The Israel Education Ministry recently announced that Evolution will be taught to 7th through 9thgrade pupils throughout the State education system, including National Religious Schools. What is the Torah's attitude regarding Evolution?

The Rambam in the Guide to the Perplexed explains that the Six Days of Creation represent a conceptual rather than an historical account of Creation. There are remarkable similarities between the account of the Creation as given in Bereshit and the theory of Evolution. First, the Torah states that light was created, then the firmament, followed by the sea, land and vegetation. The creation of the heavenly bodies was followed by fish and birds, and only then by land animals. Finally, as the culmination of G-d's work was the human being created. Indeed, the Torah's description of the Creation in a natural progression points to its Divine origin, because no mortal at the time of Moshe could have known that modern geologists also agree that plants and water based animals were the first to be created.

The Ramban on Bereshit 2:7 writes that according to Kabbalah, there was the Divinely guided Evolution of life from inert matter to Adam. The Ramban also says that the Six "Days" of Creation in the Biblical account were six periods or stages of Creation. He mentions the Midrash which states that days in the Creation account are "the day of the Holy One Blessed be He", which according to Psalm 90:4, " a thousand [or a million] years in Your [G-d's] Eyes are as one day passed."

In any case, the length of the first three days of Creation before the placement of the sun must have been different in length from our measurement of time, which is based on the sun.

Once the principle of Divine Creation is accepted, Judaism allows much latitude in belief as to how the Creation took place. Rav Kook in his book, Orot Hakodesh, writes that there is no Torah objection to the acceptance of Evolution, provided it is agreed that each stage in the Evolutionary process was brought about by G-d. Rav Kook explains that just as the nation of Israel evolved spiritually from 49 levels of impurity to 49 levels of purity, so too did G-d use Evolution in the physical process of Creation. This is because our physical world is a parallel reflection and manifestation of the spiritual world. Thus, whatever is true in the spiritual world is also true in the physical world.

Rav Ovadiah S'forno states that the creation of Adam was the end of a long process that began with an animal that gradually evolved until this creature was given the

G-dly soul and received the image of G-d. Rav Yehudah Halevi, in his philosophical work, the Kuzari, explains that G-d designed Evolution to bring forth the highest essence of the human being. In his opinion, the Evolution of man can be observed in the Yom Kippur prayer, UVECHEIN TEIN PACHD'CHA, (And you G-d place Your Awe) which mentions first "KOL MAASECHA" (all of Your handiwork), then L'AMCHA (to Your nation), and finally TZADIKIM (the righteous), who represent the purest and most exalted essence of humanity.

The traditional Jewish method of reckoning years from the Creation of the World appears at first sight to be a difficulty. No scientist would accept that the world was created only 5774 years ago. However, if the Hebrew date is reckoned from the end of the Creation process of the 6th day, when fully developed man was created, the difficulty disappears. Science agrees that fully intelligent and developed man as we know him is not older than 6,000 years.


Thus, there is no conflict between science and Torah. Science reveals a world full of G-d's wisdom, splendor, beauty and greatness. The more our scientific knowledge increases, the more we will be able to appreciate and marvel at the wonders of G-d's Creation. Therefore, the Rambam states, "that to be truly in love with the One Above, one must possess a profound and deep knowledge of science and nature".