Parashat Shemot 5786 – 01/10/2026
Beginning with Bereishit 5781 (17 October 2020) we embarked on a new format. We will be considering Rambam’s (Maimonides’) great philosophical work Moreh Nevukim (Guide for the Perplexed) in the light of the knowledge of Vedic Science as expounded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The individual essays will therefore not necessarily have anything to do with the weekly Torah portion, although certainly there will be plenty of references to the Torah, the rest of the Bible, and to the Rabbinic literature. For Bereishit we described the project. The next four parshiyyot, Noach through Chayei Sarah, laid out a foundational understanding of Vedic Science, to the degree I am capable of doing so. Beginning with Toledot we started examining Moreh Nevukim.
Shemot 1:1-6:1
Rambam continues his exposition. He asks what is moving the sphere, and divides the possible answers into 4 categories:
Now the mover cannot but be either in the moved or outside it, for this is a necessary division. Now if the mover is outside the sphere, it cannot but be either a body or not a body; in which latter case it should not be said to be outside the sphere, but separate from it, for what is not a body is not said to be outside a body except through an extension of this meaning of the expression. If, however, its mover is in it – I mean the mover of the sphere – it cannot but be either that the mover is a force distributed in the whole of the body of the sphere and divisible through the latter’s being divided – as heat in fire – or that it is a force in the sphere that is not divisible – as are the soul and the intellect – just as has been expounded before the tenth premise. There is, accordingly, no doubt as to the mover of the sphere being one of these four: either another body outside it, or separate from it, or a force distributed in it, or an indivisible force.
There are two bifurcations here. The first is body / non-body (“matter fields” vs. “force fields”?). The second is a bifurcation of forces between ones that are divisible and those that are not divisible. There is also a bifurcation of bodies into internal or external bodies. So, there are four possibilities, which Rambam deals with one by one.
First, it is clear the mover of the sphere cannot be external to it. If it were, then the question would arise as to what causes this mover to move. That would have to be another body external to it, and the question would recur, leading to an infinite regress. This is impossible (2nd premise), so this case is rejected.
If we assume that the mover of the sphere is a force distributed in the sphere, we again get a contradiction. For the sphere is a body and therefore finite (1st premise), and therefore its force must be finite. But how can a finite force create continual, eternal (i.e. infinite) motion? In physics, by the way, this shows up as the impossibility of a perpetual motion machine. As long as there is friction, there will be loss of energy, and the “machine” will eventually stop moving. In cases where the machine depends on superfluidity or superconductivity, it requires a great deal of energy to keep the system at the extremely low temperatures required to maintain the superfluidity or superconductivity, so the “perpetual motion” must be sustained by an outside source of energy.
Even if we assume that the force in the sphere is indivisible, we again run into problems. Consider the soul of a person. If it causes his body to move (i.e., it has an intention that the body move, and the body responds – to this day, with all our advances in neurophysiology, I don’t think we can say how that mental intention gets transduced into the electrical impulses that make our muscles move), say from the ground floor to the first floor, then the body is moving by its essence, but the soul, which goes along with the body, is moving by accident (i.e. because of external circumstance). How can something that moves by accident be responsible for perpetual motion of the thing in which it inheres?
Rambam concludes:
… it follows necessarily, according to this opinion [i.e. that movement of the sphere is eternal], that the first cause of the movement of the sphere conforms to the second possibility; I mean to say that it is separate from the sphere according to what is required by the above division. It accordingly has been demonstrated that it is necessary that the mover of the first sphere, if the movement of the latter is regarded as eternal and perpetual, should not at all be a body or a force in a body; in this way the mover of this sphere would have no movement, either according to essence or to accident, and would not be subject to division or to change, as has been mentioned in the seventh and the fifth of the premises.
In other words, this is the only one of the 4 possibilities we enumerated that hasn’t been eliminated. Now what does it mean that this mover is “outside” of the sphere. First, I think that something that is outside the sphere means something that is outside all of creation, since it is the movement of the sphere that moves everything in creation. Since this mover is itself not moving, but is silent and unchanging (and eternal – after all, it is what keeps the sphere moving eternally), it appears that we are dealing with something that is transcendental to creation – absolute, pure Being, beyond space and time. Rambam apparently concurs: “Now this is the deity, may His Name be sublime; I am referring to the first cause, moving the sphere.”
Rambam will take this farther in the remainder of this chapter, which we will move on to next week, Gd willing.
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Commentary by Steve Sufian
Parashat Shemot
“Shemot” means “Names.” Gd is One with Infinite qualities, infinite names but we call Gd “HaShem,” the Name, Gd is beyond words, beyond names, so we call Gd, ”the Name” symbolizing that Gd is Infinite yet always One.
The parshah begins with telling the names of the twelve children of Israel: Reuben, Simon, Levi… There is nothing but Gd so Israel’s children are roles Gd plays and their names are Gd’s Names.
An example of the symbolism of “twelve” is the twelve cranial nerves in the physiology. These are responsible for many functions including equilibrium control, eye movement, hearing and facial sensation. From this standpoint, the twelve sons of Israel symbolize the whole range of functions of the physiology and of Gd as the Essence of physiology.
The story of the evolving nature of the human physiology and the Cosmic Physiology begins with:
“A new pharaoh arose in Egypt who knew not Joseph.”
Joseph and his family brought Canaan (synchronicity, Wholeness) to Egypt (Mitzraim, restrictions). “Knew not Joseph” symbolizes “knew not Wholeness.”
This parshah concludes with Gd telling Moses that redemption is close at hand, redemption from the collapse of Wholeness in the awareness of the Egyptian people and several hundred years of slavery for the Children of Israel.
The pharaoh of Joseph’s time knew Joseph, and thus knew Wholeness and respected all representatives of Wholeness. When a pharaoh arose who knew not Joseph, it means he was lost in restrictions and could not see and respect Wholeness and its representatives.
As a result, this pharaoh saw Joseph and the Children of Israel as threats and not as blessings. He reduced them to slavery and began murdering the newborn males. Of course, for this to have happened, there must have been some diminishing of purity, of wholeness, on the part of the Israelite, not just ritual impurity but some diminishing of their “Loving Gd with all their heart, their soul, all their might” and some diminishing of their “loving their neighbor as their self, their Self.”
Again, remember that all souls are roles that Gd Plays, sometimes Revealing Wholeness, sometimes Hiding Wholeness. So, it is not that the Israelites were to blame for their impurity, only that Gd Delighted in telling the story of life by diminishing the purity of Israelite actions at this time.
The most important lesson we learn in this parshah is to honor the commandments of Gd, especially. “Thou shalt love the Lrd thy Gd with all thy heart, all thy soul, all thy might” and “Love thy neighbor as thy Self” so that we are always happy, loving and perceived that way by others. Then everyone, including the most powerful rulers and the most desperate criminals would always see us as friends and never even think of doing us harm.
When the Children of Israel in Egypt had been reduced to slavery and Pharaoh was murdering the male children, the cries of the Israelites rose to Gd and Gd decided the time for the Exodus had come – the return to Canaan, to Wholeness.
Gd spoke to Moses from a burning bush, a bush that was not consumed by the flames, and told Moses that Gd will rescue the Children of Israel and lead them to a land flowing with milk and honey. Gd tells Moses to speak to Pharaoh to release the Children of Israel for three days to make offerings to their Gd in the desert. Gd also tells Moses that Pharaoh will refuse and that Gd will with a mighty hand perform miracles and then Pharaoh will let the Children of Israel go and they will leave and not go empty handed but with all the wealth of Egypt.
Moses asks Gd what name shall he tell the Children of Israel when they ask him who sent him.
Gd responds, “Ehyeh asher Ehyeh”: I Will Be what I Will Be. Gd also says “tell them the Gd of their forefathers, of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent you” so they will have confidence that Gd who rescued their forefathers will rescue them.
We can learn from this that Gd the Totality who “Will Be what I Will Be” cannot be interfered with and does answer prayers: Today, Gd will answer ours but perhaps our troubles are long-standing, like the slavery of the Children of Israel in Egypt. Then perhaps Gd will answer the prayers step-by-step, perhaps by sending us some person with wisdom, such as a business advisor, a teacher, a health professional, a rabbi or other spiritual teacher.to lead us out of our troubles. Some person who has a history of success.
Perhaps Gd will answer our prayers by giving us some flash of insight, which like the burning bush, continues, does not pass away, gives us confidence it is reliable advice we can act on.
Perhaps Gd will answer our prayers by giving us continual Awareness of Gd, of Wholeness, Gd’s Infinite Freedom : “I Will Be What I Will Be” This Direct Experience of Wholeness, All-in-All, restores us and makes us aware that the “I” we thought we were is really a role the One-and-Only I is playing and we Are this I, Forever Free.
We need to be alert and open for we do not know how Gd will answer our prayers and transform our problems into blessings.: Gd Will Be What Gd Will Be.
And we need to be the leaders of our own lives: we need to be our own Moses and to continue communicating with Gd – through prayer, through our good lives, through whatever means we have to “love Gd with all our heart and soul” and to “love our neighbor as our Self” so that through our love we become open to Gd’s Love, Gd’s Blessings, Gd’s restoration to us of our birthright: Oneness with the One, the “I will Be What I will Be.”
Baruch HaShem