Sunday, December 4, 2011

HaRav Yaakov Kaminetsky zt"l and Apparent Age


It took me a little while to find this again, but I've found the source I read that R' Yaakov suggested apparent age as a possible resolution between science and Torah:

Fully Grown Creation

    I read with interest the first-page article by Gil Student. Permit me to comment on the issue of reconciling the Torah view with that of science regarding the age of the universe.

    My rosh yeshiva, Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky, zt"l, had a very plausible approach to resolving this problem. The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 11a) states, "all of creation was created with their height, with their mind and with their beauty." Tosefos adds that we see all creatures gradually developing their beauty, strength, mind, etc. At the time of Creation, however, all this happened immediately.

    In other words, the world was created fully developed. Adam was created as a fully-grown man, not as a baby who developed with time. This holds for all of creation.

    With Reb Yaakov's approach, there is no need to change the accepted meaning of the Six Days of Creation. The world was created in six days 5767 years ago, but with all the physical characteristics it has today.

Bezalel Fixler
(Via E-Mail)
(Letter to the Editor's, August 30, 2006, the Jewish Press)

Of course if anyone has anything more definitive that an e-mail to the Jewish Press I'd love to know.

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