe as a whole - is in a state amenable to description only in terms of probabilities and not unequivocal facts of the type we are used to in our ordinary experience (ie at the macroscopic level).
Preface: There are various perspectives in Jewish philosophy that reveal parallels to this quantum world-view, and here too I feel that it is free will which underlies it all. In this article we'll present perspecitvies in which human free-willed consciousness can be seen as essential to the purpose of the universe from two very different perspectives – those of quantum metaphysics and of biblical religion (and Halachik philosophy).
Table of contents
Section I: Some relevant aspects of Jewish philosophy, including the Jewish view of the Creation, humanity’s purpose and unique characteristics - all related by the common theme of determination of reality via observation performed by a consciousness.
II: Quantum Halakha
III: Universal and Human Emergence and Quantum Metaphysics
IV: Examples of the analogy between Quantum Metaphysics and the Talmudic philosophy of Halacha
V: Conclusion
I: Spiritual and Physical Reality
Jewish metaphysics sees the true reality as the spiritual realm - the physical cosmos being God’s precision-crafted instrument for achieving spiritual goals. Indeed, the physical universe is a shadow of the spiritual world, the illusion perceived by limited beings who are in contact with the spiritual cosmos but can directly sense and perceive only its shadow (for more on this topic, see also this article).
Human free-willed moral choice connects the two realms, and this moral activity gives meaning to the existence of the universe.
Thus, since the true reality of the universe is the spiritually meaningful aspect, it should not be surprising that the emergence of the universe into reality is so intimately bound up with the emergence of those beings who endow physicality of meaning. Furthermore, once this connection is understood, it is most appropriate that the very characteristics of humans which allow the emergence of the universe into reality (i.e., his free-willed consciousness) are the very same characteristics which endow it with meaning. We can thus see the fundamental interrelationship between meaning, purpose, free will, consciousness, and the very nature of reality (and how this is reflected in Creation).
Summary: According to the approach of "quantum metaphysics", reality is established via the observation of a (free-willed) consciousness, and according to Jewish thought, free-willed choice gives the universe meaning and is thus the “motivation” for the very existence of the universe.
HUMANITY, TORAH, AND REALITY
According to Jewish tradition, the Torah is the “blueprint” which was used by God in creating the universe. Moreover, God is continually renewing Creation—re-creating the universe at every moment—by interpreting the blueprint for the re-creation of the universe at that instant. These statements pertain to a more abstract form of Torah, to a Torah that exists spiritually in the form of “black fire on white fire.” However, once this Torah was translated into human terms and given over at Sinai, the prerogative of its interpretation and application rested solely with Humanity; it is Humanity’s responsibility and his alone. And through involvement with Torah, Humanity actually becomes a partner in the continuous renewal of the cosmos.
In our universe, the operative concepts are “free-willed conscious choice,” not “nature,” i.e. objective scientific fact. It is the former which causes the latter to emerge into existence (collapse of a probability wave). Thus, it will not come a surprise that, in Jewish law, free-willed conscious moral choice rules over the “laws of nature,” rather than vice versa.
The true reality is the spiritual one. The physical is in existence only to serve the spiritual. The entire physical universe is an artifact created by God. Humans are precisely crafted instruments designed to interact with the physical universe in ways which have the potential to achieve spiritual goals unattainable without the vehicle of the physical. Thus, the physical is of central importance, but only as a means: It can have sublime beauty and dignity, but only by virtue of its ability to achieve in the spiritual realm. Thus the human body, rather than being a hindrance to spirituality, is a potentially holy physical tool which can control the spiritual.
Indeed, every action/thought/word affects the spiritual cosmos, and the Jewish way of life as prescribed by the Torah is designed to resonate with the spiritual and to correctly utilizthe physic order to elicit the fusion of ultimate spirituality with the physical. God is the Creator of the universe and of Humanity and designed the universe, humans and the way to complete each other, to complement one another, in a self-consistent optimum system. God communicated the method to humankind in the form of the Torah (Written and Oral), and then in capacity as Designer and Creator of this system, promised us that we are superbly qualified to successfully perform our role and attain our goal. More than this, we are told that since we are designed to be the best instrument to achieve this goal within the context of a physical universe, when we perform at optimum, we are a crucial element in the scheme of things and particularly-well suited to physical/spiritual interaction.
II: QUANTUM HALAKHA: Multiplicity of Facets vs Contradiction
Normally, one would assume that of two conflicting viewpoints regarding legal matters in a Divinely mandated code of life, one must be incorrect. However, the human power of determining spiritual reality is reflected very clearly in halakhic philosophy, and in halakhah itself. According to the Talmud, when two qualified rabbis arrive at conflicting and mutually exclusive conclusions, if both have researched the matter as required, and both are sincere and interested only in the truth, then both are right. This attitude is recorded in the Talmud and is given here in rough translation: “For two-and-a-half years the schools of Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai were in dispute regarding a certain ruling. Finally, a voice came from Heaven and declared: ‘Verily, both views are the words of the living God, but the ruling is according to Rabbi Hillel.’”
Since the spiritual reality is humanly-determined, there is no paradox involved in two mutually contradictory results being both right, as long as they represent two human opinions arrived at through religiously legitimate means. The Torah also gives us rules for deciding the actual path to take when we are presented with two or more valid opinions, for example, the principle of decision by majority. Once one of the paths has been accepted by rabbinical authority, it alone becomes the only viable path of action. Even though the other path is still theoretically correct, it becomes absolutely unacceptable as an actual path as soon as the religious reality is decided in favor of the other.
Biblical sources: passages in Psalms and Isaiah, whose hidden meanings had been passed down along with the text from generation to generation. For example, in Isaiah 44:24-26, we read: “I am the Lord that makes all things; that stretches the heavens, alone; that spreads abroad the earth by Myself; that frustrates the omens of impostors, and makes diviners mad; that turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish; that confirms the word of His servant, and performs the counsel of His messengers.
God created the universe ex nihilo, but has left to humanity the fashioning of this raw material, as indicated in the traditional interpretation of the passage: “For then God rested from all the work, which God created to be fashioned.” (Genesis 2:3): The Sages interpreted the apparently superfluous term “to be fashioned” as indication: “All that was created in the six days of Creation requires ‘fashioning’ (by humans)” (Bereshit Rabbah 11:7)
We can now compare the halakhic view of reality with that of quantum physics. According to the Talmud, two or more logically valid halakhic rulings may be consistent with the available facts. Indeed, two independent valid viewpoints can be diametrically opposed and mutually contradictory. halakhah allows either one to determine the reality in principle but will accept only one of the possibilities in actuality.
The analogy between this conception and the idea of the multiple possibilities for reality prior to a “measurement” in quantum physics is now obvious. Although both are the (living) words/realities of (the living) God, only one can determine reality. Also, even though all entities can be measured to produce the characteristics of either waves or particles—both are living reality—only one aspect by itself can be seen “statistically” as the result of an actual measurement.
Furthermore, just as according to quantum metaphysics nature has delegated to humanity the ability to determine the nature of physical reality within the limitations of natural law, similarly, according to Torah, God, the Creator of nature, has delegated to humanity the ability to determine the nature of spiritual reality, within the limitations of halakhah.
As outlined by various Jewish mystics, halakhah is not just the guideline for the Torah way of life but is the way to achieve one’s purpose—and it is this purpose which also gives meaning to the universe.
Spiritual reality then influences the physical. Of the two levels, the physical is merely the means to the spiritual end. Thus the human determination of spiritual reality is even more fundamental than is his determination of physical reality. So, too, it is humanity’s spiritual qualities (free-willed consciousness) which are more fundamental than these physical qualities.
As illustrated in the previously cited instances, it is up to people to use their own limited sense of right and wrong, guided by Torah criteria, to determine truths and thus to determine reality.
III: Universal and Human Emergence and Quantum Metaphysics
According to the approach we presented, since it is human consciousness and free will which invest choices with the possibility of meaning, it is therefore only free-willed consciousness which has the possibility of conducting reality-determining observation and measurement.
Nature by itself is powerless to achieve self-realization; humanity is required to bring both self and the universe into reality. Humans, alive and physical and yet spiritual as well, albeit limited and fallible—or perhaps because limited and fallible— are uniquely qualified, by virtue of possessing a free-willed consciousness, to determine the nature of physical and spiritual reality.
Complementary but not Contradictory Perspectives on Human Emergence
As we have seen, quantum physics connects ontology (being) with epistemology (knowing), and quantum metaphysics postulates that the universe can emerge into true physical existence only when there are (free-willed) conscious beings in it. According to this scenario, Humanity is not a random product of the universe but is rather a necessary condition for the very existence of the universe. In addition, since the universe can emerge into true physical existence only when free-willed consciousness is present within it, then according to what we will term quantum-Kabbalistic Biblical metaphysics -there is no true physical reality to any time prior to its emergence. Thus in the Torah - where the first such free-willed conscious being (at least on Earth) is referred to as 'Adam', meaning 'human' - the account of the emergence of the first human is tied in with that of the emergence of the universe itself.
Of course, other perspectives exist regarding the emergence of humanity, relating to a time prior to the emergence of free-willed conscious individuals. According to the approach of quantum metaphysics explored here, this emergence takes place in a less-than-fully real superposition –of-quantum states-universe. And this perspective is not a contradiction to the Biblical one, it is complementary..
Given the differing fundamental assumptions underlying the two perspectives it is only to be expected that there will be differences between the descriptions each arrives at regarding the emergence of this first free-willed conscious, especially as one arises from human sources, limited by quantum physics—and another claims to originate with an infinite source outside of physicality.
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IV: Examples of the analogy between Quantum Metaphysics and the Talmudic philosophy of Halacha
Halakhic decisions: Normally, one would assume that of two conflicting viewpoints regarding legal matters in a Divinely mandated code of life, one must be incorrect. However, the power of man to determine spiritual reality is reflected very clearly in halakhic philosophy, and in halakhah itself. According to the Talmud, when two qualified rabbis arrive at conflicting and mutually exclusive conclusions, if both have researched the matter as required, and both are sincere and interested only in the truth, then both are right. This attitude is recorded in the Talmud and is given here in rough translation: “For two-and-a-half years the schools of Rabbi Hillel and Rabbi Shammai were in dispute regarding a certain ruling. Finally, a voice came from Heaven and declared: ‘Verily, both views are the words of the living God, but the ruling is according to Rabbi Hillel.’”
Since the spiritual reality is determined by man, there is no paradox involved in two mutually contradictory results being both right, as long as they represent two human opinions arrived at through religiously legitimate means. The Torah also gives us rules for deciding the actual path to take when we are presented with two or more valid opinions, for example, the principle of decision by majority. Once one of the paths has been accepted by rabbinical authority, it alone becomes the only viable path of action. Even though the other path is still theoretically correct, it becomes absolutely unacceptable as an actual path as soon as the religious reality is decided in favor of the other.
For example, the dates for Jewish holidays were set according to rabbinical ruling based on observation of the moon and on calculations. One year the date for Yom Kippur (the holiest day of the year) calculated by Rabbi Yehoshua differed by one day from the date arrived at by Rabban Gamliel. Since Rabban Gamliel was the nasi (chief justice), the ruling followed his view. In order to prevent anarchy, he then ordered Rabbi Yehoshua to come see him on the day Rabbi Yehoshua considered to be Yom Kippur—and to do so in a manner forbidden on Yom Kippur. This would prove that there was only one authoritative ruling. Rabbi Yehoshua came, violating what he considered to be the holiest day of the year, in deference to Rabban Gamliel’s view. Rabban Gamliel then told him that he considered Rabbi Yehoshua to be his superior in wisdom and learning, but that as nasi his word was nevertheless law. Thus, even though Rabbi Yehoshua’s view was possibly more logically valid that that of Rabban Gamliel, as soon as the decision was made in favor of the other view, his own ruling became totally unacceptable as religious law, and the day he considered the holiest ceased to be so.
We have just seen that two conflicting opinions can both be considered valid, yet that only the majority opinion is accepted as normative. This is an example of the simplest level at which man determines the halakhic reality, i.e., that of determining which of several opinions shall be accepted as normative halakhah. We will now present examples of the other two levels on which this is true: disclosure of factual reality and causation of factual reality.
Disclosure of factual reality: In the same mishnah discussed above, Rabbi Akiva brought proof from the Torah that even if the court set a festival on the incorrect day through its own error, the declaration was religiously valid. The following mishnah relates that even if all the people of Israel, including all the court justices, saw the new moon and/or received the testimony of the witnesses, if the court did not declare it as the new moon (by the day’s end), the new moon was considered to begin the next day.
Even when Halakhah seemingly depends on objective physical reality, such as temporal sanctification at the time of the new moon, what actually determines the Halakhah is the decision/measurement made by man (in this case, the court ruling), even though the physical facts seem yo present a contradiction. Neither nature nor super-natural events can usurp the prerogative of man in deciding Halakhah and thus the spiritual reality. This can be seen graphically in the account presented in the following narrative from the Talmud.
Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer were arguing a point of religious law. Rabbi Eliezer was unable to convince Rabbi Yehoshua of his point, and so he tried to convince him by using miracles. He said, “If I am right, let the stream run uphill.” And it did so. This, however, did not convince Rabbi Yehoshua. “If I am right, let the wall bend,” declared Rabbi Eliezer, and the wall indeed bent. Rabbi Yehoshua, however, remained unconvinced! So Rabbi Eliezer called upon Heaven itself to decide the matter. He said, “If I am right, let Heaven prove it.” Indeed, a voice came from Heaven and declared, “What do you want from Rabbi Eliezer? The ruling is always in accordance with his views.” At this point, Rabbi Yehoshua arose and quoted the Torah, saying, “It [the Torah] is not in Heaven.” By this he meant that it is man—not physical law or even Heaven—who decides spiritual reality. That is, he did not dispute the fact that Heaven had decided in favor if Rabbi Eliezer (and that probably this meant that “nature” favored him as well ); rather, he claimed that Heaven had already delegated the authority in such matters to man alone!
The most far-reaching example of such philosophy can again be found in the Talmud. There we are shown quite clearly that neither the inhabitants of the spiritual realm nor God Himself defines halakha; only man can do so. A debate about a religious ruling was taking place between members of the “Heavenly College” (the souls of deceased saintly rabbinical scholars) and God Himself: God held to one view and the members of the College to another. The college then decided that in order to reach an authoritative ruling, neither God nor Moses could decide, but rather that the living rabbinical authority (Rabbi Bar Nachmani) must decide.
The Talmud also tells us what God’s view of all this is: At the end of the case with Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer describes previously, Elijah the Prophet is quoted as reporting that God was immensely pleased with man’s understanding of his role in determining religious reality, and that He even laughed with joy, saying, “My sons have bested me, my sons have bested me.” Thus on questions of halakhah and spiritual reality, the world, the Heavens, and God Himself all defer to man, though he be incomplete and limited.
Halakhah and the Causation of Reality: Since the Torah is the blueprint of Creation, man’s interpretation of it can have cosmic effect; halakhic ruling causes physical reality to emerge and even change so as to conform with the blueprint from which it was created. Thus and extremely potent level on which man can determine physical reality is that of halakhic decision. This astonishing concept is referred to in a famous passage in theJerusalemTalmud. In order to understand the passage, one must be familiar with the concept of the leap year in the Jewish calendar.
A Jewish leap year involves the addition of a thirteenth month to the twelve-lunar-month year, in order to correlate it with the solar year. If a child is born in the middle of the ast month of a non-leap year, then the month of birth is both “the twelfth” and “the last” month of the year. During leap years, when the twelfth month is not the last month, it is not obvious which month is the child’s birth month: the last (thirteenth) month, or the twelfth (second to last) month. The Talmudic ruling is that the birthday is on the last (thirteenth month).
The passage in the Jerusalem Talmud which we mention above concerns physical changes in the body of a child involving a lessened ability of the body to regenerate certain tissues; this change is determined as occurring at the conclusion of the third year of life. Thus, if the child’s birthday is, for example, on the fifth day of the last month, then in the third year, on the fifth of the last month, the physical change occurs. However, if at the end of the month, after the change has taken place, it is decided by the court that a thirteenth month will be added to the year, the third birthday according to halakhah has not yet occurred (it will occur only on the fifth day of this newly added thirteenth month), and thus the physical change should not yet have occurred. According to this Talmudic source, the physical change will, in this circumstance, actually reverse itself in conformance with the halakhic decision! (If an observation is already made, the reality is “frozen” and cannot be changed retroactively by a later observation; it can, however, be changed if no observation is made.)
For another instance, the famous Rogatchover Gaon once indicated a similar philosophy regarding the ability of halakhah to determine physical reality. A woman once came to him with a defective slaughtered chicken to ask whether or not it was terefah (an animal with a terminal disease or fatal defect that renders it not kosher). The chicken seemed to be a clear-cut state of terefah, yet the Rogatchover’s students noticed that their rabbi spent hours checking it, consulting books, thinking and so on, rather than spending the usual few minutes. They were astounded that this great genius would waste his time on such a trivial matter instead of simply buying the chicken from the woman and throwing it out. In the end, the Rogatchover was able to find a way to reach the halakhic decision that the chicken was not terefah, i.e., disease was not fatal according to the halakhic definition of “fatal.” The students were stupefied at the exertion of such genius over such triviality.
The next day, a woman came to the Rogatchover wailing and sobbing. Her husband was deathly ill, she cried, asking the rabbi for help. The Rogatchover asked the woman what was wrong with her husband. She described precisely the disease which afflicted her husband. The Rogatchvoer answered thus: “Don’t worry—only yesterday I examined a chicken with the identical disease and I ruled that it was not a terefah—your husband is therefore not deathly ill and will recover!”
The biblical sources given for this far-reaching concept are passages in Psalms and Isaiah, whose hidden meanings had been passed down along with the text from generation to generation. For example, in Isaiah 44:24-26, we read: “I am the Lord that makes all things; that stretches the heavens, alone; that spreads abroad the earth by Myself; that frustrates the omens of impostors, and makes diviners mad; that turns wise men backward, and makes their knowledge foolish; that confirms the word of His servant, and performs the counsel of His messengers.
God created the universe ex nihilo, but has left to humanity the fashioning of this raw material, as indicated in the traditional interpretation of the passage: “For then He rested from His work, which He created to be fashioned.” (Genesis 2:3)
The Sages interpreted the apparently superfluous term “to be fashioned” as indication: “All that was created in the six days of Creation requires ‘fashioning’ (by humanity)” (Bereshit Rabbah 11:7) It is obvious from what we said above what meaning we will ascribe to this.
V: Conclusion:
The perspectives of science and biblical religion are very different, and lead to different conclusions regarding the emergence of the universe and of humanity. (The parallels between the perspectives of Jewish philosophy and those of science pertain to ontology, which addresses the essence of existence, as well as to epistemology, which deals with criteria for knowledge.) However, besides the parallels between them drawn as indicated above, quantum physics indicates as well how two perspectives and their respective conclusion are not necessarily contradictory even though they differ greatly.
According to the quantum kabbalistic view presented above, the laws of nature including of course the laws of quantum processes were designed and created by the creator of humanity, who is also the arbiter of the laws governing how halacha is to be determined. By design, "nature" by itself is powerless to achieve self-realization; humanity - transcending nature by virtue of possesing the divine image, in this case meaning true free will - is required to bring both itself and the universe into reality. Thus nature cannot determine halakhah. Similarly, God does not decide halakhah, rather God chose its determination to be humanity’s prerogative and sole responsibility. Humanity, alive and physical and yet spiritual as well, albeit limited and fallible - or perhaps because it is limited and fallible - is uniquely qualified, by virtue of possession of a free-willed consciousness, to determine the nature of physical and spiritual reality.
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Analogies between Quantum Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Halacha.Examples (1).doc