Q&A: The Antinomy of the Finitude of Space and Time
The Antinomy of the Finitude of Space and Time
Question
Hi Rabbi,
My question focuses more on Leibniz’s position on this issue.
How do you relate to his approach, that the Holy One, blessed be He, had to have a sufficient reason to create the world at a particular moment? Meaning, what was there until then? And what suddenly happened? Or perhaps in your view this is simply an antinomy, and not necessarily something that has an answer in Jewish thought, or in reason…
And a related question—regarding parallel universes, why not assume that there are infinitely many worlds right now, if God is infinite?
Leibniz says that this is the best of all possible worlds, but maybe there are many worlds that differ from one another only by a subtle shade, and each one is optimal relative to itself and its own purposes.
Answer
I don’t see any necessity for creation at some particular moment. Today too, people think that there was no time before the world was created, so this whole way of speaking is problematic. But even if there had always been time, it’s possible that He simply drew lots, or that He has other considerations. It’s a question there is no way at all to answer, even if there were something to answer. There’s no point dealing with it.
By the same token, there’s no point dealing with the question of how many worlds there are and why. We see one, so it’s reasonable to think there is only one. Maybe there are others that we do not see. Philosophical arguments for and against are a waste of keyboard time.
Discussion on Answer
Maybe the chosen people of the other galaxies don’t crown over themselves a defendant accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust?
Maybe they are not a laughingstock and object of ridicule because of their morality?
I saw that Rabbi Soloveitchik
argues that the Torah is valid only for universes in the Milky Way,
but for other universes there may be a different Torah.
What gives him the basis to limit the Torah?
I also saw that there are those who argue that maybe there is also a “chosen people” in other galaxies…
But already from the period of the Geonim, Jewish sages have been offering all kinds of ideas.