- Torah and Jewish Thought
- Basics of Jewish Faith
age of universe and dinosaurs
Question
how can you explain fossils and how can you reconcile the age of the universeaccording to science and the torah view that earth is 5781 years old?
Answer
5,781 is the number of years we have consecutively counted since the creation of Adam (you can compute for yourself from the book of Genesis, but I can save you time- it computes properly!). Our rabbis teach us in the Midrash and Zohar (oral tradition, which was written down about 1,800 years ago), that G-d created previous worlds and destroyed them, and created different types of man, before the world and man as we know them. That explains why there are fossils dated millions or even billions of years old, while the world as we know it, began counting only 5,781 years ago with Adam. Maimonides (about 800 years ago) details the unbroken chain of Jewish tradition (teacher-student-student-student...) in his introduction to the Mishne Torah, and the Vilna Gaon traces his learning tradition in detail back to Maimonides.
Accordingly, I personally am the 131st generation (the Vilna Gaon- 1797/5557, had a student R. Chaim of Volozhin who taught R. Yitzchak of Volozhin, who taught the Beit Halevy Soloveichik, who taught the Netziv, who taught Rav Av. Y. Kook, who taught R. Zvi Yehuda Kook who taught my teachers) of rabbis since Sinai, which was the 26th generation of the world, so my cute grandchildren are the 159th generation of mankind.
Thank God for the nation of Israel who has this unbroken chain for anyone who is curious to know about what was and what will be (the history and the prophecies of the Bible).
With Love of Israel!
Rabbi Ari Shvat

Free Will or Does God run the world?
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Av 22, 5780

Faith, Belief and Trust in Judaism
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Sivan 4, 5779

How was there light before the sun was created?
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Tishrei 30, 5782

contradictions
Rabbi David Sperling | Tevet 1, 5782

Rabbi Ari Shvat
Lectures at various yeshivot, michlalot and midrashot. Has published many books & Torani articles and is in charge of Rav Kook’s archives.

Fasting or giving Tzedaka on seeing Sefer Torah fallen
Shevat 7, 5771

Kri u'ktiv
Adar II 25, 5771

A Day is a thousand years
Adar I 23, 5771

Bircat baalat habayit
Shevat 7, 5771

non-Jewish cooking
Rabbi David Sperling | Iyyar 27, 5773

Drinking on Simchas Torah
Rabbi Elchanan Lewis | 21 Tishrei 5766

No sukkah at home
Rabbi David Sperling | Tishrei 7, 5775

Keeping 1 or 2 days Yom Tov in Israel
Rabbi Jonathan Blass | 23 Nisan 5766
