Questions tagged [creation]
Questions about the creation of the world.
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How did G-d bring creation into the world without changing? Did He not have to decide to create at some point? How did He bring creation without time?
So the question is something like this: If G-d, blessed be He, willed creation into being, then
a) He either underwent change (deciding to create) [Impossible]
b) He always knew that He was going to ...
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Birthday of the world
Why do we say היום הרת עולם on rosh hashana if the world was created five days before on the 25th of elul?
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Is adam the first person [duplicate]
Was adam really the first human created ?
I've heard that there were other humanoid or other humans created beside from adam outside of Gan eden.
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Rishonim & Chazal on Bereishit as allegory/metaphorical
I know the Rambam stays Maaseh Bereishit is largely allegory. I wanted to know if there are other Rishonim Geonim and/or Chazal sources that are similar or agreeing with the Rambam.
Sometimes people ...
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Do the sages give any sort of insight as to why humans and land animals were created AFTER birds and fish?
The genesis description of creation states that on the 5th day, G-d created all fish and sea creatures and filled the sky with all variety of birds that fly.
After this, G-d creates all the land ...
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Why were demons created at the end of Friday?
Why were demons created at the end of Friday? Seems to me that this time of creation is the most auspicious. Why create something negative then?
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Are quarks and atoms an observable physical manifestation of the Dvar Havaya that is keeping the universe in existence?
המחדש בטובו בכל יום תמיד מעשה בראשית
In His goodness, He renews the work of creation every day, continuously
As explained by the Baal Shem Tov and cited by the Baal Hatanya in Book 2, Ch. 1 of the ...
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Creation and its process
Do any Jewish texts talk about how the creation of the Universe came about?
Did it all come out of nothing in a fraction of a second?
or
Was all matter condensed to one small point and then ...
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Evolution of Humans in Torah
Is there anywhere in the Torah that mentions in detail any other types of humans (Neanderthals, homo erectus, etc..) and how they evolved, or any interactions?
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Why wasn't the Torah given earlier?
The world existed for over 2000 years before the Torah was given en masse. If the Torah and our fulfilling of it, is the point of creation, why was it given after so long?
If people could please ...
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Talmudic legend about the souls refusing to enter Adam's and Hava's bodies?
Ted Hughes, in the Crow collection, has a poem named A Childish Prank (full text), which is a grotesque narration of Adam's and Hava's creation.
In March 1976, at the Adelaide Festival Writers’ Week, ...
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Why in Beresheit 2:2 (and Kidush) we switch between מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ and מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ?
I've always had this question regarding the pasuk in Beresheit 2:2 which which we also say at kidush which says,
"וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה ...
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History of Creation Ex Nihilo
Is it known whether creation from nothing has always been the mainstream jewish belief (as far back as is possible to tell)? Were there notable groups within Judaism that, instead of going with the ex ...
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What’s the purpose of the celestial bodies?
The purpose of that which is beyond the Earth’s atmosphere is what I would like to be expounded. I’m familiar with Genesis chapter 1, (please hold your applause), and the reasons given there. But more ...
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Hashem and the Platonic World
2 + 2 = 4, right? If I have 2 things, and you have 2 things, we have 4 things between us. This is a logical reality that is inescapable. If we want a coherent, consistent set of rules for counting, ...
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Jewish sources that speak about general revelation
Are there any Jewish sources that speak about general revelation? General revelation means that God is revealed from nature or creation.
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How did the Sefir Yetzirah arrive at its conclusions, etc.?
I am new to Judaism (having studied a little bit of many world religions), and am very curious about the esoteric teachings, and the origin/structure/creation of the world from different perspectives.
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Is Psalm 74:13 prophetic of the future or a reference to the past? Was that part of the process of taming the chaotic abyss?
Is Psalm 74:13 prophetic of the future or a reference to the past? Was that part of the process of taming the chaotic abyss?:
Psalm 74:13You crumbled the sea with Your might; You shattered the heads ...
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How did the Avos know the Torah, who taught them?
Is there any source to what my Rabeiim taught me in yeshiva that the Avos knew the Torah by "reverse Engineering the Briyah" because Hashem looked into the Torah to create the world so the ...
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G-d formed man, why not right after creation?
The Torah tells us that on the sixth day of creation, G-d decided to create mankind (Bereishis 1:26-27):
And G-d said, Let Us make Mankind in Our image, after Our likeness
So G-d created Mankind in ...
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Where exactly does R' Saadia Gaon explain why a woman marrying two men is מתנגד לשכל?
ר' סעדיה גאון על בראשית ד׳:י״ח
"וכבר ביארנו קודם בפרשת מעשה אדם שהשכל מתנגד לנשואי אשה אחת לשני אנשים, אבל אינו מתנגד לנשואי שתי נשים לאיש אחד"
Can someone give me an exact location for the &...
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Coherent reading of beraishis creation
I’m trying to make sense of the creation story in beraishis but there are so many things left unclear or unsaid. What are some sources that lay it out clearly when each thing was created and what was ...
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What is hashgacha pratis
I always hear the term but I thought it meant hashgacha in everything that occurs. I did some research and found that hashgacha pratis refers to the animals and vegatation as opposed to just general ...
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Was Man Created Alone?
I am looking for a source which I (thought I) came across once regarding creation of man. From what I remember it said that man was actually created in multiple places. Or rather more than one man was ...
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Are there things we can do in linear time that G-d cannot? (By His design and His design only. There is no limitation of Him unless He would plan it)
In Chassidus there is a concept that G-d wanted a dwelling place in the lowest world, and humanity has a unique role of action in this world. However, we see in Torah that when G-d wants to intervene ...
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How many species of animals did God create in total?
In Rabbis' views, how many species of animals did God create in total?
How did those views evolve with time and scientific understanding?
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Why don't humans have the best version of organs?
Scientifically speaking, a better version of an organ could be found in many animals (besides the human brain, maybe). IIRC, octopuses have better eyes, birds have a more efficient cardiovascular ...
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Is God's creation a single event or a continuous process?
וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃
the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep ...
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ויהיה ערב ויהיה בוקר - what's the nature of those emergences?
"וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד׃"
"God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.
And there was evening ...
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Why did God plan to create both "בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ" but only created "בְּצֶלֶם"?
"וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ..."
"וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ...׃"
"And God said, “Let us make ...
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Created in the Divine Image
The Torah tells us that Adam was created in the divine image (Gen 1.26-27; 5; 9.6). If the divinity had a body, then we would suppose this means that Adam was created as the divinity's Doppelgänger, ...
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Why did the Chachamim change this Passuk?
The Gemara brings in the incident of a king gathering 72 sages to translate the Torah to Greek. They all came with the idea to change some Psukim. One of them was
זָכָ֥ר וּנְקֵבָ֖ה בְּרָאָ֑ם ...
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Why does plant life come after the earth, waters and the firmament, but before the planets?
This question only addresses the blueprint of the creation as described in the first chapter of Bereshit. It does not address the sequence of the actual creation, as described in Bereshit 2, or the ...
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Order of Creation: why the creation of man was grouped with animals and did not stand alone?
On the 6th day, God created both animals and humans, according to the main creation narrative (Gen 1). I would speculate that it would be more reasonable to dedicate each day to a specific niche: a ...
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Principal differences between animals created on the fifth and the sixth days
IIRC, the Jewish tradition divides between inanimated nature, plants, animal kingdom, and humans. I'm not aware of any principal differences within the animal kingdom. However, in the Creation ...
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Why did Hashem create two Leviathans and two Behemoths if He realised the need to prevent them from multiplying, Hashem doesn't make mistakes?
The Gemara in Bava Basra 74b famously speaks about both the לויתון (Leviathan) and the בְּהֵמוֹת (Behemoth), both of which were created with a female partner.
In both instances, the Gemara relates ...
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Explanation of Genesis 1:2 and the spirit of Gd hovering
In various translations ( chabad, and christians ) they translate it to spirit of Gd.
Since ruach can be a wind, or breath. Why is these terms specifically not used.
How can explain the difference to ...
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Why Shemot 20:11 (4th commandment) refers to Bereshit's history of six days earth creation and Devarim 5:15 doesn't refer to it?
Why Shemot 20:11 refers to Bereshit's history of six days earth creation and Devarim 5:15 doesn't refer to it?
In Shemot it refers to Bereshit's history of six days of creation,and in Devarim 5:15 it ...
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Hashem's design of world
Why did Hashem make for example the human body so complex? Example... 37.2 trillion cells in each person. With a million cells I'd be dumbfounded.. He didn't need to go to 37.2 trillion. Moreover, I ...
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Are angels made in the image of G-d?
In Genesis 1:26, we read: And G-d said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping ...
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How are humans that were formed "from dust" different from animals that were formed "from earth"?
"וַיִּיצֶר ה"א אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה" Genesis.2.7
"וַיִּצֶר ה"א מִן־הָאֲדָמָה כָּל־חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה..." ibid. 19
So according to Rashi and others, Adam was ...
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Why "God formed Adam dust" and not "from dust"?
"וַיִּיצֶר ה"א אֶת־הָאָדָם עָפָר מִן־הָאֲדָמָה" Genesis.2.7
Literally, the verse reads "God formed Adam dust from the earth", like if "dust" was an adjective. ...
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When was Hevel born?
I just got a copy of The Eternal Link by R. Pinchas Winston and it states (on page 33), "the birth of Cain and Abel actually occurred before the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, not afterwards&...
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Has anyone ever eaten from the Tree of Life?
Obviously, the Tree of Knowledge was eaten from by Adam and Chava, but is there any evidence or sources that discuss the Tree of Life?
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Why does the Torah not write about or mention the creation of the Angels/Melachim? When were they made?
It's something I've interested in for a while ;)
Thank you!
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Who named trees and plants?
Following questions about naming animals, in Genesis narrative, God creates Earth, it grows plants and trees, God creates animals, then man, man names animals.
Who named the plants, for example, the 7 ...
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Making sense of God's different actions of the creation
I'm trying to categorize different actions God takes in the process of creation as appears in Genesis.1:
Part of creation | Said? | Then | Then | Then
1. Heaven and Earth: | No ...
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Creation and God
What was the purpose of creation? Why did god have the WILL to create a universe? Why create timelines and stories and create a religion? Why not just sit back and party with your angels? Or better ...
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Why are the sun and moon not named during creation?
During the 6 days of creation, many things are made and named (sky, grass, seeds, water, land, stars) but the sun and moon are referred to only as the lights/luminaries (Ber 1:16)
וַיַּ֣עַשׂ ...
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Does anyone know of midrashim on the number of times the word "or" (light) appears during Creation?
I'm reading a work by a contemporary Jewish author who has some midrashic inspiration, however vague. I came across a passage that attempts to impute significance to the number of times "light&...
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