Adam and Eve

God and evolution it’s a big debate these days in America and all over the world. If god created the world then how do we explain evolution? I’ve heard a lot on the topic during my time at an orthodox yeshiva and I got an email from a wonderful cousin of mine posing this question: See if you can find out if any of your Rabbi's have an opinion on how God created the world versus evolution??? How do they explain evolution if Adam and Eve were created by god?? Before I start with my own take on the subject which is my opinion based on the arguments I’ve heard along with my own research and questioning I’ve going to mention that there is a wonderful book written about this topic called Genesis and the Big Bang, by Dr. Gerald Schroeder he’s written many books trying to reconcile a rational faith in god without throwing out science. He’s also a regular speaker at Aish HaTorah and I think can provide valuable insight on the topic. So now that that is out of the way lets get down to business. Before the now prevailing theory of the origins of the universe came into being, namely the big bang theory scientists thought that our universe was static, that it had always existed. Now we know better, we understand that the universe isn’t static that it in fact had a definitive beginning, that at some point it started. That’s incredibly interesting especially given that the Torah begins with (source www.chabbad.com):

1. In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and the earth.
2. Now the earth was astonishingly empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water.
3. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

This is an interesting way to start the book isn’t it? Especially given that god doesn’t create the stars and the planets until the fourth day.

14. And God said, "Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens, to separate between the day and between the night, and they shall be for signs and for appointed seasons and for days and years. 15. And they shall be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to shed light upon the earth." And it was so. 16. And God made the two great luminaries: the great luminary to rule the day and the lesser luminary to rule the night, and the stars. 17. And God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to shed light upon the earth. 18. And to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate between the light and between the darkness and God saw that it was good. 19. And it was evening, and it was morning, a fourth day.

If god didn’t create the stars and the planets until the fourth day then how do we explain light on the first day? I think its metaphorical when god said let there be light, light actually means energy, which isn’t far fetched at all after all we know that everything that exists in the entirety of creation is nothing but particles of light energy that have slowed down and condensed. So I think given this example we can begin to understand that the biblical account of creation isn’t at all far fetched. So how does evolution come into play here? And how do we account for it? When we examine the text we can begin to see that the Torah gives a step by step account of creation first light, then the heavens and the solid matter, then the waters came upon the lands, then vegetation spread out over the earth, next up is the creatures in the waters, then land animals appear, and the beasts of the earth until finally man is created. Not an altogether bad description of the evolution of life in the universe I think you’d agree. As for Adam and Eve there are lots of opinions about this and I’m not going to try to deny that there are some people who would try to deny evolution. I believe there is no issue with the idea of a biological evolution guided by god we can look at how evolution works, i.e. natural selection, environmental pressures, mutation of genes, etc; as long as we understand that Adam and Eve were the first two true human beings in the spiritual sense, created in the image of god.

7. And the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and He breathed into his nostrils the soul of life, and man became a living soul.

This is my best understanding of this concept to date, like I said previously there are many far more qualified people to discuss the topic then I. However I hope I did my best to explain a rational, coherent view of this topic. And while there are some religious people who would disagree with this method of viewing the text, I find no contradiction in believing that evolution is real and that god is real. I think unfortunately too many people confuse the two topics. When we’re looking for god in evolution I think we need to understand that were asking two different questions. Evolution is a problem that means it has a solution we can work on it and come up with theories and test hypothesis and find answers. God is a mystery for which we’ll never truly have a definitive answer, I know that my life has become infinitely more enriched since I allowed god into my life. But I don’t expect to ever have a definitive answer of whether or not god exists. I can rationalize and give theories and proofs for why god must exist, but I know ultimately that people who don’t want to believe simply won’t open up their minds and hearts to the possibility, so be it. It is my opinion that one can reconcile both science and theology and find a comfortable space for the two in their lives. Please note any errors that we made are mine and mine alone and don’t take my answer as any kind of definitive proof. This is how I see the question and these are the answers I’ve accumulated that make sense to me. If there is anything I’ve been unclear about I’d love to get input and I’ll do my best to make it clearer. Shalom.