The Torah begins with a majestic description of God's creation of the
universe. The powerful language is remarkable for its poetic beauty,
evocative imagery, and profound spirituality. When we read these
paragraphs thoughtfully, we feel that we are in the presence of God at
the very moment of creation.
The language of the creation story is religious/poetic, not
scientific. The Torah, in its infinite wisdom, wants us to sense the
wonder and grandeur of God's creation. It does not present a cold
scientific treatise, but a lofty, emotionally compelling account.
Regrettably, the notion has arisen in some religious circles that
the creation story in Genesis is to be taken literally--that God
created the world in six 24-hour days. Proponents of this view have
then made calculations based on biblical narratives and have concluded
that the universe is 5776 years old plus almost six days. They have
declared this to be a non-negotiable religious "truth". One right-wing
Orthodox Jewish group requires that would-be converts answer a question
on "the Torah view on the age of the universe". One elderly "sage" in
Israel was quoted as invalidating religious rites performed by Orthodox
rabbis who believe the universe is older than 5769 years. A number of
rabbis and teachers insist that dinosaurs never existed, since
scientists claim that dinosaurs lived millions of years ago--an evident
impossibility if the universe is only 5769 years old.
The "fundamentalist" view is not only scientifically incorrect, but
is intellectually flawed on its own terms. Since the sun was not
created until the fourth day, how could there have been sunset and
sunrise on the first three days? What could the Torah have meant by the
words "evening" and "morning" in a universe that had no sun, moon or
stars? Moreover, why do "fundamentalists" feel compelled to defend a
position which is clearly at odds with the unequivocal findings of
scientific research.? Maimonides taught, quite correctly, that the
Torah and Nature (governed by scientifically verifiable laws) were
created by the same Author--and cannot be in basic conflict with each
other. Scientists have dated the universe at approximately 15 billion
years. They have discovered and dated dinosaur fossils going back many
millions of years. If these are indeed established facts (and they
are), then why would "fundamentalists" demand that religionists deny
clear scientific evidence--especially when there is no theological
reason to do so? Why should religious people be asked to become
unthinking, unscientific, unreasonable beings?
The "days" in the creation story surely do not refer to 24 hour
periods. Rather, they might better be understood as periods of time of
undetermined length. They might each have been billions of years long.
The universe was created in stages, with each stage involving an
evening ( erev=a period of mixture) and a morning (boker=a period of
clarity, when the mixed state of things solidified into identifiable
things). The Torah does not indicate how long these "days" were, and it
makes no attempt to frame the story in scientific terms. Since these
first six "days" might have been billions of years long, there was
ample time for dinosaurs to live and become extinct before the creation
of Adam in the "afternoon" of the sixth "day".
Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan cited classic rabbinic texts asserting that the
world is far older than the 5769 years implied by our current dating
system. The Sefer ha-Temunah, attributed to the Tanna Rabbi Nuhunya ben
ha-Kanah, suggestes that there were other worlds before Adam was
created. The Talmud (Hagigah 13b) records the view that there were 974
gnerations before Adam. Most interesting is the view of Rabbi Yitzhak
of Akko, a student and colleague of Ramban, and one of the foremost
kabbalists of his time. Rabbi Kaplan made calculations based on Rabbi
Yitzhak's writings, indicating that Rabbi Yitzhak thought the universe
was 15.3 billion years old! This is incredibly close to the "big bang"
theory posited by modern day scientists. (For more information on this
and related topics, please see my article, "Reflections on Torah
Education and Mis-Education," in the Min haMuvhar section of our Institute's website, jewishideas.org)
Rabbi Yitzhak of Akko and the other sages who posited a universe
far older than 5769 years had no theological problem suggesting these
views. These opinions were not seen as heretical in any way. It was not
felt by these sages, nor by the many others who read their views
without raising objections, that it was a vital principle of Judaism to
believe the universe is only a few thousand years old.
The creation story that opens the Torah should inspire us to come
closer to God, to appreciate His grandeur and unfathomable wisdom. It
should excite our minds to want to learn more about God's ways as
manifested in the laws of nature. It should help foster a spirit of
scientific inquiry, intellectual curiosity, and a profound love and
reverence for God.