Our Gemara on Amud Aleph recounts an intriguing polemic between Rabban Gamliel and a Roman emperor:

The emperor said to Rabban Gamliel: It is written in praise of the Lord: “He counts the number of the stars; He gives them all their names” (Psalms 147:4). What is His greatness? I can also count the stars. Rabban Gamliel brought quinces, placed them in a sieve, and spun them. He said to the emperor: Count them. The emperor said: Stand them still so that I can count them. Rabban Gamliel responded: The firmament also revolves like this; therefore, you cannot count the stars in it.

In another version of the exchange, the emperor claimed: I have counted the stars. Rabban Gamliel challenged him: Tell me how many teeth and incisors you have. As the emperor began counting by placing his hand in his mouth, Rabban Gamliel remarked: You do not know what is in your mouth, yet you claim to know what is in the firmament?

This debate about the number of stars illustrates the tension between scientific knowledge, scriptural statements, and the perception of science in different eras. Historically, scientists have oscillated between believing they had cataloged all the stars and acknowledging the vastness beyond their comprehension. In modern times, a shift from a closed universe model to an expanding one was prompted by the discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation, evidence of the so-called “Big Bang”, or what religious people would characterize as the moment of creation.

The Ralbag (Gersonides), a prominent Torah scholar, philosopher, and renowned astronomer, faced a dilemma: how could prophecies like Abraham’s vision suggest the stars are innumerable when they were believed to be catalogued according to the science of his time which he embraced? In his commentary on Iyov (ch. 40), he proposed that prophets receive divine messages which are then framed by their own beliefs and translated into various symbolic images and words. Thus, if Abraham believed the stars were countless, the message he received was that his descendants would be as innumerable as the stars appeared to him. Similarly, the Ralbag addressed verses in Yechezkel, which describe celestial music from the heavenly spheres, aligning with the science of Yechezkel’s time but later seemingly inaccurate to the current science.

The Ralbag’s approach can be better. Understood if we acknowledge the subjective nature of all perception, and that we are constantly interpreting reality, according to our frame of reference. We don’t “see” colors; we perceive light wavelengths interpreted by our retinas as colors. Actually, when you think about it, every color is really all other colors on the spectrum except for that color. That is because the material that has this so-called color is actually absorbing all the Colors of the spectrum and reflecting back only that particular color which activates receptors in our retina. Similarly, we don’t “hear” sounds; vibrations in the air are interpreted by our eardrums. Thus, the riddle, “If a tree falls in a forest, does it make a sound?” is answered: No, it only produces soundwaves. Sound exists only when perceived.

Ironically, the Ralbag’s confidence in the scientific knowledge of his era was misplaced. There are far more stars than he or his contemporaries could have counted, and possibly new stars continue to form. His theological approach remains valuable for reconciling apparent contradictions between science and traditional texts. However, his reliance on the science of his time serves as a cautionary tale about the limits of human knowledge and the humility required in the face of the unknown.

Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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