Article in The Times of Israel by Andy Blumenthal: Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi’s incredible book, Divine Information, opened my eyes in explaining about “Torah and Science,” how G-d’s word to us in the Torah is fully and absolutely divine from Hashem.

1. 8/12/22, 5:58 PM What Are You Refusing To See? | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
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THE BLOGS
Andy Blumenthal
Leadership With Heart
What Are You Refusing
To See?
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Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal
I had this powerful dream recently. In the dream, incredibly, I am fighting an
angel of G-d, just as Jacob, our forefather, did.
It is quite a violent dream. The angel has his powerful hands around either side
of my head, and with his fingers in my eyes, he is trying to gouge my eyes out.
Rather than submit, I grab his face in my two hands, and in turn, push my
fingers into his eyes. And like this, I am engaged in a struggle for my vision, if
not my very life.
At this point, I suddenly woke up, yet I remembered the imagery of the dream
100% vividly. Immediately, I receive a message playing again and again in my
mind, and I am saying to myself, as follows:
Over and over again, this message resonated with me. And I just shook my head,
asking myself, “What does this mean?” What am I not seeing that I should be
I need to see something that I am not fully seeing in my life.”
“

3. 8/12/22, 5:58 PM What Are You Refusing To See? | Andy Blumenthal | The Blogs
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seeing? What am I missing in my vision and understanding?
Then, over the course of the very next week, I saw the answer so crystal clear in
Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi’s book, Divine Information. In this incredible book, Rabbi
Mizrachi opened my eyes in explaining about “Torah and Science,” how G-d’s
word to us in the Torah is fully and absolutely divine from Hashem.
The Torah was given in 1,312 BCE, before most of the discoveries of the world,
modern science, and tools like telescopes and microscopes. Yet, the Torah tells
us secrets of the world and science long before they were known.
The World is Round
Aristotle (circa 350 BCE) and other Hellenistic astronomers were among the first
to discover that the world was round (vice flat). How is it that in the eighth
century BCE, the prophet Isaiah wrote (Isaiah 40:22):
The Torah contains hidden messages, code words…prophecies, wisdom, and
knowledge that no human being could have ever known [thousands of years
ago].”
“
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[G-d] sits on the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.”

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Further, the Zohar (a Kabbalistic work) from the teachings of Rabbi Shimon Bar
Yochai, written around the 2nd century CE, tells us about the earth and its
inhabitants:
How was it known that people, animals, houses, and more were populated all
over the world spinning in space and that nothing falls off well before the times
of the great discoverers (Columbus, Magellan, etc.) in the 15th and 16th
centuries CE?
Kosher Fish and Animals
We are told (Leviticus 11:9) that fish are kosher when they have both fins and
scales, and the Talmud explains that whatever has scales will always have fins.
How could the Oral Torah know that anywhere in the entire world (and much of
it yet unknown) and further for all future generations of the evolving species,
there was and would never be a fish with scales that didn’t also have fins?
Similarly, we are told (Leviticus 11:3) that animals are kosher when they have
split hooves and chew their cud. And the Torah specifically identifies just four
animals (camel, hare, rabbit, and pig) in the entire universe that have only one
“
Some habitats dwell below (on the lower side of the ball) and some above (on
the higher side of the ball).”
“
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of these signs. Again, how could the Torah know that anywhere and for all
future generations of changes and mutations, there is and would never be
another animal with only split hooves or that chews the cud?
The Number of Stars in the Sky
In the Talmud written more than 1,600 years ago, it states (Berachot 32b) in the
name of Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish that there are roughly 10 to the 18th stars in
the sky, which is remarkably close to the current scientific estimates of 10 to the
22nd. How was such a large and unfathomable number known by our sages long
before modern astronomy and the invention of the telescope in the 17th
century?
The Jewish Calendar
In the 4th century CE, Hillel, the head of the Sanhedrim, created the Jewish
calendar, which is a 19-year cycle with 7 leap years of 13 months each in order
to keep the holidays fixed in their season. These leap years are necessary since
Judaism is based on both a solar and lunar calendar, such that the beginning of
the month is based on the appearance of a new moon, but the Jewish holidays
are affixed to the solar seasons of the year. The result is an 11-day gap between
the solar and lunar cycles every year. How did Hillel so long ago figure out the
precise way to account for this, combining information on the Earth’s rotation
(24 hours), the moon’s revolutions around the Earth (29 1/2 days), and the
Earth’s revolution around the sun (365 1/4 days)?
Germany’s Destruction of the World
In 1862, Otto Von Bismark united about 300 barbarian tribes in Europe to create
the Republic of Germany, yet already 1,500 years prior, the Talmud (Megillah
6b) states:

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Moreover, in the codes of the Torah (i.e., skipping letters in equal numbers), the
words Shoah, Hitler, Eichmann, and Final Solution are found. How is it that the
Torah and our sages were able to foretell the horrific destruction that Germany
would bring about in World War I and II and in the devastation of the
Holocaust?
Circumcising on the Eighth Day
G-d commands the Jewish people (Leviticus 12:3) about circumcision to be
performed on the eighth day from birth:
Scientists have since found that on the eighth day after birth, vitamin K,
necessary for coagulation to stop the bleeding, is highest on this day. How did
the Torah know this thousands of years ago and thus command us to circumcise
specifically on the eighth day?
The Western Wall Stands
The Midrash teaches the following about the Western Wall of the Jewish
Temple:
Sure enough, even though both the Babylonians and Romans destroyed the
Temple thousands of years ago and the land was conquered many times,
including by the Crusaders and the Muslims, who even built a mosque on our
Germamya, which is near the land of Edom (i.e., Rome), if they (i.e., the
Germans) would go forth, they would destroy the entire world.”
“
And on the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised.”
“
The Western Wall will never be destroyed…”
“

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andy Blumenthal is a dynamic, award-winning leader who writes frequently about Jewish life,
culture, and security. All opinions are his own.
Temple Mount, the Western Wall has always stood the test of time for the last
3,000 years.
The proofs of the authenticity of the Torah and of our G-d Almighty goes on and
on. This is just a sample. Even the fact that the Torah and our prophets foretell
of the Jewish people’s sin, exile, and eventual redemption and return from the
four corners of the Earth (Isaiah 11:12) is nothing short of miraculous.
With Rosh Hashanah coming soon, I realize that at times, I have been deficient
in my faith and my religious actions. From my parents and as a young man in
yeshiva, I learned about G-d, faith, and Torah, but as I got older, maybe I didn’t
always choose to see it. Too often, I’ve been lazy, rationalized, and made
excuses where I should’ve maintained stricter faith and followed more of the
Torah’s commandments. I believe that I can do better, and I hope that through
continued learning and determination, I will improve myself, be a better person
and Jew to Hashem and my fellow human beings.
My hope in sharing this dream and what I learned with you is that you too will
be inspired to continue to learn, grow, and to find your way to the Truth of
Hashem Almighty and the holy Torah that He mercifully gave us to guide our
lives in this world and to gain entry to G-d’s Divine light and holiness in the
World to Come.