Torah codes topic of lecture

MANALAPAN - 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.

Gans 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.

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.