Avraham = 248 = E8

 

Avraham = 248 = E8

By HaRav Aryel Nachman ben Chaim – 21 Tammuz 5782

Chacham Asher ben Mordechai,

As we were discussing in our study of the Bahir, when Avram's name was changed to Avraham the significance was that his name now included the 248 structures of the human body. However, is there a deeper significance to this? We already know that the 248 also parallels the 248 positive mitzvot.

As the Sages tell us, that all was created for B’nei Yisrael, which begins with Avraham. As we have learned from our study of Bereshit, , bringing from tohu to bohu giving it substance but no attributes. From there G-d spoke and gave it a name and its attributes.

Therefore, Avram was bohu until G-d added the hey to his name; Shemot 17: 3 And Abram fell on his face; and G-d talked with him, saying: …. 5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham… Thus Avram = 243 to Avraham = 248, giving Avraham mastery over all the parts of his body, enabling him to have children with Sarah.

However, did G-d have more in mind than just enabling Avraham to have mastery of his body?

In the theoretical physics world, there is the theory called E8 which simply explained (very simply) is: “E8 attempts to describe all known fundamental interactions in physics and to stand as a possible theory of everything.” (Paraphrased from the explanation by Dr Antony Garrett Lisi). There is a graphic representation of the E8 lattice, which has been called one of the most beautiful mathematical representations ever. It took a group of MIT professors working 4 years with a supercomputer to make this representation, which in fact is an 8-dimensional object.

All the points or intersections on the lattice, as Dr Lisi has found, have a relationship between the elementary particles, forces and elements in the universe. However, there is a problem. Science has found 224 elements and the lattice has 248 points! Dr Lisi proposes that there are 24 additional elements (elementary particles) that are yet to be discovered. He may have a valid hypothesis since the other elements and forces and interactions can be found in the lattice. For example, the lattice can show that photons interacting with leptons will produce electrons, just as happens in the real world.

Additionally, the Hebrew word for particle is chelkik (יקִ קְ לֶ ח (which also has a gematria of 248.

So, the question is now restated: Was G-d’s intent to just enable Avraham to have mastery of his body, or was G-d pointing to the physical blueprint of the universe which was created for the Jews by changing Avram to Avraham and the gematria of 248? Will Moshiach be the one who finally defines the undiscovered 24 missing elements giving us “An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything", as Dr Lisi put it?