The Seventh Miami International
Conference on Torah and Science
ABSOLUTE STANDARDS IN AN AGE OF RELATIVITY
11-13 December 2007
The Kovens Conference Center
Florida International University, Miami, Florida
Followed by a Shabbaton at The Shul of Bal Harbour, Florida

Through the Looking Glass:

Does nature operate according to the Divine and human minds,
or does the human mind operate according to nature?

I. Mathematics

Chaos and fractals in Jewish law and tradition, and in math and nature. Proportional division in math and halakhah. Are nature and halakhah linear or nonlinear depending on how we perceive them? Mathematical patterns in nature: Fibonacci Sequence, Golden Rectangle… Consilience and complex adaptive systems in the light of the Torah
II. Physics and Astronomy
The human observer and nature. Is the calendar a human or natural phenomenon? The astronomy of the Talmud Sages. String Theory, the Big Bang, and Genesis. The Earth and our solar system: the unique center or specks in the cosmos? Chaos (order in chaos; chaos in order)
III. Biology, Medicine, and Genetics
New developments in reproductive biology.  Praying for well-being or other natural phenomena. Does prayer have potential practical applications? Engineering the gender and other features of an embryo and a fetus.
IV. Psychology, Sociology, and Political Science
Is human nature “natural” or learned? Nonmatter in a system—psychological, mental, emotional, faith energies. What’s “spiritual” about halakhah?
V. The Kabbalistic and Hasidic Model of the Universe
Correspondence between the “law of correspondence” and the scientific method. The supernal worlds of Emanation, Creation, Form, and Action versus creation ex nihilo, the Big Bang Theory, and human creativity.
There will be workshops and panel discussions on “Consciousness and Daat.”
Organizing Committee
The Shul of Bal Harbour and the Aleph Institute of Miami, Florida, Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar
Center for the Study of Spirituality, Florida International University , Professor Nathan Katz, Director
B’Or Ha’Torah Journal of Science, Art & Modern Life in the Light of the Torah
Professor Herman Branover, Editor in Chief; Ilana Attia, Managing Editor

Local Organization
Miriam Gitman, The Shul of Bal Harbour, 9540 Collins Avenue, Surfside, FL 33154, USA.
Tel:  (305) 868-1411 ext. 7319     Fax: (305) 861-2426     E-mail: miriam@theshul.org
There is no registration fee.
The history of the Miami Torah & Science Conferences; the programs of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth conferences; how to order the proceedings of the third and fourth conferences in issues 12E, 13E, 14E, 15E, and 16E of B’Or Ha’Torah; more information on the Seventh Miami International Conference may be found at
www.borhatorah.org