And the Jews Had Light: A Scientist Draws Lessons from Light

Light is one of the most mysterious phenomena in nature. We need it; indeed we can barely function without it — but at the same time we understand very little about it.

What does light consist of? Is it composed of particles waves or some combination of the two? Why does the speed of light represent the greatest velocity that any material entity is capable of reaching? And the most puzzling question of all: How is it that the speed of a ray of light remains constant regardless of the speed or velocity of its source? How can it be that a beam of light from a lamp that is approaching and another beam of light from a lamp that is growing rapidly distant both move through space at an identical speed?

It was this latter bizarre discovery that laid the foundation for Einstein’s theory of relativity which maintains that the speed of light is an absolute constant whereas other parameters that were once thought to be unchanging such as space (the space between point A and point B) or the rate of the passage of time are in fact relative and vary so that the speed of light will remain unchanged in every situation. It appears that even now 100 years after this theory was first introduced people still have trouble digesting its radical implications which serves to highlight the enduring peculiarity of that force called light.

In the Torah and in Chazal’s teachings light and its derivatives occupy a special place of honor. Shlomo HaMelech teaches that “neir mitzvah v’Torah ohr — a mitzvah is a candle and the Torah is light” (Mishlei 6:23). Similarly the light of the menorah in the Beis HaMikdash symbolizes the light of Torah (see Bava Basra 25b and HaAmek Davar Shemos 27:20). Other psukim tell us that “the soul of a man is the candle of Hashem” and “light is sown for a tzaddik.” In the Kabbalah as well the concept of light provides important analogies to various mystical dimensions of the Torah.