•e .
6 Friday, March 13, 1981
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
HAPPY PURIM FROM I Creation Plus Evolution in Jewish Tradition
(Continued from Page 5)
known or nonrational force
directing it toward its de-
velopment, and in this is a
parallel between
phylogeny, the develop-
ment of the species, and on-
togeny, the development of
the individual.
"These assumptions
have an indubitable reli-
gious significance, and in
this connection mention
should be made of the
words of Rabbi Kook:
The theory of evolution,
which is at present in-
creasingly conquering
the world, is more in
harmony with the mys-
teries of Kabala than all
other philosophical
theories' (Orot ha-
Kodesh, ii, 558).
"On the other hand there
are many evolutionists who
are not prepared to include
in the scheme of creation
and evolution a nonrational
force and hold that these
`unknown' forces, responsi-
ble for the evolutionary
process, will be revealed
and defined as known chem-
ical or 'physical forces.
There are numerous
theories to explain the
mechanism of evolution,
but the doubts exceed the
certainties.
"When Rabbi Kook was
asked about the problem of
evolution, he summed it up
as follows: 'Nothing in the
Torah is contradicted by
any knowledge in the world
that emerges from research.
But we must not accept
hypotheses as certainties,
even if there is a wide
agreement about them'
(Iggerot ha-Re'iyyah, no.
91)."
One of the most concise
definitions of the subject of
Creation, relating it to
Evolution, is the explanat-
ory comment by Rabbi
Philip (Pinhas) Birnbaum
in "The Book of Jewish Con-
cepts." Dr. Birnbaum states
that "the term creation is
primarily used for the orig-
inal formation of the uni-
verse by God, as described
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*
RABBI KOOK
"If someone were to bring
us a fair copy of script that
could only have been writ-
ten with a pen, and were to
tell us that ink had been
spilled on paper and these
carefully written characters
had come of themselves, we
would charge him to his face
with falsehood. How, then,
can one assert that some-
thing far finer in its art
could have come about
without the purpose, power
and wisdom of a wise and
mighty designer?"
"The cosmogony account
in the Torah has been an es-
sential part of the Jewish
faith, which insists that the
world and all it contains is -
not the product of chance
but the handiwork of God,
transcendant and almighty,
who observes all events and
„nothing escapes him.
Judaism has always em-
phasized that Creation is
not spontaneous nor the re-
sult of accident, but is the
work of the Author of every-
thing in accordance with
definite plans and laws.
"It has been pointed out
that the relationship be-
tween God and the world,
the belief that his providen-
tial activity preserves the
universe from collapsing, is
the foundation of the mean-
ingfulness of human history
and human life.
in Genesis 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3."
He then proceeds to offer his
definition:
The description of the
formation of man and his
surroundings (Genesis
2:4-25) is supplementary
and not contradictory.
Though the story of crea-
tion has been told in var-
ious parts of the world by
different writers and at
different times, the bibli-
cal account of the facts of
creation gives us the first
definite idea of One God
who controls human af-
fairs, maintaining a sym-
pathetic concern over the
thoughts of the deeds of
his children on earth.
"Each of the seven acts of
the creation drama covers a
period of one day, assumed
by some to be a geological
period of countless cen-
turies, so that there is no
real conflict between the bi-
blical account and the scien-
tific theories of the origina-
tion of the universe. Since,
however, such a view re-
sults in more difficulties
than it solves, there are
those who think that noth-
ing is gained by making a
desperate attempt to force
science into the Bible: It is
declared unreasonable to
expect the first two chapters
of the __Torah to contain all
the facts of astronomy, geol-
ogy and biology.
"We are told that science
is limited to study and ob-
servation; it may form
hypotheses and theories,
but it cannot give a definite
answer to the question how
the universe was origi-
nated. It may discover the
laws of nature, but it cannot
establish new laws of na-
ture or create life.
a
scientist,
"One
biochemist writes: 'What is
a cell? For many years it
was thought to be a bag of
jelly-like substance . . .
Today we know it as a beau-
tifully structured thing,
made up of various bodies,
of canals and vesicles, of
small particles and
amorphous material, all ar-
ranged and organized as if
there were a definite reason
for their existence and their
placement.'
"Rabbi Bahya ibn
Pakuda, in his famous
work 'Duties of the
Heart': 'How can one say
that the universe came
into existence without a
wise, purposeful and
mighty designer? If ink
were poured out acciden-
tally on a blank sheet of
paper, legible writing
could hardly result.
"Contrary to the notion
that human life is mean-
ingless, because it is
shaped by blind forces,
and that man is a puny
and helpless creature be-
cause he is dependent
entirely upon a physical
organism, Judaism af-
firms the creative and
(Continued on Page 7)
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