{"id":38,"date":"2006-08-30T18:04:38","date_gmt":"2006-08-30T18:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/"},"modified":"2018-04-23T16:30:15","modified_gmt":"2018-04-23T21:30:15","slug":"a-simple-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"A “Subtle Dynamic”"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was ~11 years old, (1961) I was a sixth grade student at (scholastically demanding Modern Orthodox) Yeshiva Dov Revel in Forest Hills, (in Queens, NY of tennis championship fame). About a third of my fellow students were children of Holocaust survivors, or of 1930s emigr\u00c3\u00a9s<\/em> from Europe. The evils of the Holocaust were raw \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and it was not at all clear that the theology could handle it.<\/p>\n

The philosophical situation was not much better for more general philosophical or general inter-related scientific questions, like: How did this universe come to be? If God existed, where did this all-powerful God come from? If God did not exist, what drove the universe? Why was there anything at all?<\/p>\n

Thus, we were in sixth grade in a top Jewish Day School, and the fundamental and core philosophical, theological, and scientific questions remained thoroughly unanswered \u00e2\u20ac\u201c at home, at shul<\/em> (synagogue), and at school.<\/p>\n

I intuitively felt that out there, there was one elegant yet subtle dynamic \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a potentially relatively simple idea \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which everyone was just missing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which, if uncovered, would, indeed, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dccrack-the-cosmic-code\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, and perhaps the bulk of these issues simultaneously. I felt that it was at the very edge of human awareness. Waiting to be discerned. However, it was clear that discerning it might take years…<\/p>\n

At the same time, I was frankly not all-that-sure that Judaism or Orthodox Judaism or monotheism would survive the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dccode breaking\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. My gut-feeling was that it would be a close-call.<\/p>\n

I determined to learn what I could learn about the world \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and observe what I could observe \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and, as an aside to my life, try to uncover that elusive \u00e2\u20ac\u02dccode-cracking\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 dynamic. I embarked on an informal odyssey seeking this philosophical and theological \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Holy Grail\u00e2\u20ac\u009d: the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153highest common denominator\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

In January 1982, ~two decades later \u00e2\u20ac\u201c on the beach in the Barbados of all places, \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmatters crystallized\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. The elusive \u00e2\u20ac\u0153simultaneous solution\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. The precise moment is ingrained in my psyche, of course, freeze-framed.<\/p>\n

The dynamic which I discerned may have been \u00e2\u20ac\u0153subtle\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, but it was certainly not without power. I was now more than quite fully \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpsyched-up\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

First, I had to get back to NY, to a library, a big library. This was pre-GOOGLE, and then we really needed big libraries for potentially \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcoriginal concepts\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

I did two reality-checks, the first with my Yeshiva University High School comrade, intellectual consigliere<\/em>, and close friend-to-this-day Steven Gross (of NY and Jerusalem) 30 days into the project. He was a GO.<\/p>\n

The second reality-check was at the ~6 month mark, with my Great Neck neighbor (who I had never actually met prior) and soon-to-be quite world-renowned, Lawrence Schiffman, Professor of Jewish History at NYU, and budding Dead Sea Scrolls expert\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s expert. He too was a GO \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and admonished me to maintain total secrecy until the book was actually out. He would, in due course, unilaterally volunteer to personally Copy Edit the manuscript start-to-finish \u00e2\u20ac\u201c TWICE \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Draft #1 (in 1985) and Draft #2 (in 1986) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to maintain its total confidentiality, and prep-it for submission to the putative publisher in due course. Schiffman valiantly moved to vigilantly protect and advance the project and insure the manuscript\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s power and viability. Once-in-a-while in life, one encounters a truly extraordinary inpidual, dedicated to his craft and to the pursuit of knowledge and truth. The Dead Sea Scrolls \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and the Discovery Channel \u00e2\u20ac\u201c would have to wait just a touch more….<\/p>\n

A solitary five years of work after that epiphanous \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmoment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 on the beach in the Barbados, the manuscript for God and Evil<\/em> was completed in time for the birth of my first child, Rafaella, January 1986. The editors at KTAV Publishing, who accepted the book for publication later in 1986, cautioned me that if one comma was out-of-place on my erstwhile revolutionary thesis, I would be crucified \u00e2\u20ac\u201c by the Jews. And they did not want to be party to a crucifixion. I frankly thought they were a little overwrought, but in any event, the book was micro-edited over the course of 1987, and then published and released in November 1988.<\/p>\n

At first there were \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcsounds of silence\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. But then matters began to roll. The work would go through Five Printings between 1988 and 2000.<\/p>\n

The primary editor, scholar-extraordinaire<\/em> Yaacov Elman of Yeshiva University did a fastidious job with his plodding hyper-perfectionism. Word by word of the text, then the 600+ footnotes, footnote by footnote. No word of the text or related has been changed in any of the printings, including the printing incorporated now into the 2-book Summa Metaphysica series.<\/p>\n

Before the Jewish journals got around to reviewing the book, in their own good time, to our astonishment the major Jesuit publications around the world, in-short-order \u00e2\u20ac\u201c reviewed it \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in-depth and enthusiastically. Theological Studies Journal (then at Georgetown University) led the charge<\/em> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c juxtaposing the concepts of the work against those of Aquinas very specifically. Sounded good to me…<\/p>\n

Simultaneously, Brandeis University started assigning the work as a Required Text \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Masters Degree graduate Term Papers and all \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in Advanced Religious Philosophy. In the early 1990s, Hebrew University (Jerusalem), Yeshiva University, Jewish Theological Seminary, Union Theological Seminary (Christian) and, later, Emory, started assigning the work in Philosophy and\/or Jewish Thought. Other universities in the USA and around-the-world would follow.<\/p>\n

It sounds like a simple enough journey. But it was a very, very solitary and hi-risk endeavor.<\/p>\n

I believe the hypothesis is on-the-mark. Its core inherent power gave me the motivation to embark on the project.<\/p>\n

D.B.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To the reader –<\/strong>My (previously) agnostic SOHO WebSite designer, after reading the text said I should add the following alert at the very beginning of the book, so here-it-goes\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Hey you \u00e2\u20ac\u201c potential Reader \u00e2\u20ac\u201c THIS, all this, applies to YOU, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go away, read this! It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t over your head; it IS your head\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 This book about GOD is a transcendent work\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 Read this work and enter an extraordinary realm\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153God is, as well, both in the nucleus of the cell
\nand in the stardust of the distant nebula\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201c Rabbi Alan Schwartz
\nrabbi, Congregation Oheb Zedek<\/p>\n

New York, NY<\/p>\n

Shabbat sermon<\/p>\n

November 5, 2005
\nParshat Noach<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Adoshem Echad, u-Shemo Echad<\/em>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d *<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u201c Zechariah 14:10<\/p>\n

at the final\u00c3\u00a9 of the iconic liturgical prayer Aleinu,
\nwhich itself is generally at the service final\u00c3\u00a9<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

*
\npossible translation #1:
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153God is One, and His name is One\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

possible translation #2:
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153God is a Singularity, and His name is a Singularity\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

possible translation #3
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153God is One Dynamic, and His name is One Dynamic\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n<\/p>\n\n\n
< BACK<\/a><\/td>\n<\/td>\nNEXT PAGE><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was ~11 years old, (1961) I was a sixth grade student at (scholastically demanding Modern Orthodox) Yeshiva Dov Revel in Forest Hills, (in Queens, NY of tennis championship fame). About a third of my fellow students were children of Holocaust survivors, or of 1930s emigr\u00c3\u00a9s from Europe. The evils of the Holocaust were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nA "Subtle Dynamic" - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A "Subtle Dynamic" - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I was ~11 years old, (1961) I was a sixth grade student at (scholastically demanding Modern Orthodox) Yeshiva Dov Revel in Forest Hills, (in Queens, NY of tennis championship fame). About a third of my fellow students were children of Holocaust survivors, or of 1930s emigr\u00c3\u00a9s from Europe. The evils of the Holocaust were […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2006-08-30T18:04:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-23T21:30:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/gg\/50vert.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Summa Metaphysica\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/\",\"name\":\"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/gg\/50vert.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/gg\/50vert.gif\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/\",\"name\":\"A \\\"Subtle Dynamic\\\" - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2006-08-30T18:04:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-23T21:30:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#\/schema\/person\/2fc8042e6d025ad5abc588429a423a6a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#\/schema\/person\/2fc8042e6d025ad5abc588429a423a6a\",\"name\":\"Summa Metaphysica\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a0d6b5446ca8c576cc3cc68bee15d7dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a0d6b5446ca8c576cc3cc68bee15d7dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Summa Metaphysica\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/author\/summagg-admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A \"Subtle Dynamic\" - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/","next":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A \"Subtle Dynamic\" - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II","og_description":"When I was ~11 years old, (1961) I was a sixth grade student at (scholastically demanding Modern Orthodox) Yeshiva Dov Revel in Forest Hills, (in Queens, NY of tennis championship fame). About a third of my fellow students were children of Holocaust survivors, or of 1930s emigr\u00c3\u00a9s from Europe. The evils of the Holocaust were […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/","og_site_name":"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II","article_published_time":"2006-08-30T18:04:38+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-04-23T21:30:15+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/gg\/50vert.gif"}],"twitter_card":"summary","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Summa Metaphysica","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/","name":"David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/gg\/50vert.gif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/summametaphysica.com\/gg\/50vert.gif"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/","name":"A \"Subtle Dynamic\" - David Birnbaum Summa Metaphysica II","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2006-08-30T18:04:38+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-23T21:30:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#\/schema\/person\/2fc8042e6d025ad5abc588429a423a6a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/a-simple-idea\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#\/schema\/person\/2fc8042e6d025ad5abc588429a423a6a","name":"Summa Metaphysica","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a0d6b5446ca8c576cc3cc68bee15d7dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a0d6b5446ca8c576cc3cc68bee15d7dd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Summa Metaphysica"},"url":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/author\/summagg-admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":196,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38\/revisions\/196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.summametaphysica.com\/gg\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}