Q&A: Speaking About Infinity
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Speaking About Infinity
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Is it meaningful to speak about actual infinity and not only potential infinity? And if yes or no, then why?
If one says that the world is eternal, is that speaking about a world that has existed for an infinite amount of time—an infinity that is potential or actual?
Answer
I think one can speak about an eternal world in the potential sense, but that is not an explanation of its coming into being. The question of how it came into being and by whom would remain. By contrast, actual infinity would seemingly make questions about its coming into being unnecessary, but about that one cannot speak.