Actually both, the Torah (Bible), and the theory of evolution are both true.
According to the Kabbalah and the teachings of Chassidut the theory of Evolution (Earth's age is Billions of years) and Bible / World was created 6000 years ago are true.
G-d created the world 6000 years ago (actually 5,753 years to be exact, see a Hebrew Calendar) and made it appear as if it existed 16+billion years ago.
Simple explanation: Creation is such a supernatural phenomenon, to create something from nothing (as opposed to humans who can only create something from something, like create a table from wood, a fire from existing brimstone, a computer from existing metal and silicon parts, etc)- it is not beyond the creator to create something with a past, to create the world 5,753 years ago and make it appear to (or really) have existed 16+billion years ago. So when G-d created the world 5,753 years ago, G-d created the world, and science, to (appear to have) existed billions of years ago.
Further explanation: Lets suppose today is the first week of creation. You are Adam, the first man, and you look around at the beautiful world. You walk to a nearby field and pick up a rock, and examine it. You ask yourself "Has this rock existed for only 6 days?" According to the Bible, the world was created only 6 days ago, so yes, it only existed for 6 days. But then ask the rock, how long have you existed? And the rock would conteplate for a moment, and then say "well, i've been here today, i've been here yesterday, and the day before, and the week before, and last year" ad infinitum.
And the truth is, the rock is right, as well as Adam is right. According to Adam (and the Torah [= bible]), the world was created 6 days before. According to the rock's best knowledge, he was always here, at least thats what the rock feels. Because there is no _Scientific_ reason why the rock would not have existed billions of years before.
That is because G-d, with creation, created everything including the laws of science, and according to science, there is no reason why that rock would not have existed the day before, and the day before that too ad infinitum.
However, one must always realize and remember that science is also a creation from G-d, and when the Torah states (and is often repeated in Kabballah:) "God looked in the Torah and created the World, one must remember that Torah is the reality, and science is only as real as the Torah has set forth for it.
You can and should rightfully believe that the world existed 16+billion years ago, because in a way it is true, G-d made it so that one would draw a scientific conclusion that the world existed 16+billion years ago.
But when speaking of such a wonderous thing such as creation, the act of creating something from nothing, one cannot suppose that with our limited intelligence we can grasp the concept of creation from nothing and decide that it must have been 16+billion years ago in order to appear to actually have been created billions of years ago.
According to Judaism, Torah dictates reality. But the Torah states that according to non-jews, science dictates their reality, therefore it is not wrong for non-jews to believe that the world began to exist 16+billion years.
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Actually both, the Torah (Bible), and the theory of evolution are both true.
According to the Kabbalah and the teachings of Chassidut
the theory of Evolution (Earth's age is Billions of years)
and
Bible / World was created 6000 years ago
are true.
G-d created the world 6000 years ago (actually 5,753 years to be exact, see a Hebrew Calendar) and made it appear as if it existed 16+billion years ago.
Simple explanation: Creation is such a supernatural phenomenon, to create something from nothing (as opposed to humans who can only create something from something, like create a table from wood, a fire from existing brimstone, a computer from existing metal and silicon parts, etc)- it is not beyond the creator to create something with a past, to create the world 5,753 years ago and make it appear to (or really) have existed 16+billion years ago. So when G-d created the world 5,753 years ago, G-d created the world, and science, to (appear to have) existed billions of years ago.
Further explanation: Lets suppose today is the first week of creation. You are Adam, the first man, and you look around at the beautiful world. You walk to a nearby field and pick up a rock, and examine it.
You ask yourself "Has this rock existed for only 6 days?"
According to the Bible, the world was created only 6 days ago, so yes, it only existed for 6 days.
But then ask the rock, how long have you existed?
And the rock would conteplate for a moment, and then say "well, i've been here today, i've been here yesterday, and the day before, and the week before, and last year" ad infinitum.
And the truth is, the rock is right, as well as Adam is right.
According to Adam (and the Torah [= bible]), the world was created 6 days before.
According to the rock's best knowledge, he was always here, at least thats what the rock feels.
Because there is no _Scientific_ reason why the rock would not have existed billions of years before.
That is because G-d, with creation, created everything including the laws of science, and according to science, there is no reason why that rock would not have existed the day before, and the day before that too ad infinitum.
However, one must always realize and remember that science is also a creation from G-d, and when the Torah states (and is often repeated in Kabballah:) "God looked in the Torah and created the World, one must remember that Torah is the reality, and science is only as real as the Torah has set forth for it.
You can and should rightfully believe that the world existed 16+billion years ago, because in a way it is true, G-d made it so that one would draw a scientific conclusion that the world existed 16+billion years ago.
But when speaking of such a wonderous thing such as creation, the act of creating something from nothing, one cannot suppose that with our limited intelligence we can grasp the concept of creation from nothing and decide that it must have been 16+billion years ago in order to appear to actually have been created billions of years ago.
According to Judaism, Torah dictates reality.
But the Torah states that according to non-jews, science dictates their reality, therefore it is not wrong for non-jews to believe that the world began to exist 16+billion years.
-Ari Feinstein