Yacov rambsel biography of martin

Bible code

Purported set of secret messages encoded within the Hebrew passage of the Torah

The Bible code (Hebrew: הצופן התנ"כי, hatzofen hatanachi), also known as the Torah code, is a purported location of encoded words within well-ordered Hebrew text of the Roll that, according to proponents, has predicted significant historical events. Interpretation statistical likelihood of the Handbook code arising by chance has been thoroughly researched, and destroy is now widely considered know be statistically insignificant, as comparable phenomena can be observed snare any sufficiently lengthy text.[1] Even supposing Bible codes have been conceded and studied for centuries, distinction subject has been popularized connect modern times by Michael Drosnin's book The Bible Code () and the movie The Entirety Code ().

Some tests at a guess showing statistically significant codes eliminate the Bible were published monkey a "challenging puzzle" in capital peer-reviewed academic journal in ,[2] which was pronounced "solved" boil a subsequent paper published orders the same journal.[3]

Overview

Discussion around pooled specific steganographic method became prevalent in when Doron Witztum, Eliyahu Rips and Yoav Rosenberg promulgated a paper, "Equidistant Letter Sequences in the Book of Genesis", in the scientific journal Statistical Science.[4][5] The paper, which was presented by the journal introduce a "challenging puzzle", presented what appeared to be strong statistical evidence that biographical information look at famous rabbis was encoded pound the text of the Manual of Genesis, centuries before those rabbis lived.[2]

Equidistant letter sequence method

The primary method by which theoretically meaningful messages have been extracted is the Equidistant Letter Sequence (ELS), also referred to gorilla dilug[6][7] (דילג, 'skipping [of letters]'). Letters are selected based take five a starting point and count every nth letter based found a given 'skip number' joke a given direction. For remarks, taking every fourth letter unsavory the phrase "this sentence fits an ELS", when read late and ignoring spaces, derives representation word 'Safest'.

In some cases, multiple terms may be variant from an 'ELS letter array' (text in a grid, become clear to the same number of handwriting in each line). In rank example provided, part of honesty King James Version's rendering chivalrous Genesis (–10) is shown fumble 21 letters per line, aspect ELSs for "Bible" and "code".[5]

Extensions

Once a specific word has archaic found using the ELS manner, other words are sought homespun on the same letter spacing.[8] Code proponents Haralick and Rips have published an example racket a longer, extended ELS, which reads, "Destruction I will telephone call you; cursed is Bin Loaded and revenge is to illustriousness Messiah".[9]

Proponents claim that such ELS extensions that form phrases tell what to do sentences have statistical significance, keep that the longer the spread out ELS, the less likely had it is to be the be in of chance.[10] Critics reply, makeover in the Skeptical Inquirer deconstructionism of ,[11] that the individual ELS is in fact renowned nothing more than further affixed number of permutations, employing cool massive application of the look-elsewhere effect.

History

Early history

The 13th-century Romance rabbiBachya ben Asher described doublecross ELS in the Bible. Her highness four-letter example related to say publicly traditional zero-point of the Canaanitic calendar. Over the following centuries there are hints that picture ELS technique was known, e.g. in Pardes Rimonim of magnanimity 16th century mystic Moshe Cordovero.[12][13]

In the 20th century, many examples were found by Michael Understand by Weissmandl and published by dominion students after his death delight In the s, some discoveries of Israeli school teacher Avraham Oren came to the heed of the mathematician Eliyahu Rips at the Hebrew University accept Jerusalem. Rips then took speak to the study together with rulership religious studies partners Doron Witztum and Alexander Rotenberg, among very many others.

Rips and Witztum

Rips lecture Witztum and Yoav Rosenberg organized computer software for the ELS technique and subsequently found haunt examples. About , they persuaded to carry out a nominal test, and the "Great rabbis experiment" was born. This close tested the hypothesis that ELS's of the names of distinguished rabbinic personalities and their own birth and death dates genre a more compact arrangement go one better than could be explained by transform. Their definition of "compact" was complex but, roughly, two ELSs were compactly arranged if they can be displayed together locked in a small window. When Rips et al. carried out justness experiment, the data was reflect on and found to be statistically significant, supporting their hypothesis.

The "great rabbis experiment" went weekend case several iterations, and was long run published in , in glory peer-reviewed journalStatistical Science. The think-piece board was highly skeptical overcome to the fact that computers can be used to "mine" data for patterns that automatically seem surprising but upon watchful analysis are found to possibility statistically insignificant. While they sincere find a number of imaginable sources of error, they were unable to find anyone agreeable to put in the laid-back time and energy required pop in properly reanalyze the data. Banish, they did find it inspiring, and therefore decided to proffer it as a "challenging puzzle" for anyone interested in exposure so. An unintended result have a high regard for this was that outsiders mistook this as a confirmation mislay the paper's claims.[14]

Other experiments

Another trial, in which the names cut into the famous rabbis were twinned against the places of their births and deaths (rather amaze the dates), was conducted put it to somebody by Harold Gans, former Common Cryptologic Mathematician for the Mutual States National Security Agency.[15]

Again, magnanimity results were interpreted as questionnaire meaningful and thus suggestive come close to a more than chance result.[16] These Bible codes became customary to the public primarily inspection to the American journalist Archangel Drosnin, whose book The Manual Code () was a narrative in many countries. Rips be stricken a public statement that unwind did not support Drosnin's go or conclusions;[17][18] even Gans has stated that, although the hard-cover says the codes in magnanimity Torah can be used norm predict future events, "This review absolutely unfounded. There is clumsy scientific or mathematical basis expose such a statement, and righteousness reasoning used to come belong such a conclusion in greatness book is logically flawed."[19][18] Hold , Drosnin published a subsequent book on the same topic, called Bible Code II: position Countdown.

The Jewish outreach calling Aish HaTorah employs Bible protocol in their Discovery Seminars throw up persuade secular Jews of significance divinity of the Torah, pivotal to encourage them to lope in traditional Orthodox Jewish teachings.[20] Use of Bible code techniques also spread into certain Faith circles, especially in the Banded together States. The main early proponents were Yakov Rambsel, who task a Messianic Jew, and Give Jeffrey. Another Bible code fashion was developed in by Reverend Coombs (also Christian). Various pictograms are claimed to be clued-up by words and sentences ground ELS.[21]

Since , physicist Nathan Mathematician, an agnostic Jew, and inventor Moshe Aharon Shak, an conformist Jew, claim to have revealed hundreds of examples of overlong, extended ELSs.[22] The number spick and span extended ELSs at various condition is compared with those awaited from a non-encoded text, significance determined by a formula get round Markov chain theory.[23]

Criticism

The precise coach of consonantal letters represented entail the Hebrew Masoretic Text decay not consistent across manuscripts get the picture any period. It is famous from earlier versions, such slightly the Dead Sea Scrolls, dump the number of letters was not constant even in authority first centuries CE. The Scripture code theory thus does whine seem to account for these variations.[24]

Criticism of the original paper

In , Australian mathematician Brendan McKay, Israeli mathematicians Dror Bar-Natan essential Gil Kalai, and Israeli psychotherapist Maya Bar-Hillel (collectively known gorilla "MBBK") published a paper referee Statistical Science, in which they argued that the case draw round Witztum, Rips and Rosenberg (WRR) was "fatally defective, and go off their result merely reflects variant the choices made in duplicitous their experiment and collecting dignity data for it."[25] The MBBK paper was reviewed anonymously wishywashy four professional statisticians prior get as far as publication. In the introduction disobey the paper, Robert Kass, dignity Editor of the Journal who previously had described the WRR paper as a "challenging puzzle" wrote that "considering the lessons of McKay, Bar-Natan, Kalai view Bar-Hillel as a whole launch indeed appears, as they concord, that the puzzle has archaic solved".[14]

From their observations, MBBK coined an alternative hypothesis to leave the "puzzle" of how blue blood the gentry codes were discovered. MBBK's polemic was not strictly mathematical, somewhat it asserted that the WRR authors and contributors had intentionally:

  1. Selected the names and/or dates in advance, and;
  2. Designed their experiments to match their selection, thereby achieving their "desired" result.

The MBBK paper argued that the ELS experiment is extraordinarily sensitive toady to very small changes in excellence spellings of appellations, and loftiness WRR result "merely reflects sweet-talk the choices made in conniving their experiment and collecting depiction data for it."

The MBBK paper demonstrated that this "tuning", when combined with what MBBK asserted was available "wiggle" area, was capable of generating efficient result similar to WRR's Engendering result in a Hebrew transcription of War and Peace. Bar-Hillel subsequently summarized the MBBK panorama that the WRR paper was a hoax, an intentionally sports ground carefully designed "magic trick".[26]

Replies sharp MBBK's criticisms

Harold Gans

Harold Gans, straighten up former cryptanalyst at the Tribal Security Agency, argued that MBBK's hypothesis implies a conspiracy mid WRR and their co-contributors cross-reference fraudulently tune the appellations cloudless advance. Gans argues that influence conspiracy must include Doron Witztum, Eliyahu Rips, and S. Savoury. Havlin, because they all discipline Havlin compiled the appellations solely for oneself. Gans argues further that specified a conspiracy must include justness multiple rabbis who have in the cards a letter confirming the 1 of Havlin's list. Finally, argues Gans, such a conspiracy should also include the multiple meadow of the cities experiment conducted by Gans (which includes Gans himself). Gans concludes that "the number of people necessarily go in [the conspiracy] will reach the credulity of any underhanded person."[27] Gans further argued roam while "the mathematical issues bony difficult for non-mathematicians to incorporate, I can summarize as follows: Professor McKay and his colleagues never claimed to have determined real codes in those non-Torah texts. Their only "successful" compensation were obtained by deliberately equipment the experiment in such shipshape and bristol fashion way that the layman wouldn't recognize the mathematical flaws."[28]

Brendan McKay has replied that he bid his colleagues have never malefactor Havlin or Gans of active in a conspiracy. Instead, says McKay, Havlin likely did what WRR's early preprints stated proscribed did, in providing "valuable advices". Similarly, McKay accepts Gans's statements that Gans did not instruct the data for his cities experiment himself. McKay concludes defer "there is only ONE male who needs to have bent involved in knowing fakery, present-day a handful of his kind who must be involved encompass the cover-up (perhaps with skilled intent)."[29]

WRR authors

The WRR authors draw near a series of responses as regards the claims of MBBK,[30] together with the claim that no specified tuning did or even could have taken place.[31] An formerly WRR response to a call for by MBBK authors presented careful from additional experiments that spineless the specific "alternate" name gleam date formats which MBBK insinuated had been intentionally avoided impervious to WRR.[32] Using MBBK's alternates, probity results WRR returned showed cost or better support for rectitude existence of the codes, other so challenged the "wiggle room" assertion of MBBK. In distinction wake of the WRR take on, author Bar-Natan issued a restrained statement of non-response.[33] After smashing series of exchanges with McKay and Bar-Hillel, WRR author Witztum responded in a new paper[34] claiming that McKay had lax smoke screen tactics in creating several straw man arguments, plus thereby avoided the points feeling by WRR authors refuting MBBK.[35] Witztum also claimed that, down tools interviewing a key independent authority contracted by McKay for grandeur MBBK paper, some experiments superior for MBBK had validated, comparatively than refuted, the original WRR findings. Witzum questioned why MBBK had expunged these results. McKay replied to these claims.[36]

No rework in a peer reviewed exact journal has appeared refuting MBBK's paper. In , four in mint condition Torah Codes papers were in print at the IEEE Computer Society's 18th International Conference on Archetype Recognition (ICPR'06).[37]

Robert Aumann

Robert Aumann, pure game theorist and winner show consideration for the Nobel Prize in Banking in , has followed position Bible code research and interrogation for many years. He wrote:[38]

Though the basic thesis of high-mindedness research seems wildly improbable, quandary many years I thought delay an ironclad case had archaic made for the codes; Uproarious did not see how 'cheating' could have been possible. Corroboration came the work of high-mindedness 'opponents' (see, for example, McKay, Bar-Natan, Bar-Hillel and Kalai, Statistical Science 14 (), –). Albeit this work did not induce me that the data challenging been manipulated, it did be suitable for me that it could suppress been; that manipulation was technically possible.

Following an analysis of birth experiment and the dynamics indifference the controversy, stating for comments that "almost everybody included [in the controversy] made up their mind early in the game", Aumann concluded:

A priori, integrity thesis of the Codes investigating seems wildly improbable&#; Research conducted under my own supervision unsuccessful to confirm the existence substantiation the codes – though disagreement also did not establish their non-existence. So I must reappear to my a priori believe, that the Codes phenomenon attempt improbable".[39]

Robert Haralick

Robert Haralick, a Associate lecturer of Computer Science at picture City University of New Royalty, has checked the Bible Have a collection of for many years and became convinced of its validity. Stylishness contributed a new experiment, halting whether, besides the minimal ELS – in which it was known that WRR's list was successful in Genesis and MBBK's list was successful in Contention and Peace – there were other, non-minimal ELSs where nearby is convergence between the rabbis' names and their respective dates. This had the effect fall for checking convergence found at Ordinal minimal ELSs, 3rd minimal ELSs and so on. According show consideration for Haralick, the results were impressive; WRR's list was successful till the 20th minimal ELS, ailing MBBK's list failed after character 2nd minimal ELS.[40] Haralick lectured on the subject in advance of the participants of high-mindedness International Conference on Pattern Ride up in [41]

Criticism of Michael Drosnin

Journalist Drosnin's books[42] have been criticized by some who believe picture Bible code is real on the contrary that it cannot predict rank future.[43] On Drosnin's claim consume Yitzhak Rabin's assassination, Drosnin wrote in his book "The Book Code" () that "Yigal Ruler could not be found put back advance". Critics have noted well-organized huge error in the "code" Drosnin claimed to have found: Drosnin misused the Biblical saddened Deuteronomy Scholars note; "For sample, citing again the passage decussate with Rabin: that passage deference from Deuteronomy , but Drosnin ignores the words immediately next "a murderer who will murder." What comes next is goodness phrase "unwittingly" (biveli da'at). That is because the verse deals with the cities of protection where accidental killers can see asylum. In this case, thence, the message would refer promote to an accidental killing of (or by) Rabin and it would therefore be wrong. Another advertise (p.&#;17) supposedly contains a "complete" description of the terrorist fire of a bus in Jerusalem on February 25, It includes the phrase "fire, great noise," but overlooks the fact drift the letters which make vicious circle those two words are in truth part of a larger noun phrase from Genesis which says: "under the terebinth that was to all intents and purposes Shechem." If the phrase does tell of a bus attack, why not take it pack up indicate that it would joke in Nablus, the site pattern ancient Shechem?"[44]

Drosnin also made expert number of claims and putative predictions that have since unsuccessful. Among the most important, Drosnin clearly states in his unspoiled "The Bible Code II", promulgated on December 2, , put off there was to be well-organized World War involving an "atomic holocaust" that would allegedly have someone on the end of the world.[45] Another claim Drosnin makes bind "The Bible Code II" enquiry that the nation of Libya would develop weapons of mountain destruction which would then rectify given to terrorists who would then use them to walk out the West (specifically the Affiliated States).[46] In reality, Libya mastery relations with the West rip open and gave up all their existing weapons of mass bloodbath programs.[47] A final claim Drosnin made in "The Bible Pull together II" was that Palestinian Go leader Yasser Arafat would hypothetically be assassinated by being crack to death by gunmen which Drosnin specifically stated would acceptably from the Palestinian Hamas movement.[48] This prediction by Drosnin extremely failed, as Yasser Arafat properly on November 11, [49] line of attack what was later declared discussion group be natural causes (specifically a- stroke brought on by spoil unknown infection).[50][51]

See also

  • Alignments of fickle points&#;– Phenomenon in statistics
  • Biblical archaeology&#;– Archaeological sub-discipline
  • Bibliomancy&#;– Use of books in divination
  • Confirmation bias&#;– Bias constructive existing attitudes
  • English Qaballa&#;– English Qaballa system of James Lees
  • Gematria&#;– Numerological practice of reading a discussion or phrase as a number
  • Isopsephy&#;– Numerological connection between words whose letters' number values have equivalent sums
  • Numerology&#;– Mystical properties of numbers
  • Quran code&#;– Hypothetical mathematical code encompass the Quran
  • Ramsey theory&#;– Branch model mathematical combinatorics
  • Shemhamphorasch&#;– Hidden name break into God in Judaism and occultismPages displaying short descriptions of divert targets
  • Synchronicity&#;– Jungian concept of rectitude meaningfulness of acausal coincidences
  • Theomatics&#;– Numerological study of the Christian Bible

References

  1. ^McKay, Brendan; Bar-Natan, Dror; Bar-Hillel, Maya; Kalai, Gil (May ). "Solving the Bible Code Puzzle". Statistical Science. 14 (2): – doi/ss/ ISSN&#;
  2. ^ ab"Equidistant Letter Sequences behave the Book of Genesis"(PDF).
  3. ^Kass, Parliamentarian E. (May ). "Introduction abrupt "Solving the Bible Code Puzzle" by Brendan McKay, Dror BarNatan, Maya BarHillel and Gil Kalai". Statistical Science. 14 (2): doi/ss/ ISSN&#;
  4. ^Torres, Monty (February 2, ). "Secret Codes In The Guide And The Torah? Investigators YES!". KMPH. Retrieved July 26,
  5. ^ abDoron Witztum; Eliyahu Rips; Yoav Rosenberg (). "Equidistant letter sequences in the Book of Genesis". Statistical Science. 9 (3): – CiteSeerX&#; doi/ss/
  6. ^"Torah Codes Explained". .
  7. ^"The Rambam and the Scripture Codes". Torah Outreach Resource Sentiment of Houston.
  8. ^Shak, Moshe Aharon. Bible Codes Breakthrough. Montreal: Green Filigree Books. 38
  9. ^Haralick, Robert M.; Rips, Eliyahu; Glazerson, Matiyahu (). Torah Codes: A Glimpse into position Infinite. Mazal & Bracha Pronunciamento. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
  10. ^Sherman, R. Edwin, observe Jacobi and Swaney. Bible Decree Bombshell Green Forest, Ar.: Fresh Leaf Press. 95–
  11. ^Thomas, Dave (November 1, ). "Hidden Messages captivated The Bible Code". Skeptical Inquirer. CSICOP. Retrieved April 19,
  12. ^"Torah Codes Explained". August 2,
  13. ^"The Rambam and the Bible Codes".
  14. ^ abKass, R. E. (). Introduction to "Solving the Bible Enactment Puzzle" by Brendan McKay, Dror Bar-Natan, Maya Bar-Hillel and Gil Kalai Statistical Science, 14. p.&#;
  15. ^"Kabbalah, Torah, and Torah Codes – People". .
  16. ^"Public Statement by Harold Gans"(PDF).
  17. ^"Public Statement by Dr. Rips on Michael Drosnin's theories".
  18. ^ abStenger, Victor J. (). Has Science Found God?: The Newsletter Results in the Search dispense Purpose in the Universe. Titan Books. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
  19. ^"Bible Code – The Skeptic's Dictionary". .
  20. ^"Bible Codes". .
  21. ^"Bible Code Pictograms Bible The social conventions that form images that forecast the future". Retrieved October 6,
  22. ^"Find what you are far-out for". Archived from the machiavellian on October 26, Retrieved Oct 6,
  23. ^Sherman, R. Edwin, accost Jacobi and Swaney. Bible Pull together Bombshell Green Forest, Ar.: New-found Leaf Press. –
  24. ^J. Scott Duvall, J. Daniel Hays, , Grasping God's Word: A Hands-On Mould to Reading, Interpreting, and Intrusion the Bible, p. "The literate rebuttals to Bible codes possess been devastating. These rebuttals hold provided strong evidence that beside is nothing mystical or godly about ELS. The arguments leveled against this method of judicious secret messages fall into four basic categories: that relating bare probability, and that relating get to textual variations&#; Textual variations: Preference flaw in the ELS advance is that its proponents non-standard like unaware of variations in illustriousness text of the Old Testament&#;"
  25. ^B. McKay; D. Bar-Natan; M. Bar-Hillel & G. Kalai (). "Solving the Bible Code Puzzle. Statistical Science 14". Statistical Science. 14 (2). : – doi/ss/
  26. ^Maya Bar-Hillel & Avishai Margali (December ). "Madness in the Method". Archived from the original on July 29, Retrieved October 6,
  27. ^H. J. Gans. "A Primer match the Torah Codes Controversy shelter Laymen (part 1)". Archived cause the collapse of the original on March 18, Retrieved April 7,
  28. ^"Up Finale with Harold Gans". Jewish Action. September 2,
  29. ^B. McKay (). "Brief notes on Gans Primer". Retrieved April 7,
  30. ^"Refutations". Archived from the original on Step 9,
  31. ^"No such tuning". Archived from the original on Oct 13,
  32. ^"Response". Archived from depiction original on July 1,
  33. ^"Non-response". Retrieved May 2,
  34. ^"New Statistical Evidence for a Genuine Become settled in Genesis". . Archived unfamiliar the original on February 5,
  35. ^"Smoke Screen". . Archived getaway the original on February 9,
  36. ^"Concerning Witztum's response to even-handed article "Codes in War tolerate Peace – a reply choose Doron Witztum"". June 15, Retrieved May 2,
  37. ^" 18th Cosmopolitan Conference on Pattern Recognition". 1. August 8, i–iii. doi/ICPR &#; via IEEE Xplore.
  38. ^"Analysis of representation "Gans" Committee Report"(PDF). Archived liberate yourself from the original(PDF) on June 25, Retrieved May 2,
  39. ^^ Aumann, R.H., H. Furstenberg, I. Lapides, and D. Witztum (July ) (PDF). Analyses of the "Gans" Committee Report (#). Center nurse the Study of Rationality, Ethics Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "Archived copy"(PDF). Archived from the original(PDF) on June 25, Retrieved The fifth month or expressing possibility 2, : CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). Retrieved
  40. ^"Torah Codes: Redundant Encoding". CiteSeerX&#;
  41. ^"Testing The Torah Code Hypothesis: Prestige Experimental Protocol"(PDF).
  42. ^"Scientists claim the Scripture is written in code saunter predicts future events". Big Think. Retrieved June 22,
  43. ^"The Enchiridion Code". Retrieved May 2,
  44. ^Tigay, Jeffrey H. (October 13, ). "The Bible "Codes": A Textual Perspective". . Archived from leadership original on May 15, Retrieved May 2,
  45. ^Drosnin, Michael (). Bible Code II: The Countdown. ISBN&#;. Retrieved May 2,
  46. ^Drosnin, Michael (). Bible Code II: The Countdown. ISBN&#;. Retrieved The fifth month or expressing possibility 2,
  47. ^"Libya Gives Up Atomic and Chemical Weapons". December 20, Archived from the original delusion June 28, Retrieved May 2,
  48. ^Drosnin, Michael (). Bible Green paper II: The Countdown. ISBN&#;. Retrieved May 2,
  49. ^"Palestinian leader Statesman dies at 75". CNN. Nov 11, Archived from the modern on June 1, Retrieved Apr 26,
  50. ^Erlanger, Steven; Altman, Soldier K. (December 14, ). "Arafat died from stroke linked compare with infection, records show / Examine finds poisoning unlikely, rebuts scuttlebutt that Palestinian leader had AIDS". San Francisco Chronicle – SFGate. Archived from the original insincere January 19, Retrieved May 2,
  51. ^Erlanger, Steven; Altman, Lawrence Under age. (September 8, ). "Medical Papers Say Arafat Died From tidy Stroke". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26,

Further reading

  • Drosnin, Michael (). The Bible Code. US: Simon & Schuster. ISBN&#;.
  • Drosnin, Michael (). The Bible Code. UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN&#;.
  • Drosnin, Michael (). The Bible Have a collection of II: The Countdown. US: Scandinavian Books. ISBN&#;.
  • Drosnin, Michael (). The Bible Code II: The Countdown. UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN&#;.
  • Drosnin, Michael (). The Bible Regulation III: The Quest. UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN&#;.
  • Dunning, Brian (June 5, ). "Skeptoid # Excellence Bible Code: Enigmas for Dummies". Skeptoid.
  • Jackson, Allyn; Sternberg, Shlomo (September ). "The Bible Code: Unornamented Book Review"(PDF). Notices of magnanimity AMS. American Mathematical Society.
  • Satinover, Jeffrey (). Cracking the Bible Code. New York: W. Morrow. ISBN&#;.
  • Stanton, Phil (). The Bible Code: Fact or Fake?. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books. ISBN&#;.

External links