Review by ReaderAisha2020 -- Mysteries Of the First Instant
Posted: 05 Jun 2021, 06:09
[Following is a volunteer review of "Mysteries Of the First Instant" by Daniel Friedmann.]
Mysteries Of the First Instant is one of the books in the series by Daniel Friedmann and Dania Sheldon. In this book the writer compares modern science and scientific explanations of the beginning of the universe with the Biblical and Jewish explanations concerning it's beginning. These include explanations from the Bible and sometimes from the theories and findings of various Rabbis. The book covers events such as the origin of the universe and the big bang, quantum physics and the reality of time, such as what is time and how it is measured. Each chapter contains a clear heading of the subject and headings to distinguish scientific theories from Biblical perspectives. Each chapter begins with scientific theories followed by religious explanations. The book is 249 pages in length according to my kindle reader.
It was interesting to see scientific theories compared to the Biblical or Jewish understanding of events. I realised that the common and literal understanding of the Bible was not the understanding put forward by the writer and the Rabbi's he quotes. For example, although the Bible tells us that the world was created in six days, he tells us the understanding of various Rabbi's is that these six days were billions of years. What is more interesting is that they held the earth to be older than modern science claims it to be. From reading the story of Genesis, I had often wondered why the Bible says that God was walking in the garden and makes him appear like a man. However, the writer explains that in reality God does not have a body and such explanations are only to write in a way that humans understand.
I also found the debates about the understanding of time according to science, which measures time in movements and time according to the Biblical, philosophical and Kabbalistic understanding to be very interesting and mind opening. I felt the book began to open my mind to consider things I had not thought about before, and things that perhaps had been researched and questioned by others before but were new for me to consider. The book was also very well written and edited. I did not come across spelling or grammatical issues. It was a good introduction to the subject of how the universe came about and gives a good overview of all the different perspectives from both science and religion, which is mostly Jewish sources. I now understand that Jewish beliefs are more than merely the Bible and are deeper and more philosophical than we may first assume.
There was nothing particularly negative about the book, except that as it was aimed at the general reader and not specifically for Jewish people only I thought the writer could have expanded his research to include quotes from other religious figures such as from Christianity, Islam and others. It might have given a broader perspective.
I decided to rate the book 4 out of 4 stars because I felt it was a very interesting read and very useful for people interested in the subject.
The book would most likely suit readers interested in science and religion. Particularly physics and the origins of time and the universe. It is quite philosophical, so people who enjoy philosophical debates may also enjoy it.
People who are looking for religious debates outside of the Jewish Kabbalistic perspective may not find it in this book.
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Mysteries Of the First Instant
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Mysteries Of the First Instant is one of the books in the series by Daniel Friedmann and Dania Sheldon. In this book the writer compares modern science and scientific explanations of the beginning of the universe with the Biblical and Jewish explanations concerning it's beginning. These include explanations from the Bible and sometimes from the theories and findings of various Rabbis. The book covers events such as the origin of the universe and the big bang, quantum physics and the reality of time, such as what is time and how it is measured. Each chapter contains a clear heading of the subject and headings to distinguish scientific theories from Biblical perspectives. Each chapter begins with scientific theories followed by religious explanations. The book is 249 pages in length according to my kindle reader.
It was interesting to see scientific theories compared to the Biblical or Jewish understanding of events. I realised that the common and literal understanding of the Bible was not the understanding put forward by the writer and the Rabbi's he quotes. For example, although the Bible tells us that the world was created in six days, he tells us the understanding of various Rabbi's is that these six days were billions of years. What is more interesting is that they held the earth to be older than modern science claims it to be. From reading the story of Genesis, I had often wondered why the Bible says that God was walking in the garden and makes him appear like a man. However, the writer explains that in reality God does not have a body and such explanations are only to write in a way that humans understand.
I also found the debates about the understanding of time according to science, which measures time in movements and time according to the Biblical, philosophical and Kabbalistic understanding to be very interesting and mind opening. I felt the book began to open my mind to consider things I had not thought about before, and things that perhaps had been researched and questioned by others before but were new for me to consider. The book was also very well written and edited. I did not come across spelling or grammatical issues. It was a good introduction to the subject of how the universe came about and gives a good overview of all the different perspectives from both science and religion, which is mostly Jewish sources. I now understand that Jewish beliefs are more than merely the Bible and are deeper and more philosophical than we may first assume.
There was nothing particularly negative about the book, except that as it was aimed at the general reader and not specifically for Jewish people only I thought the writer could have expanded his research to include quotes from other religious figures such as from Christianity, Islam and others. It might have given a broader perspective.
I decided to rate the book 4 out of 4 stars because I felt it was a very interesting read and very useful for people interested in the subject.
The book would most likely suit readers interested in science and religion. Particularly physics and the origins of time and the universe. It is quite philosophical, so people who enjoy philosophical debates may also enjoy it.
People who are looking for religious debates outside of the Jewish Kabbalistic perspective may not find it in this book.
******
Mysteries Of the First Instant
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon