Let There Be Light: Modern Cosmology and Kabbalah: A New Conversation Between Science and Religion

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 286 pages
• Published by: New World Library October 5, 2006
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1577315480
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1577315483
• Book Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 10.4 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Can religion answer any of the questions raised by science? Can science answer the questions posed by religion? Smith, an observant Jew who is a senior scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for astrophysics, brings us a work that is "deliberately not scholarly." It aims to educate and enlighten readers while attempting to fuse an entry-level explanation of the vast and fascinating subject of cosmology with the elusive elements of the Kabbalah. Despite a fluid and uncomplicated organization, Smith fails to communicate with his target audience—those either unfamiliar with or uninterested in science and religion. His unwieldy prose, riddled with parenthetical allusions to former or pending chapters, and littered with qualifications, makes the science hard to follow for even the most avid fans of popular science magazines. Admittedly, his discussion of the Kabbalah is "a modest extraction of a few relevant ideas," but his cursory extrapolations confuse rather than clarify. If enthusiasm could make this an accessible read, Smith could well have succeeded. Unfortunately, readers may feel left in the dark after wrestling their way through his lecture. (Nov.)
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From Booklist
Smith points out in his preface that he is an observant Jew and a research astrophysicist. His book is about what he calls "the essential complementary of modern scientific cosmology and the Jewish mystical tradition of the Kabbalah," Jewish mysticism, the central work of which is the Zohar. Smith posits that the basic theory and its derivations have enabled cosmology to explain the intricate birth and early evolution of the universe. Smith relies on the Zohar and its commentators for most of the cosmological concepts he is comparing. Let There Be Light is based on lectures Smith has given during the last thirty years. He looks at such subjects as Einstein's theories of relativity and modern quantum mechanics and awareness. The result is a book that Smith hopes will broaden readers' understanding of the creation of the universe. George Cohen
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Reader Reviews
"Let There Be Light" provides a sophisticated and lucid account of the physics that underlies scientists' current understanding of the origins of the universe. Indeed, Smith's discussion of cosmology is the best I have ever encountered in the popular science literature. For this reason alone, the book merits a place at the top any thoughtful individual's reading list. However, this book is much more than a soon-to-be-acclaimed popular science classic. For beyond the physics and cosmology, Smith introduces topics from Kabbalah/religion and, with the skill of a poet, weaves together concepts from these oft-opposing disciplines (i.e., science and religion). From the complex tapestry that emerges from these efforts, Smith demonstrates how the perspectives and analyses of each of these disciplines can in fact complement, illuminate, and shed light upon the other. The result is nothing less than an intellectually and spiritually uplifting experience. It will leave you trembling.