Recently, I came across a letter from Einstein to a grieving father, Dr Robert Marcus, who happened to be a rabbi and had written in desperation. The father’s letter seems to have come from a book by Naomi Levy, called Einstein and The Rabbi. The two predominant questions to Einstein were:
- Is there any consolation for or perhaps in his child’s death?
- Is there any chance of some sort of afterlife for his child?
This letter seems to have been written after reading Einstein’s words in his book, The World as I See It, which suggested Einstein thought that a belief in the afterlife was incomprehensible to him.
Einstein’s reply was brief:
A human being is part of the whole, called by us “Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish the delusion but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind.
With this reply two questions popped into my mind
- Did Einstein answer Dr Marcus’s questions?
- Who of similar stature could I have written to when James [my late son] died?
To the first of Dr Marcus’s questions, Einstein answered in a roundabout way. I would interpret it as advice not to look for consolation. Speaking personally, I am just grateful that James came into our lives, if all too briefly. The afterlife question was answered subtly with the phrase a part limited in time and space. I must admit I find myself agreeing with Einstein. As a bonus, Einstein ends up coaching the Rabbi as to what religion should be.
Who would I write to in this day and age? I suppose in arrogance I might think I know the answers to Dr Marcus’s questions as well as anyone else. Having said that, I did come across, then, a young man, Gus, who in many ways has shaped my worldview. I don’t recall ever believing in an afterlife and I quickly realized James lives on in the ripples of his existence. Of course, for Madeleine and me his life and death were more of a tsunami. Almost eighteen years later that tsunami has subsided into rolling waves.
Quite often it can heard from believers that science does not tell us about the vagaries of the human condition: meaning and the like. Here we have Einstein counselling a Rabbi.
rom's corner 