“Evolution” is one of the most emotionally charged words in the Jewish community. When asked, some people will assert that “of course no believing Jew can believe in evolution!” On the other hand some people will say with equal vehemence that any Jew who denies the reality of evolution belongs in Afghanistan.
When I was asked to give three talks on the subject of “Torah and Evolution” I was reluctant to agree. I think that the word “evolution” is misunderstood and it is used to score polemical points and I disagree with both of the sides who discuss “evolution” with more emotion than informed opinion.
So in these three sessions I hope to explain “evolution” calmly and inoffensively.
What helped to plan these sessions is the memory of a great scholar who passed away this week. Rabbi Dr Moshe Tendler zt”l guided hundreds and perhaps thousands of students in Yeshiva University. Rabbi Dr Tendler both as a Rosh Yeshiva and as professor of Biology showed by personal example how the Torah and objective fact-based science can not only co-exist but, yes, enrich each other.