A Bridge of Letters

Professor Reuven Haralick from the USA carries an impressive list of academic titles in science. He is a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle, and served for several years as president of the International Association for Pattern Recognition, a field in which he has worldwide recognition. This science is used, among other things, for cruise missiles.

He has contributed to and participated in dozens of scientific books and published over four hundred scientific papers in the field of visual computing and pattern recognition. He holds several registered patents to his name. Due to his expertise in computers, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and pattern recognition, he is employed by the American Space Agency as an evaluator of their programs. The Technion also invited him for a guest lecture in his field of expertise. In 1989, as a secular scientist, he began to explore the significance of the letters of the Holy Language. The research he conducted was published six years later in a book.

During his research, he reached a profound understanding of Judaism's perspective on the spiritual content of life and its meaning, and the role of the Jew in Hashem's world. Professor Haralick became a religious Jew who observes Shabbat and performs mitzvot. He developed a particular interest in the subject of Torah codes with letter skip patterns. In collaboration with Rabbi Matityahu Glazerson, he published a book on the relevance of Torah letter codes, which was published in several languages.

The professor integrates his research in Torah with his scientific studies. His ultimate aspiration is to devote himself fully to the study of the Gemara. To our question about the significance of the hidden codes in the Torah, he humbly replies that he does not know the full content of the codes, but there is no doubt that the discovered codes are a wonder, a sign and marvel, displaying the Creator's signature on the Torah.

Judaism teaches the Jew to try to see Hashem's hand in everything, and how Hashem manages our world. The whole system of commandments and blessings, he explains, revolves around this central point. The Jewish world is a continuous world of Hashem's wonders. There are no accidents. A Jew is always full of joy knowing that the world is not abandoned and Hashem is present everywhere. There is no reason to get angry, for instance.

Difficult situations are an opportunity to elevate one's good traits. We strive to draw closer to Hashem and make this world a better and more fitting place for the Divine Presence. With a constant awareness of Hashem in our consciousness, there is complete identity between what we write and the personalities and character we embody in our deeds. Our most important struggle is the inner battle against the evil inclination.

Judaism, through the Torah, guides us on how to live and how to succeed in this battle. This is the most significant completeness in truth that we can achieve. The struggle tests our will, whose victory adds holiness to the world. In this, we become emissaries of the Creator. This is the worldview of the professor-scientist who discovered Judaism through the Torah.