Contemplating Sefer HaBahir

Journey Into Redemptive Consciousness

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Big Bang & The Quark-Gluon Plasma

וחזרה לבהו ומאי בהו דבר שיש בו ממש דכתיב בהו בו הוא
Sefer HaBahir, verse 2 excerpt

Traditional interpretation: "... has substance. This is the reason that it is called bohu, that is, bohu - 'it is in it'."

Liorah's interpretation: "(tohu) iterates into bohu (chaotically) and then again differently iterates. Bohu (confused elements) combines into one (big bang) the fiery existence (QGP) in it tangibly, compressing and inscribing the chaotic elements in it, bringing (them) into being."

This excerpt reads like a physics lesson to me.

וחזרה and iterates

לבהו into bohu [1] chaotically

ומאי and then again differently iterates [2,3]

בהו bohu, the confused elements [1]

דבר combines into one [4]

שיש the fiery existence [5]

בו in it

ממש tangibly [6]

דכתיב compressing and inscribing [7] (in the sense of pulling it all together)

בהו the chaotic elements

בו in it

הוא bringing (them) into being [8]


Footnotes:

[1] the root בהה from which the word bohu is derived means "being chaotic" and "confuse elements", the lamed ל prefix indicates "into"

[2] among the many meanings of a vav ו prefix: "and again", "then", "different" - The Wisdom In The Hebrew Alphabet, R' Michael Munk

[3] the root from which the word מאי is derived, namely מאה, means "multiply", i.e., iterates, repetitively repeats

[4] the root דבר means: "combine separate items into one" like one big bang, "collecting", "gathering", "commandment", "connecting words into coherent speech", "temple interior", and more ...

[5] ש indicates fire/flame, while יש yesh means means "something existent"; taken together - a quark-gluon plasma

[6] ממש is an Aramaic word meaning tangibly, and a Yiddish word meaning "really", "truly", "surely"

[7] a word combination of the roots דכה meaning "squeeze" or "humble", and כתב meaning "write", "record", "inscribe"

[8] the root הוא means: "be", "exist", "being", "here", "behold", as well as the personal pronouns "he" and "she"