Why Jews Win So Many Nobel Prizes
In my article How to Make time to read the Qur'an I wrote that one of the reasons that many religious Jews are so knowledgeable on a myriad of topics is due to the Rabbinic suggestion that while on the toilet, one should read a book on any non-holy subject to keep the mind focused on something other than G-d.
The Rabbis made a similar prohibition that Jews should not study Torah on Christmas Eve which they considered a "pagan" night. So instead, they were told to tear toilet paper, play card games, or read secular books (1).
Of course, reading secular books by itself will not make one a Nobel Laureate. The point is that the Torah was not the only book in the world for Jews. The tolerance for all ideas, the freedom to argue and question, the value placed on living in this world rather than on accumulating points in the next, these are some of things that have helped Jews excel in many fields other than the study of the Torah.
As of this writing, not counting the Peace Prize, there are more than 173 Nobel Laureates of Jewish descent, see my article Muslim Inventions - Nobel Prizes.
It should be noted that in Islam the Qur'an is the only book one needs to read. If something is not in the Qur'an, then it is not important. If it's already in the Qur'an, then it's redundant.
And in part that may explain why, as of this writing, not counting the Peace Prize, there are only four Muslim Nobel Laureates.
ENDNOTES
(1):
Slate Magazine, 23 Dec 2009, The little-known Jewish holiday of Christmas Eve. Seriously.
So what would Jews do on Christmas Eve?
1) Tear toilet paper. I kid you not. Bear with me, as the reason is a bit convoluted: Observant Jews do not tear anything on the Sabbath as they consider it a form of "work."
...
2) Play cards, play chess, spin a tiny top. Many synagogues held poker games on Christmas Eve; some say this is where the custom of spinning the dreidel on Hanukkah matured from, as a way for Jews to pass to the time.
3) Everything from managing finances to reading secular books to, get this, sewing. (That last one was actually a custom of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.)
