Science and Judaism
Question
I’m a teenager and I’m thinking about converting next year when I go to college; I read parts of the Torah and I truly believe it, however I was wondering how modern scientific concepts fit into Judaism. Do science and the Torah work together, is science incorrect, are some parts of the Torah outdated and need to be updated in the modern world (I think not)? These are my main questions, and if I could get clarification on these topics it would mean the world to me. I’m not trying to question anything in a disrespectful way (though I’ve heard that in Judaism it’s more acceptable to question, unlike Christianity how I grew up where you follow blindly)
This is what I’m wondering:
Why are there other planets?
How do you explain modern evolution theories? Are they incorrect or can they fit with the scriptures?
If it’s the year 5785, how is the Earth so old?
Thank you so much!!
Answers
There is no real disparity between the Torah and modern science. The only reason why it seems that there is is because modern science follows an atheistic approach. However, nearly every scientific discovery can be understood through the prism of Torah without it being contrived. For example, the creation of the world. Modern science accepts the fact that the world came into being. They may have different ways of explaining it but there is no contradiction between what science calls the “Big Bang Theory” and the Torah’s description of the world coming into being.
Even the age of the universe is not as improbable as it may sound to the uninitiated. The resolution of the apparent contradiction between the “scientific” age of the universe and the Jewish date of 578% years since Creation has two standard approaches:
The scientific estimate is true, and the text of Genesis can be reconciled: For example, saying that the six “days” are not really days, but rather six “time periods.” The Jewish date is true, and the scientific estimate must be explained (away).
Several satisfactory explanations following the first approach can be found in the book Challenge and I recommend that you look there. Since you asked about the second approach, I will address it. It’s definitely possible for G-d to create a world that looks older than it is. Adam was created as an adult. Observing him a few minutes after he was created, you would assume him to be at least twenty years old. The Garden of Eden had full-grown trees laden with fruit. According to the Torah text, these trees were no more than three days old.
Let’s take this idea a step further: A star 10 million light-years from the earth could have been created with its light already reaching the earth. The star would appear 10 million years old, even though it was just created.
Now you’re probably thinking, “But why would G-d do that? Why create bones, artifacts, partially decayed radium, potassium-argon, uranium, red-shifted light from space, etc. – all pointing to an age which is not true?”
Strictly speaking, this isn’t a problem. Not knowing why G-d did something doesn’t prove that He didn’t do it. But I’ll try to answer this anyway:
The purpose of this world is to hide G-d’s presence. This allows us to exercise free will. In fact, the Hebrew word for “world” – olam – means “hiding.” Evidence which “hides” the age of the universe could be part of G-d’s general “policy” of hiding.
Now you might say “According to this we can never rely on our observations. Doesn’t this approach negate all scientific findings?” No. This approach merely questions evidence that contradicts other reliable evidence.
Let me give you an analogy: Suppose George is accused of murder. We find his fingerprints at the scene of the crime, the murder weapon on his premises, and he has a motive. The defense argues that George was framed. Will anyone take that seriously? But suppose that reliable witnesses testify that they saw George 100 miles from the scene at the time of the murder. Suddenly it becomes appropriate to take the “frame-up” defense seriously.
Here too, scientific observations have to be understood in light of the other available evidence – i.e., the Torah. The Jewish People were eyewitness at Sinai who observed the giving of the Torah (hence the term “observant Jews?”). For us the Torah’s account of events is first-hand testimony. Therefore, the idea that scientific observations might be misleading should be taken seriously.
Sources:
Challenge, Carmell and Domb, 1978, Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, pp. 124-41, 164-75. ibid., pp.142-49.
I highly recommend a book by Dr. Gerald Schroeder, called Genesis and the Big Bang. It should be available at any reasonably good bookstore (i.e. not necessarily at a Jewish bookstore). Dr. Schroeder is a highly qualified scientist and an Orthodox Jew. He synthesizes the Biblical and Talmudic tradition with modern science. Another book that I suggest is The Seven Days of Creation by Dr. Natan Aviezer.
Possibly the only real contentious issue is the emergence of human beings. I always like to cite Dr. George Wald, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist, who wrote: “There are only two possibilities as to how life arose. One is spontaneous generation arising to evolution; the other is a supernatural creative act of God. There is no third possibility…a supernatural creative act of God I will not accept that philosophically because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, a spontaneous generation arising to evolution!”
Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team