Torah From Heaven: Essays on Midrash and Science by Rabbi Ari D. Kahn is a rigorous intellectual engagement with one of the most enduring questions in Jewish thought: the relationship between the eternal truths of the Torah and the empirical methodologies of science. The interaction between Torah and science, Jewish theology and modernity, and faith and rational inquiry, has long been a topic of both contention and synthesis. While some portray these disciplines as inherently antithetical, others have attempted reconciliation. Rabbi Kahn reexamines the issue through a careful presentation of primary rabbinic sources, many of which are otherwise largely inaccessible in English. His work draws extensively from traditional Jewish sources, situating them in conversation with contemporary philosophy of science. The essays offer complex treatments of foundational theological issues: the origins and purpose of the universe, the nature of time, and the boundaries of scientific and religious knowledge. Rather than advancing a polemical agenda, Rabbi Kahn’s careful analyses illustrate the range of positions within the Jewish tradition.
