Was the universe created by soundwaves?

Question

Was the universe created by soundwaves?

Hashem said in Genesis: Let there be light.

Answer 1

Hashem is the master of existence and in essence, existence itself. He can manipulate any aspect of the world.

Soundwaves are one aspect of physical existence, and as far as I know, they can only travel through a physical medium. So if we were to simply take your question at face value without any further assumptions, it wouldn't make sense for sound to create matter, since it can only manifest itself through an existing medium.

My own opinion on the matter is that, unfortunately, it's unlikely that we could understand exactly how the world was created. At least, not in our current state.

Answer 2

You seem to be basing your supposition that the universe may have been created by sound waves on the fact that Gensis 1:3 has "ויאמר אלקים", literally "God said". While I don't claim to understand what that means precisely, it doesn't seem to involve sound waves. Allow me to quote some of the commentary on that phrase, in my own loose translation:

Ibn Ezra:

The gaon says that "said" means "willed". If that were so, it should say "[ויאמר אלקים] that there be light" [as opposed to what it says, "ויאמר אלקים 'let there be light'"].… Its meaning is that it's a reference to action without effort, analogous to a king [speaking to] his servants [and thereby acting].

Nachmanides:

"ויאמר" here refers to desire… that that was His desire. Alternatively, it's akin to thought… meaning to say that it was not with effort.

R. B'chaye b. Asher:

"ויאמר" refers to desire…. Alternatively, "ויאמר" means "decreed"….

Answer 3

To address Gabriel12, I hope this helps as a scientist/professor was able to explain it this way to me:

E=MC2 (squared)

Energy = MASS x the SPEED OF LIGHT2

Mass is made up of Matter. Matter is made up of Atoms/Electrons/Protons/Neutrons.

This is where the STRING THEORY (quantum physics) comes into play... The String Theory is hoping to show that these strings (a.k.a. superstrings) are reverberation of sound.

If this is proven, then Matter/Mass cannot exist without the reverberation of sound.

Therefore, where did the sound come from?

Hashem SAID ... in Genesis 1: Let there be light

...

I then asked a quantum physicist the same question, "Where did the sound come from?" He answered, "Light."

I then asked him where did the light come from and he laughed and said, "No one knows the answer to that."

However, Hashem "SAID" qualifies for the reverberation of sound that would create the superstrings of quantum physics to create Atoms to create matter that would manifest itself as mass.

For more scientific explanation, "Michio Kaku explains String Theory," gives a more indepth view.

I hope this helps!

Answer 4

No. Interesting reasoning, but I don't think it makes much sense. First of all, sound can't exist without matter. Sound itself isn't an actual "thing", but a vibration that propagates as a wave of pressure in a medium (like air). Just like ripples can't exist without the water, sound can't exist without the matter.

Answer 5

Maybe the universe was created by God sound waves, which are an emanation of personality to an external medium as our flesh-and-blood soundwaves are to the recipent thereof.

This may be why the universe was not 'congealed' entirely till the Jews accepted the Torah at Mt Sinai (Rashi on the passuk of ha'shishi).

Because a message can only exist when it has a recipient and the universe is the medium of God's message to us.