Northern Light-Reading

    THE RELIGION OF SCIENCE Among other things Parshat Bereishis concerns the origin of the universe.    For many of us this brings about a disturbing conflict between science and religion.    For my part I would caution you not to worship science as if it were a religion unto itself.    In doing so, at best you will be engaging in a form of polytheism  resembling  a form of idol worship that our Prophets railed against. Although in a certain sense, science may be viewed as a religion: 1. Science has its venerated saints, Charles Darwin and Stephen Hawking for example.   2. Science holds certain truths as being sacred:    All life on Earth shares a common ancestor known as the last universal common ancestor. 3. Science has developed what amounts to a sacred narrative: it may be called “The Evolutionary History of Life on Earth”.    This “writing” or writings, is said to be true by its followers. 4. Science’s sacr...

                                  THE "TRUE" STORY OF NOAH AND THE ARK By  MICHAEL JARON PROLOGUE    In the Chumash we read the Torah portion called “Noah”.  I have a granddaughter called Samuela or Sam for short.  She claims to know all about Noah; in fact she says that she knows the “true story” about Noah and how and who helped him build his Ark.  I’ll pass her story on to you, and then you can decide for yourselves:  Hi.  My name is Samuela.  People call me Sam. I’m just an ordinary eleven year old girl, and I live in Paris, France.  Here is my picture: Hi.  My name is Samuela.  I’m just an ordinary eleven year old girl, and I live in Paris, France.  Here is my picture.   My grandfather, Zayde, lives in Nahariya, Israel.  He is always telling me stories and incredible tales.  Sometimes I do not kn...