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The Cosmic Connection
How Many Dimensions?
How many dimensions are there? Until Einstein, people thought there were only 3 dimensions – height, width, and depth. Then Einstein came along and said that Time is a 4th dimension. Therefore, he said we live in a 4-dimensional physical world of space and time.
This was simple until 1984 when Michael Green and John Schwarz proposed mathematical formulas called String theory that said the world really has 6 more dimensions, for a total of 10 dimensions in all. 11 years later in 1995 Ed Witten suggested a modification of String theory called M-theory that says there is an 11th dimension – the 4 physical dimensions, plus another 7 dimensions.
String theorists don’t tell us ‘where’ or ‘what’ the other 7 dimensions are, only that they exist according to their mathematical formulas. This raises the intriguing question: if there are 11 dimensions in all, then in addition to the 4 physical dimensions, what and where are the ‘other’ 7 non-physical dimensions?
I would like to suggest an answer to this question – as to what and where the other 7 dimensions are – based on several ‘clues’ in the Chumash (5 Books of Moses). These clues are:
- Objects in the Temple
- Tzitzit
- The Sabbath
- The Shema
Let’s examine these ‘clues’.
Objects in the Temple
In the center of the Temple was a house called the Haichel with an inner room containing the Ark of the Covenant, and an outer room with 3 objects: A Table with bread, an Altar with incense, and a Menorah. Here is a diagram that shows these objects.
We suggest that the objects in this outer room of the Haichal have clues about the 11 dimensions:
- The Table with it’s four corners and four sides (and the bread that fills our physical needs) represents the 4 dimensions of the physical world.
- The 7 arms of the Menorah represent the ‘other’ 7 dimensions.
- The Incense with its 11 ingredients represents all 11 dimensions.
We will explain this later in more detail.
Tzitzit
The Chumash says that a person who wears a four cornered garment should attach fringes called Tzitzit to each of the corners of the garment. In each of the corners of the garment, 4 strings are passed through a hole in the corner. At each corner is attached and doubled over three white strings and one blue string.
Here is a diagram of a four cornered garment with fringes attached to each corner.
We would like to suggest that the four cornered garment with it’s attached fringes are another clue about the 11 dimensions. The 4 cornered garment itself represents the 4 dimensions of the physical world. In common parlance we refer to the ‘4 corners of the world’, the arba confos ha’aretz.
If we look closely, the strings at each corner look just like the Menorah with it’s 3 strings on the left, 3 strings on the right. The long blue string in the middle looks just like the middle arm of the Menorah. (Since we think it’s representing the same clue as the Menorah, we are are seeing the doubled blue string as one long string instead of 2 separate blue strings). Therefore this ‘clue’ is that in each corner are 6 white strings and a long blue string that together represent the ‘other’ 7 dimensions. This is in addition to the 4 physical dimensions that the garment itself represents (remember that we must add these Tzitzit only to a 4 cornered garment).
The Sabbath
While we’re talking about the number 7, we shouldn’t overlook the the 7 days of the week. There are 6 ‘ordinary’ days, and the 7th ‘special day’ is the Sabbath.
Exodus 20:8 – Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it… the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it.
The 6 ordinary days plus a special Sabbath day bears a striking similarity to the 6 arms of the Menorah on either side of the central arm of the Menorah, and the 6 white threads and the long blue thread of the Tzitzit.
The Seven ‘Other’ Dimensions
Based on these clues, we will suggest a theory about the ‘other’ 7 non-physical dimensions, that exist in addition to the 4 dimensions of the physical world. After we describe our theory, we will demonstrate how the theory is echoed by the verses of the Shema.
Based on the ‘clues’ of the Menorah, the Tzitzit, and the Sabbath, here is our theory about the nature of the 7 ‘other’ non-physical dimensions:
- There is a ‘3-dimensional space’ used by the functioning of our Mind. This is repesented by 3 of the arms of the Menorah, and 3 of the white strings on each corner of the Tzitzit.
- There is an additional ‘3-dimensional space’ used by our Emotions, represented by the 3 other arms of the Menorah and the 3 other white strings on each corner of the Tzitzit.
- The central arm of the Menorah, the long blue string in each corner of the Tzitzit, and the Sabbath – represent what we call the Cosmic Connection.
Here is a diagram that illustrtes our theory about the 7 non-physical dimensions.
We are suggesting that the 7 non-physical dimensions consist of a 3-dimensional space for the thoughts of our mind, 3 for our emotions, and a 7th dimension that plugs into what we call the Cosmic Connection.
What is the Cosmic Connetion? It can be compared to an electric grid that we plug electrical devices into, and to the World Wide Web that we use with our computers and cell phones.
An electric socket in a wall connects to a large electric grid that is the source of the electricity we use. When we plug an appliance into the socket, it gets its energy from the electric grid.
Similarly, when we connect a computer to the World Wide Web, this connects our computer to all the Web Servers in the world.
We suggest that there is a Cosmic Grid that we and every living being plugs into. This is represented by the central arm of the Menorah, the long blue string of the Tzitzit, and to the Sabbath. We are suggesting that this Cosmic Grid is the 7th special dimension, and that it is the source of what consitutes our Consciousness. Through this Cosmic Connection, we are connected to all of Creation and to all living things.
In additon to the physical world with its 4 dimensions of height, width, depth, and time, these 7 non-physical dimensions exist beyond the physical world. Six of the dimensions provide the space for our Mind and our Emotions, and the 7th special dimension – represented by the central arm of the Menorah, the blue thread of the Tzitzit, and the Sabbath – is the source of our Consciousness, by plugging into what can we call the Cosmic Connection.
It is difficult for science to probe and examine these 7 non-physical dimensions because they are not physical. However, our consciousness uses them and knows that they exist.
The Incense Altar
We will add an additional ‘clue’ to the makeup of the 11 dimensions – the incense that is burned each day in the Temple on the Altar that is between the Table and the Menorah.
Each day in the Temple, a priest burned incense made of 11 spices on this altar. Once a year a large amount of spices were mixed together, and the daily spices were taken from this mixture and burned on the altar. The following chart shows the amount of spices that were mixed together.
We suggest that the first 4 spices (70 pounds each) represent the 4 physical dimensions. The next 4 spices (16 pounds each) represent the Mind and the Cosmic Connection, implying that the Cosmic Connection is more closely related to the Mind than to the Emotions. The last 3 spices represent the Emotions, with their amounts bouncing up and down just like emotions.
The Shema
Now we will go throught the Shema and show how its verses echo these ideas.
The Shema begins with the verse: You shall love the L-rd your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might (meodecha).
According to our theory, the heart represents the 3 dimensions of the emotions, the soul represents the 3 dimensions of the mind, and the might represents the 4 physical dimensions.
The second paragraph of the Shema continues: Place these words of Mine upon your heart and upon your soul, and bind them for a sign on your hand, and they shall be for a reminder between your eyes.
This refers to the Tefillin. One box of the Tefillin is placed near the heart representing our emotions. It is tied onto the hand representing our dealing with the physical world. The other box of Tefillin is placed between our eyes, representing our mind. It mentions that these are place on our soul representing our consciousness and the Cosmic Connection.
The 3rd paragraph of the Shema says: Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to attach a thread of blue on the fringe of each corner.
The fringes refer to the 7 non-physical dimensions, and the thread of blue refers to the Cosmic Connection.
It continues: You shall look upon them and remember all the commandments of the L-rd and fulfill them, and you will not follow after your heart and after your eyes by which you go astray – so that you may remember and fulfill all My commandments and be holy to your G-d.
The heart refers to our emotions, and the eyes represents our mind, and the holiness refers to the Cosmic Connection.
Two Puzzles of Science
A by-product of our theory is that it sheds light on two of the major conundrums of science:
- What is Consciousness?
- What is ‘measurement’ that plays a crucial role in Quantum theory?
Consciousness
Nothing is closer to us than our own consciousness. Our consciousness defines us and makes us who we are – it is our very being. Descartes famously said, ‘I think therefore I am’. We use our consciousness every moment to decide what we want to do. It is the ‘I’ inside our heads, behind our eyes. It is the cause of every thought that we have, and every decision that we make.
So how could such a fundamental phenomenon such as our own consciousness be such a mystery to science? Consciousness – the voice that we hear inside our heads – has remained impervious to all attempts to unlock its secrets.
The very fact that consciousness has remained so inscrutable is itself one of the greatest mysteries of science and philosophy. Why is it that no matter how much we focus our consciousness on the nature of consciousness, we seem just as confused and flummoxed by its mysteries as when man started wondering about it many millennia ago?
Here are some quotes about the mystery of consciousness:
Max Planck winner of the Nobel Prize in physics wrote in 1931:
“I regard consciousness as fundamental. I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”
David Chalmers in “The Puzzle of Conscious Experience” (Scientific American, 1995) says that understanding consciousness is a ‘hard problem”:
“Conscious experience is at once the most familiar thing in the world and the most mysterious. There is nothing we know about more directly than consciousness, but it is extraordinarily hard to reconcile it with everything else we know. Why does it exist? What does it do? How could it possibly arise from neural processes in the brain? These questions are among the most intriguing in all of science.”
Our theory suggests that there is a Cosmic Grid of consciousness that all living beings ‘plug into’. Our connection to this grid is represented by the central arm of the Menorah, the blue thread in the Tzitiz, and the Sabbath. One reason that understanding this special 11th dimension has been so elusive is that it is beyond the 4 dimensions of the physical world.
Quantum Theory
A second major puzzle of science is the role that ‘measurement’ plays in Quantum Theory. Quantum Theory says that all reality can be described as a Wave Function, that shows the probability of what and where things are. Incredibly enough, according to Quantum Theory, everything in the universe can be described by a wave function that describes only its probable and possible location and speed, and that nothing is ‘real’ until it is measured.
When things are measured, the wave function collapses and only then do things become real, with a definite location and speed. For example, when electrons and photons are measured, they change from being waves to being particles.
Though ‘measurement’ plays an essential role in Quantum Theory, science does not know what ‘measurement’ means. Scientists suspect it has something to do with consciousness, but they don’t know what consciousness is either.
Here are some relevant quotes from scientists:
Niels Bohr:
“Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood a single word.”
Richard Feynman:
“It is safe to say that nobody understands quantum mechanics…. Do not keep saying to yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, ‘But how can it be like that?’ because you will go ‘down the drain’ into a blind alley from which nobody has escaped.”
Roger Penrose:
“Quantum mechanics makes absolutely no sense.”
Our theory says that measurement involves using the the 7 non-physical dimensions, and especially our consciousness that utilizes our connection to the Cosmic Grid. When we ‘measure’ things, we are using our connection to this Cosmic Grid.
The Cosmic Connection
We began with the idea that String theory suggests that in addition to the 4 familiar physical dimensions, there are 7 ‘other’ dimensions. Our theory suggests these 7 ‘other’ dimensions includes 3 dimensions for the Mind and 3 dimensions for the Emotions. In addition there is a 7th non-physical dimension that we call the Cosmic Connection. This 7th special dimension is represented by the middle arm of the Menorah, the long blue string of the Tzitzit, and the Sabbath. This is the source of our consciousness and our connection to everything.
When we have a better understanding of the 7 non-physical dimensions, especially the crucial Cosmic Connection, then we will better understand Consciousness and the measurement that plays a central role Quantum Theory.
Our challenge is to better comprehend the 7 non-physical dimensions, especially the 7th speical non-physical dimension. Delving into them more deeply is elusive because they are non-physical. Our mind perceives them, and we utilize them every moment of our conscious existence. Our challenge is to develop tools to examine them better so that we can understand their nature more clearly.