Truth exists on many levels, and the truth of Torah stands independent of scientific scrutiny. If this is so, then why try to bridge Torah and science?
The answer to this is engrained in the wisdom of Torah, its world view and practical action. Judaism by nature seeks the revelation of unity in the world, from the oneness of God to the ultimate interconnectedness of all things. Torah infuses this idea in all aspects of life from the practical to the mystical. It is natural then to seek to find a common language between secular disciplines and knowledge and the wisdom of the Torah. In fact, all knowledge and wisdom have their ultimate source in Torah as is stated: “Turn it and turn it, for all is in it [Torah]” ( Pirkei Avot: 5:26).
Our Sages and rabbis through out the ages have recognized the importance of unifying the physical and spiritual and there is a wealth of writings on this subject. Many of our greatest rabbis have been doctors, mathematicians, astronomers, poets, musicians, philosophers, linguists etc. and they display in addition a great knowledge of psychology, economics, agriculture, politics and the art of communication. Through surveying the vast spectrum of subjects dealt with in the Talmud one senses just how well rounded and knowledgeable our Sages truly were.
Maimonides (1135-1204) in his day urged the study of the natural sciences as a way to come to appreciate the wonders of creation and the infinite wisdom of the Creator. The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), one of the greatest scholars of the last thousand years, was a great supporter of studying all the arts and sciences, which he himself studied. He mentions and praises music especially, lauding its quality of accentuating spiritual elevation and reaching a state of ecstasy, as well as it being instrumental to understanding the cantillation of the Torah. (See Triumph of Survival: The Story of the Jews in the Modern Era; page 107, by Rabbi Berel Wein;)
In our day there is a great thrust towards unifying secular and Torah knowledge and one just has to visit a Jewish book store to see how many books already exist combining the cutting edge of science, cosmology, quantum physics, psychology, medicine, environment etc with Torah wisdom. This is especially true regarding the Kabbalah, whose metaphysical concepts are seen by more and more people as having great relevance to our contemporary world.
Therefore, in seeking a common language with science, Torah is not looking for validation, rather it is seeking to reveal new and valuable insight into the nature of reality and to gain a richness of metaphor in relating to the world we live in. The deeper our understanding of the sciences and the arts, the richer our concept of Torah becomes. The more Torah we learn the broader our appreciation for the laws and aesthetics of nature. The goal in many cases is to simply show that what at first seems like two different world views are in truth describing the same ideas, concepts and phenomenon, albeit with different language, context and sets of symbols.
