Wissenschaft des Judentums

Despite having recently done poorly on a Jewish History final, I know that the term, "Science of Judaism," is not one that would please any Orthodox person. However, the way I plan to use it is not meant in the same sense that it was used in the nineteenth century Jewish Enlightenment.


I used to think that as long as something in Judaism doesn't blatantly contradict science, the two can be reconciled. As long as providence didn't contradict natural law, everything was cool. I was upset when I read a letter written by Albert Einstein in a blog post by Rabbi Natan Slifkin. In it, a young girl asks Albert Einstein if scientists pray. His response:
Dear Phyllis, I will attempt to reply to your question as simply as I can. Here is my answer: Scientists believe that every occurrence, including the affairs of human beings, is due to the laws of nature. Therefore a scientist cannot be inclined to believe that the course of events can be influenced by prayer, that is, by a supernaturally manifested wish.
However, we must concede that our actual knowledge of these forces is imperfect, so that in the end the belief in the existence of a final, ultimate spirit rests on a kind of faith. Such belief remains widespread even with the current achievements in science. But also, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that some spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe, one that is vastly superior to that of man. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is surely quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive.
With cordial greetings,
your A. Einstein 

While the actual point of prayer is not simply to beseech God, nonetheless only a true apikores (which despite all of my friends jokes, I'm not B"H) can deny hashgacha pratis and divine intervention entirely. I have seen it and felt it myself in my own life. (Although later in life I may convince myself that I was suffering from a form of lack of emunas chachmei hatevah, as described in the link in the update to my Emunas Chachamim patch.)

Rabbi Slifkin directs you to his book, The Challenge of Creation, which I read four years ago but have subsequently lost and therefore cannot refer to. 


If everything in the world follows natural order, even if it is God who set up those natural laws and still actively runs it, how can there be such a thing as divine intervention? Of course, scientists nowadays cannot explain all the finest details of every single thing out there, but there is substantial evidence that if they were given enough information and technology, they could predict anything and everything. Kinda scary, but true.


The first answer I thought of was this: 
 I happen to be a very big fan of the infinity of man's possibilities. All the fantastical stuff mentioned in my previous patch will be available to us through advanced technology. We will reach the edge of our solar system and beyond. We will develop fully mass-produced humanoid robots. However, in my opinion, we will never fully understand the human brain. We technically could be able to predict every other occurrence in nature, but human nature and the human brain are so unpredictable that even if we were to understand how every network of electronic information in our brain is processed we could not foresee a man's action. The theory I've been developing is that God's hand will mainly come into play through the minds of men. The classic hidden miracle story of Tanach is of course the story of Purim. That miracle was all based on human decision. There are many other examples I could give, but I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough. I will continue to think this through and develop this possibility.


This however, is not theologically sound. Rather, I would like to believe that Judaism itself is a science. Hence the title. It can be studied and observed(, or at least it would be if it didn't involve the afterlife). It is not much unlike miracology that i mentioned in a previous patch. However, this is not necessarily directly related because like any other subject of science, it cannot contradict the other ones. Biology, physics and earth science compliment each other. The same is true with the Science of Judaism. It flows along with all the other ones, and doing mitzvos and being close to God can affect our lives and this world. I'm no physicist, but I've spent 16 years studying Wissenschaft des Judentums, so I'm going to keep praying.