Torah codes topic of upcoming lecture

Torah Codes: “The Greatest Hoax or the Greatest Scientific Discovery” will be presented by Harold Gans at the Jewish Learning Center Community Synagogue, 138 Pine Brook Road, on Nov. 17 at 8 p.m.

In 1994 the discovery of hidden codes in the Torah was described in a respected statistics journal, according to a press release. Hailed by some as the greatest discovery of the 20th century, best selling books and television documentaries were produced. Then, in 1999, a paper appeared in the same statistics journal claiming that the 1994 discovery was a fraud. More recently, seven scientific papers on Torah codes were presented at a mathematics conference, establishing that this phenomenon is real.

Gans will unravel the mystery and describe his own discovery. Topics will include recent historical events such as 9/11, the capture of Sadaam Hussein, the Asian tsunami and the Columbia space shuttle disaster.

According to the press release, Gans has spent his life making and breaking codes. He worked for 28 years for the National Security Agency of the U.S. Department of Defense as a senior cryptologic mathematician, and was awarded the Meritorious Civilian Service Award for his research.

He also was a distinguished member of the Crypto-Mathematics Institute for his many publications and contributions in that field, and has taught college level mathematics, crypto-mathematics and computer science. In addition, he has been interviewed by CNN and CBS, and articles about him have appeared in Time, Newsweek, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times.

Tickets are $5 if purchased by Nov. 13. Tickets purchased at the door will be $10. Refreshments will be served. For more information call (732) 683-0244.