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Genesis opens with a very unscientific description of the Creation of the world, and yet Jews believe that the words of the Torah are eternal and relevant for every generation. So what happens when they seem to clash with the laws of science?
Introduction
Can Evolution and Creation both be correct? Why doesn't the Torah mention dinosaurs? How ape-like is Humankind? How old is the universe? These are some of the common questions asked in this area and the various answers reflect different ways of approaching the questions.
In this chapter we first explain why there is a burning need to understand this complex subject, then we deal with the problematic way that people commonly look at Science and at Torah, and finally we describe four different approaches to handling the origins of the universe, as explained by the Sages and the Scientists.
What is Torah? What is Science?
In this chapter, we refer to the Torah to mean the origin and purpose of the world as described in the Bible; God created the Earth as well as all its inhabitants, and humans are given a central role in its preservation. We use the term Science to refer to the accepted body of knowledge that people have deduced over time to understand the origin and nature of the world around us. Experiments and discoveries coupled with logical reasoning are the tools of Science.
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