Bereisheet
Creation and Evolution
Rabbi Laura Duhan
Kaplan
Does the Torah support a theory of evolution?
Two traditional Jewish answers are: (a) Yes! (b) Who cares?
Those who argue "yes," say: Torah's language teaches that the first three days of
creation were eons. On the first three days, Torah speaks of the alternation of
light and darkness, marking something called a "day." Yet a
"day" cannot possibly mean "24 hours" until the fourth day,
when God installs sun, moon, and stars to mark "occasions, days, and
years."
And they also say: If you look beyond the words that form the basic rhythmic structure of Bereisheet/Exodus Chapter One, the word that appears
most often is zera, seed. Torah uses this word ten
times, to emphasize the potential for change in the created work. Classical
rabbinic midrash adds
that the separate days of creation mark pauses in God's creative activity.
During those pauses, God allowed each created thing to bring forth its own
potential.
Those who find the question irrelevant say: Torah is neutral regarding theories of biology and physics.
It should not be used to confirm or refute scientific truth. Instead, the
poetic images and meter of the creation story invite us to pause and wonder at
the complex harmonies of the living universe. The story stimulates us to attend
more carefully to fellow creatures, and understand how we might learn from them
some of the lessons God has hidden for us in this world.
--
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