What do Jews believe about the creation of the world?

Answer 1

Traditional Jewish teaching points out that the Torah tells us WHAT God did, not how He did it. Therefore, although religious Jews believe that God created the world, many do not find any conflict between this and the theory of evolution. Nor is there a conflict with the big bang theory.

Answer 2

Jewish tradition holds that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. The creation of the world is described in Genesis ch.1.
However, the fact is that Jews today have different beliefs about the creation of the world.

Answer The Torah tells us that God created the world, but not how He did it. Many Jews, including some who are religiously observant, see no conflict between the Big Bang Theory and the story of creation.

Answer 3

Jews believe that HaShem created the world. However, the story of creation in the Tanach (Jewish Bible) only tells us whatHaShem did, not how He did it. The majority of Jews, including Orthodox Jews, see no conflict between the story of creation and the Big Bang Theory and theory of evolution.

Answer 4

Traditional, religious Jews will go according to The Bible, the first passages of Genesis - "In the beginning"

But of course, there are many different ways to practice Judaism. Some traditional Jews who follow Mystical teachings (what is known as the Kabalah) may look at hints in the numerology or layout of the text.

Modern Jews of Conservative, Reform, Reconstruction, and other paths may look at the stories of Gensis in the same way that modern Christians or Moslems do - as allegorical.

Answer

Traditional Jewish teaching points out that the Torah tells us WHAT HaShem did, not how He did it. Therefore, although religious Jews believe that HaShem created the world, most do not find any conflict between this and the theory of evolution.

Answer 5

The Torah (Genesis ch.1) says that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th. Some Jews read this literally, others do not. Some believe the days were 24 hours, but many are unsure. A day on earth is a different time than a day on Jupiter. What is a day for a being that lives forever and lives everywhere?

AnswerThe story of creation, as interpreted by Jews, doesn't explain how the world was created. Instead, it tells us what HaShem (The Creator) created. The majority of Jews, religious and otherwise, see no conflict with the creation story and the Big Bang Theory.

It's also important to know that the term 'yom', which is translated as day, has an alternate meaning. The meaning of 'yom', as found in the creation story, may refer to a long period of time, not a literal 24 hour day.

Answer:Torah-Judaism (Hassidim and the Yeshiva communities) holds that the world was created as stated in Genesis, some 5800 years ago.

Answer 6

Judaism teaches that HaShem (The Creator) created the world. However, they believe that the story of creation as found in the Tanach (Jewish Bible) simply tells what HaShem did, not how he did it. The majority of Jews, including Orthodox Jews, see no conflict between the story of creation and the Big Bang Theory and theory of evolution.

Answer 7

The Torah (Genesis ch.1) informs us that God created the universe including living things and without the need for eons of time. See also the Related Links.

Link: Is there evidence against Evolution

Link: Can you show that God exists

Link: Discovering Creation

Answer 8

A Jewish summary of the Creation-narrative is that, day by day, God created the universe and everything in it (Genesis ch.1).On day 1: God created the universe in general, light, and this Earth. The light was not the same as that of the sun.

On day 2: God created the separation between the Earth and the upper atmosphere.

On day 3: God separated the continents from the oceans, and created plants.

On day 4: God created the sun, moon, and stars.

On day 5: God created birds and fish.

On day 6: God created animals and people.

On day 7: God ceased creating, thereby creating the concept of rest.

See also the Related Links.

Link: Is there evidence against Evolution

Link: Can you show that God exists

Link: God's wisdom seen in His creations

Link: More about God's wisdom

Answer 9

A Jewish summary of the Creation-narrative is that, day by day, God created the universe and everything in it (Genesis ch.1).God created the universe out of nothing (Exodus 20:11, Isaiah 40:28; Rashi commentary to Genesis 1:14; Maimonides' "Guide," 2:30). Nachmanides on Gen. 1:1 states emphatically that this is a fundamental Jewish tradition.Note that the Torah, in describing the Creation, deliberately employs brevity and ellipsis, just as it does in many other topics. See the Talmud, Hagigah 11b.

• On day 1: God created the universe in general, light, and this Earth. The light was not the same as that of the sun. Rather, it was light that God created before the sun, and which emanated from a point in space without any physical source; like what we might term a "white hole."
  
• On day 2: God created the separation between the Earth and the upper atmosphere.
  
• On day 3: God separated the continents from the oceans, and created plants.
  
• On day 4: God created the sun, moon, and stars.
  
• On day 5: God created birds and fish.
  
• On day 6: God created animals and people.
  
• On day 7: God ceased creating, thereby creating the concept of rest.
  

See also:

Is there evidence against Evolution?

Can you show that God exists?

Seeing God's wisdom

Answer 10

This is a difference between Liberal Jews and Orthodox/Torah Jews. Orthodox Jews generally see the Genesis Account of Creation, as summarized by Expert Dan Galilee, as an actual historical set of events that explain how the universe was created. Liberal Jews generally see the Genesis Account of Creation either as a metaphor for the current science that points the Big Bang or completely incorrect and simply an outdated understanding of the cosmos.