Atlantis: Truth or Falsehood???

Greetings and blessings

Yes, Judaism has something to say on this matter. According to what is implied by many midrashim, this was about five thousand years ago, in the lifetime of Enosh son of Shet, son of Adam the first man, who began spreading idol worship in the world in forms that would serve as intermediaries between the created being and the Creator. Then Hashem commanded the sea, and it flooded the continents that were in the Mediterranean basin [or the entire basin was formed as a result of the flood, and before that it was all land, or for the most part land], and this is also what happened at a later time in the generation of the Dispersion, about three thousand eight hundred years ago.

This is explained in the midrash [Bereishit Rabbah, section 23]: Twice it is written, the One who calls to the waters of the sea [1. Amos 5:8: He who calls to the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth, Hashem is His name; 2. Amos 9:6: He who calls to the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth, Hashem is His name:] corresponding to the two times the sea rose and flooded the world. And how far did it rise the first time? And how far did it rise the second time? Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Avohu and Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: the first time [in the generation of Enosh] it rose [the sea from the west of the world and broke through the barrier between southwest Europe and North Africa, in the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, and swept eastward, reaching -] as far as Akko and as far as Jaffa [the coastal cities of the Land of Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea that was then formed as a result of this flood], and the second time [in the generation of the Dispersion] it rose [and continued to flood and expand the Mediterranean basin to the south, and reached -] as far as the cliffs of Barbaria [the cliffs - the high rock formations jutting out from the land into the sea, on the Mediterranean coast of the land of Barbaria - referring to the sea bursting toward the area of Libya].

Second approach: Rabbi Chanania and Rabbi Acha בשם Rabbi Chanina [disagree and say that the first time it flooded toward the south and only the second time did the sea break through toward the present coasts of the Land of Israel, toward Akko and Jaffa] the first time [in the generation of Enosh] as far as the cliffs of Barbaria [as above], and the second time [in the generation of the Dispersion] as far as Akko and as far as Jaffa [and there is the end of the spread of the Mediterranean basin, and this is alluded to in the names of the cities Akko - Jaffa] as it is written (Job 38:11): And I said [there it refers to the sea] עד פה תבוא ולא תסיף, and פה ישית בגאון גליך, as if to say, 'In Jaffa He will set the pride of Your waves,' 'עד כה תבוא' - 'as far as Akko you shall come' [and apparently the meaning is that the two towns, Akko and Jaffa, mark two coastlines, formed as a result of Haifa Bay, that is, Hashem allowed the sea at the line of Jaffa to reach there, and in the Haifa-Akko area Hashem permitted the sea to go a bit farther, and thus the beautiful Haifa Bay was formed]. Third approach: Rabbi Eliezer in the name of Rabbi Chanina said, the first time [in the generation of Enosh] it rose as far as Calabria [on the coasts of Italy - a region at the southern end of Italy on the northern Mediterranean coast], and the second time [in the generation of the Dispersion] as far as the cliffs of Barbaria [the cliffs of Morocco].

And thus it is expounded in the Jerusalem Talmud [Shekalim, chapter 6, halacha 2] on what is stated in the Book of Ezekiel, chapter 47: 'Then he said to me, these waters go out ... to the sea that is brought forth,' this is the Great Sea [the Mediterranean], and why is it called 'the one brought forth'? Corresponding to the two times it went out, one in the generation of Enosh and one in the generation of the Dispersion, and there it brings the three approaches mentioned above. And according to the above, many of the poskim hold that upon seeing the Mediterranean Sea one does not recite the blessing 'Who performs the work of Creation' like on the other great seas in the world, since the Mediterranean basin was not formed at Creation, and therefore one should recite the alternative blessing, 'Blessed are You Who made the Great Sea.'

So it is possible to include Plato's information about Atlantis in the area of the Strait of Gibraltar, יחד with everything that our Sages said on the subject, and also about the wisdom and achievements of the generations before the Flood, our Sages spoke in their books, and the meaning of the matter is that they had highly advanced technological abilities, to the point that one of the great figures of later generations, Rabbi Yonatan Eybeshitz ztz"l, explains the matters of the generation of the Dispersion in terms of building a system that would enable passage from the earth into outer space, and there to travel in spacecraft.

Success - Menashe Yisrael