Universe Has a Purpose

“In the beginning God created heaven and earth.” (Genesis 1:1)

As mentioned previously, in Moreh Nevuchim II:13 the Rambam explains that one who believes in the Torah believes that Hashem brought the Universe into existence after the Universe had been purely and absolutely nonexistent.

In Moreh Nevuchim II:19, the Rambam explains that, according to Aristotle, the Universe is eternal and proceeds from the Creator in a cause and effect manner. Thus the Universe exists solely by necessity and not by purpose. Since exists out of necessity can have no purpose, and according to Aristotle, the Universe can have no purpose.

In contrast to Aristotle’s belief in an eternal Universe, the Torah viewpoint is that the Universe does not exist out of necessity, but was created in the finite past by Hashem for a purpose. As mentioned earlier in a reference from Chovot HaLevavot, Shaar HaYichud, Chapter Six, the great wisdom, complexity and order of the Universe demonstrates that it must be the result of an
Intelligence that created the Universe with intention. We thus cannot entertain the notion that the Universe came into existence from any random, natural forces.

Likewise, the Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim also explained how the existence of plan and purpose within the natural order of the Universe demonstrates the existence of a beginning to the Universe that did not occur within nature.

Modern theories espoused by atheist “scientism”, such as Neo-Darwinism and Multiverse theories, clearly have a goal to provide purely natural, material explanations for the origins of the Universe and the origins of the natural order. These materialist explanations also attempt to explain the origins of biological creatures and Man. However, it has become clear to intellectually honest people that “scientism” in no way can explain Man’s existence in this world.

We have seen clearly that Multiverse is purely unproven speculation that atheist scientists developed in desperation when massive scientific evidence developed that the Universe had a beginning. In a similar way, Neo-Darwinism cannot explain the origins of life on Earth and it cannot explain the origins of the many complex animal phyla that have appeared. Neo-Darwinism certainly cannot explain the existence of an advanced being such as Man who has the ability of intellectual apprehension, and the ability of speech.

As Man becomes more aware of his rather unique and unusual existence within the Universe, it is inevitable that Man will begin to recognize more clearly his unique role and purpose within the Universe.

Creation Ex Nihilo

“In the beginning God created heaven and earth.”
(Genesis 1:1)

In the Rambam’s Moreh Nevuchim II:13, the Rambam explains that “the opinion of all who believe in the Torah of Moshe Rabbeinu is that Hashem brought the Universe into existence after the Universe had been purely and absolutely nonexistent.”

As explained earlier, if the Universe was created from any existing material or existing “being”, great doubts would be created as to the validity of monotheism, or else doubts about Hashem’s control over the Universe.

The Rambam also explains in Moreh Nevuchim II:19 that Aristotle’s opinion on the creation of the Universe in a cause and effect manner means that the Universe exists solely by necessity and not by purpose. What exists out of necessity can have no purpose, and thus according to Aristotle, the Universe can have no purpose.

In contrast to Aristotle, the Torah viewpoint is that the Universe does not exist out of necessity, but was created in the finite past by Hashem for a purpose.

There appear to be serious conflicts (about fundamental issues) between what the Rishonim (medieval rabbinic authorities) taught and what the later Kabbalists taught.

A few years ago I had a long, interesting discussion with a senior Chareidi rabbi in Lakewood about apparent inconsistencies between certain popularly accepted Kabbalistic concepts and the opinions of earlier rabbinic authorities. This rabbi requested that I not mention his name publicly for various reasons.

One such apparent inconsistency involves the concept of beriyah yesh mi-ayin (creation ex-nihilo). The concept that Hashem created the Universe ex-nihilo seems to be widely accepted by various rabbinic sources such as the Rambam, the Chovot HaLevavot, the Ramchal’s Daat Tevunot, and other sources.

The Lakewood rabbi explained to me that the Kabbalists are really teaching that Hashem created the Universe from “part” of Himself, a process that cannot be considered beriyah yesh mi-ayin as the Rambam and many other great rabbis had taught.

Since Chabad’s Sefer Tanya is a popular explanation of Kabbalistic principles, I decided to consult it as to the issue of beriyah yesh mi-ayin. In several places in the Shaar HaYichud section of the Tanya, the Tanya does state that the heaven and earth were created yesh mi-ayin. However, the Tanya also explains that as a result of the contraction process the Kabbalists refer to as “tzimtzum”, a concealed chiyus (life force) from Hashem enables the continued existence of the Universe.

The Lakewood rabbi I spoke with seems to have a valid point on this problematic issue of beriyah yesh mi-ayin. The concept of beriyah yesh mi-ayin taught by Tanya would seem to be a Universe that Hashem created from “part” of Himself, but it is not a Universe that had been absolutely non-existent before its creation as taught by the Rambam.

The implications of Tanya’s concepts may be quite serious. At least some Chabad Chassidim I have spoken to consider the Universe to be an “illusion” as they believe the only thing that exists is Hashem. It is rather questionable as to whether certain radical Kabbalistic concepts can be considered consistent with many non-Kabbalistic rabbinic concepts.

From the viewpoint of Jewish tradition, the Bible was delivered from God to the Jewish prophets and was intended as a book of ethics and law, not as a scientific treatise. The Bible is teaching that the Universe has a purpose, and Man has role and purpose within the Universe. However, science cannot provide any ethics or meaning or purpose to the Universe. The Bible picks up where science leaves off.

The “work of creation” was described obscurely in the first few chapters in Genesis. Those chapters were not read literally by the ancient rabbis. The “work of creation” was considered a great secret. In fact the rabbis prohibited the public teaching of the secrets of the “work of creation”. Therefore, a literal reading of the Bible will not reveal the secrets of the “work of creation”. The medieval rabbis did teach that space and time were created from nothing in the finite past, and the Universe is not eternal. But the creation ex-nihilo process cannot be understood by man.

Recognizing the Limits of Science

The claims of the atheist science establishment that somehow the Universe created itself, are fundamentally in conflict with honest science. There is a necessary demarcation between Biblical theology and science that Torah observant Jews must recognize.

Ancient rabbis rejected the erroneous “scientific” speculations of Aristotle that had no real basis in any observations, such as the very erroneous claim that our Universe is a static Universe that existed eternally. We now know from many reliable scientific observations that this Universe could not have existed eternally.

Hundreds of years ago some of the greatest rabbis wrote descriptions of the creation process that seem to be generally quite consistent with some of the details described by the modern Bing Bang Theory.

The important point to remember is the Bible is not intended as a scientific treatise, it was intended as an ethical guide for man.
However, the basic facts the Bible describes are quite consistent with advanced modern science.

For example –

1. Universe had a beginning (was created according to the rabbis) in the finite past.
2. All matter was created ex-nihilo at the beginning of the Universe, and was formed into the components of the Universe.
3. The days mentioned in Genesis do not correspond to our days as earth’s sun was not created until the fourth day. The Bible states explicitly that the “days” were the separation of light and darkness by God, (not the revolution of the Earth).
4. There have been multiple creations and destruction of life on Earth during multiple eras of time. The Bible is only describing in detail the present era.
5. Scientific laws, as we now understand them, did not exist during the initial Creation process, but only after the Creation process was completed.
6. The Creation process cannot be explained in scientific terms that are intelligible to man. Scientific laws we now know did not exist during that process.
7. There occurred a metaphysical increase in complexity in life on Earth, starting with the earliest animals (marine invertebrate) until the creation of man, the most complex living creature.

The Creation process is non-repeatable and non-observable by man. There must be a necessary demarcation between science and Biblical theology which do not conflict with each other.

Science must recognize its limits and recognize that Biblical theology is not in conflict with authentic science. Rather Biblical theology picks up where science must end.