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Adam harishon and scientific discrepancies

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Rabbi Ari Shvat

Tevet 1, 5775
Question
Our tradition is that Adam harishon was created on Har habayit. Please reconcile with Hom sapiens. Science has found that we all come from one Grandfather who lived in Africa 70k years ago Was Adam Harishon slighty different from existing homo sapiens?
Answer
We don’t know the details of creation for the Torah is not a history book. Nevertheless, we do have an oral tradition (Midrash Rabba and Zohar Vayikra) that God created and destroyed several worlds, including various types of “people” before the world in which we live, That’s how Rav Kook (Igrot, 91) explains various questions regarding ancient fossils, and possible scientific differences or discrepancies, similar to the one you refer to.
את המידע הדפסתי באמצעות אתר yeshiva.org.il