Page 18 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 4, 2008
Nobel laureate Robert J. Aumann addresses Kollel dinner Israeli mathematician Robert J. Aumann, who shared the 2005 Nobel Prize in economics with American Thomas Schelling for their work in game theory, spent several days in Ottawa from January 11 to 13 as a guest of the Kollel of Ottawa. Aumann was born in Germany in 1930. His family fled the Nazi regime just two weeks before Kristallnacht in 1938 and settled in the New York City. Aumann studied at the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva High School there before going on to receive his BSc in mathematics from City College of New York and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Aumann immigrated to Israel in 1956 where he has been a professor of mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for more than half a century. While in Ottawa, Aumann met informally with a number of Ottawa Jewish community leaders over Shabbat
(From left to right): Robert Aumann, Vera Straus, Jozef Straus, Rabbi Binyomin Holland, American Ambassador David Wilkins and Israeli Ambassador Alan Baker during the Kollel annual dinner. (Photo: Peter Waiser)
evening dinner. Game theory, he told them, is about incentives and Jewish continuity is about providing incentives to en-sure that the next generation continues to value and support Judaism. According to Aumann, a key element in ensuring Jewish continuity is the on-going practice of religious rituals. There is, he said, indescribable joy that comes from observing God’s commandments even when
one does not fully understand the reason for a particular ritual.
At the Kollel of Ottawa’s Sunday morning minyan, Aumann used game theory to
explain a difficult passage of Talmud that was under discussion. Then, on Sunday evening Aumann was the guest speaker at the Kollel of Ottawa’s annual dinner held at the Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel. In his speech, Aumann again discussed game theory and the importance of Jewish religious ritual observance. Aumann particularly stressed the allencompassing Shabbat experience, a 25-hour weekly period when one is separated from the routines of daily life and embraced within a special world. During a question-andanswer period following his speech, Aumann addressed
the peace process and said Israel should not rush to make concessions in order to achieve a peace agreement with the Palestinians. Rather, he said, Israel should wait until the Palestinians themselves are ready to compromise on their demands and make concessions to Israel. Only then, he said, will the Palestinians be ready for peace. In addition to many members of the Ottawa Jewish community, the dinner was attended by representatives of the corporate community and by several dignitaries including Ambassador Alan Baker of Israel and Ambassador David Wilkins of the United States.
Nobel laureate visits Yitzhak Rabin High School By Netanel Finkelstein During his visit to Ottawa, Nobel laureate Robert J. Aumann spent the morning of January 11 with the students at Yitzhak Rabin High School (YRHS). Aumann began his presentation with a Dvar Torah in which he encouraged
participation by asking several questions of the students. This led to a question-and-answer session in which Aumann addressed game theory, his work in economics and his motivations for becoming a mathematician. Aumann also answered several questions from the Yitzhak Rabin students
about his views on Israeli politics. He expressed his belief that Israel should not concede land and other resources to the Palestinians in the current round of peace negotiations. Aumann said that, based on his interpretation of game theory, such concessions would only promote further violence.