Our Online Library: High Holiday Sermons and Creative Liturgy

Rosh Hashanah 5766-2005

The Creation of Creation

by Rabbi Yael B. Ridberg

When I was in college, I found a postcard that I tacked up prominently on the bulletin board above my desk.  It was a crude drawing of space – stars, planets, and constellations appear on a black background.  In the middle is a thought bubble saying, “But who created me?!”

I got huge kick out of it – imagining “god” alone, pondering his or her navel, suddenly realizing that there was no one to answer the ultimate question, even if asked by the great cosmic presence, the unmoved mover.  Or at the very least, no answer blowing in the wind.

I have been thinking of that card a lot in these days of the ongoing debate of the place of religion in the public square, faith based initiatives, the “culture/ethic of life”, and intelligent design, I have been deeply concerned about what I see as a resurgent misappropriation of faith and religion, in the name of public interest.

And so I have been returning to the stories of creation in our Torah as a way to remind myself what I do believe about the origins of the universe, the power of myth, and what it means to believe in the evolving civilization that is planet earth.

In the book of Genesis, we are treated to three narratives of creation, Genesis 1 & 2 teach about a gradual experience of creation, six days leading to a day of acknowledgement and blessing that is Shabbat.  In the story of Noah and the flood, the world is in fact re-created after the destruction – with God saying, “Never again will I destroy the earth.”

These stories have so much insight to offer us as we begin a new year.Rosh Hashanah celebrates “the birthday of the world”: Hayom harat olam – today the world was born – Today, I pause and ask myself, what does this mean to me?

The poetry and metaphor of the liturgy and sacred texts of our tradition offer the wonder of the creation of the world as Rabbi Jacob Staub notes in our machzor, “Contemplating the newborn world, we feel awe at the fact of creation.  On Rosh Hashanah we are reminded that today is a first day.  We still contain within us the awesome and godly potential of our creation. that potential is in our hands.”

I take comfort in the idea that the Jewish creation story assigns order to the universe – not because I believe that the purpose of our creation story is to give a factual accounting of how the world came into being, but because there are lessons to be learned from these sacred stories.

The early stories in Genesis remind us that human beings must be caretakers of the natural world; that human beings are fundamentally the same whether you are a Jew living on the Upper West Side or an African from Burkina Faso.  The texts teach us that temptation resides all around us, and we must hold fast to our values of truth, honesty, compassion, and beauty; we must care for our brothers and sisters, and make a name for ourselves by our actions toward others, not by building towers to the sky.  These themes flow from the traditional stories of creation, and therefore lend a much richer texture to the story than simply “how the world came into being.”

But imagining order in the universe also has a dark side.  Like assigning meaning to all events – those good, and especially those bad. As if there is a hand manipulating and directing world events.  As if every tragedy in history could be assigned to the will of a “designer.”  And to this I cannot subscribe.

On Rosh Hashanah these questions are amplified because we reflect so deeply on the concentric circles of our lives, and we come to terms with so much that is beyond our control. And yet, we do try to re-create ourselves and our lives anew.

The traditional story of creation in Genesis proceeds as a rudimentary developmental evolutionary order – first comes light and day, then earthly water from heavenly water, and then the plants, creeping things, animals, and finally humans. Evolutionary scientists would probably approve of this order, but, they certainly don’t approve of the story happening in only seven days.

I live in the modern world.  I know that Darwinian evolution explains life on earth, I have learned that it is the central and unifying principal of modern biology.  But, for those of us who believe that god might be another name for the creative force in the universe, this presents a challenge.

And so, as I stand before you on Rosh Hashanah, “the birthday of the world,” I ask myself how do I reconcile my belief in god and torah with the my acceptance of the science that governs our life and explains our universe.

I remember learning one commentary years ago that refers to each of the seven days of creation as being millions of years long.  That would certainly bring together the mythic tale and the scientific theory.  Yet I still find myself conflicted.  As a rabbi I can make a theological argument about how God works through natural processes of selection and evolution in the ongoing creation of our world.  I am a Reconstructionist after all.

But as a person living in the modern world, indeed, married to a man with a doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology, I try to partition my faith and my science.

I ask myself the question – did God direct evolution?  Or, using a term with political ramifications, did god intelligently design the universe?

It is possible to say that god exists and did not direct evolution.  It is possible to say that god exists and did not create the world.  These are statements that many of us think about.  We can think about these ideas in private.  We can think about these ideas in our community, and great thinkers can engage with these ideas through teachings and writings.

While I do not know the answers to a lot of things there are two things I do know.  The first thing I know, is that Judaism seeks to create a framework within which we can try to answer the most fundamental of religious questions.

The other thing I know is other religions also seek to create such a framework for grappling with these same ideas.  Most religious traditions have been open to the dialogue between religion and science for some time –the more we have learned about the world, the more we have grown to appreciate its complexity, diversity, and beauty.

In the last few years, we have heard a lot about intelligent design.  The movement’s main positive claim is that there are things in the world, most notably life itself that cannot be accounted for by known natural causes and show features that, in any other context, we would attribute to intelligence. living organisms are simply too complex to be explained by any random or mindless process.  In other words, God, the “intelligent designer” created the world.

This is one religious answer to the fundamental question if it is possible for God to exist without directing evolution or creating the universe.  And, I have no problem with that.  But, I have a serious problem when it is taught as a substitute for science or worse, taught as an alternative theory to evolution.

In a recent article in the New Yorker by H. Allen Orr, he describes what is happening for ninth graders in Dover, PA.  In their biology class, they are learning things that differ considerably from what their peers are learning a few miles away.  “In particular, they are learning that evolution provides just one possible explanation of life – the other being intelligent design.  They are not being taught this because of a recent breakthrough in some scientist’s laboratory, but because the Dover Area School District’s Board mandated it.

In October 2004, the board decreed: “students will be made aware of gaps/problems in Darwin’s theory and of other theories of evolution Including, but not limited to, intelligent design.”

So the situation in Dover makes me angry, but unfortunately, it is not an isolated situation.  There are proposals hostile to evolution being considered in more than 20 states.  Back in May a bill was introduced into the NY State Assembly calling for instruction in intelligent design for all public school students.  The Kansas State B of E is weighing new standards that would encourage teachers to challenge Darwinism.  Senator Rick Santorum, a Republican from PA has argued that “ID is legitimate scientific theory That should be taught in science classes.”

But, nothing makes me angrier when the president of the United States

endorses intelligent design as a legitimate theory.  Just two months ago President Bush said, and I quote "Both sides ought to be properly taught . . . so people can understand what the debate is about."

It also frightens me.

It frightens me because it plays directly into the important ongoing conversation about the separation of religion and state.  The erosion of that fundamental right to establish religion as separate from the powers of state and government is deeply disturbing.

Here’s a more desirable scene:  What would it be like for those same 9^th graders to have a course on comparative religions and study the different religious creation stories, to good effect, fully within the bounds of the constitution and in a way that would allow students to hear about alternatives to materialist/fundamentalist scientism in the appropriate venue – which does NOT include a public school science class.

I imagine it would be a fruitful, engaging, even respectful conversation about metaphysics, myth, and religion.  And we certainly could use more of those conversations in these days.

Whatever one’s understanding of the creation of the world, it should never be rammed down our throats or legislated as social policy.

So what do I believe?  I believe in God.  I believe in evolution – not just biological, but cultural, spiritual, and psychological evolution.  I believe that God is the power that functions through humanity and the natural world;

that to say humanity is created b’tzelem elohim in the “image of God” does not contradict evolution.

I believe that there is a quest for meaning in the world, that we can experience the presence of God through our own actions to transform the world from what it is to what we hope it will become.

I don’t believe in a god that possesses a will, so it’s hard to imagine God “directing” evolution.  But Mordecai Kaplan himself described God as, “the functioning in nature of the eternally creative process, which by bringing order out of chaos and good out of evil actuates humanity to self fulfillment.” (Religion of Ethical Nationhood)

In other words, God is the power/force operating through humanity that impels us to be better human beings – more just, more honest, seeking freedom and redemption for all.

As a Reconstructionist, I could argue as Kaplan did that God is, quite literally, the creative force in the world.  Which would posit God as creative force or principle, not god as literal creator.

But all of this is theology.  It is not science.  And that is the point.

I can accept the opened ended nature of my own questions:  How did we get here? What is the purpose of life?  Is there meaning in the chaos of life about us, or purpose in the chaos of life within us?  But I will ask those questions of my rabbi, my family, my community.  Cosmology may not be able to help me here, but on the other hand, I will not have these conversations as an alternative to evolution, or as a directive from the government.

In psalm 92, the Psalm that we sing on Shabbat, we find the verse, Mah rabu maasecha adonai, me’od amku machshevotecha, how myriad are your works, Oh God, how deep are your thoughts.

How fortunate are we in the 21^st century, to be able to contemplate the wonders of creation, the microcosm, the macrocosm, the structure of genes, the amazing complexity of our bodies, and the ways creatures of all species function in the world.  In our lives we continue to understand and appreciate the intricate systems at work every moment, keeping us alive, nurturing us and enabling us to reach this moment, here, together.

This science or scientific awareness doesn’t pull me away from religion.  On the contrary, I am deeply drawn to acknowledge and even praise the gift of creation.  As we sing in the morning liturgy: Hamechadesh b’tuvo b’chol yom tamid maaseh vereishit.  We praise the power for the renewal of creation each and every day.

Hayom Harat Olam  - today our world is born.  May we continue to embrace our mythic narrative that “wrests order from chaos,” enabling us to begin this new year with purpose and determination.

May we continue to believe in the Power that makes for beauty, goodness, value, and the quest for meaning.

May our children continue to learn about the meaning and vital importance of evolution, as they seek to find and understand their place in this world, and as they continue to cherish this world as a precious and spectacular piece of art.

Shanah Tovah u’metukah – a good and sweet new year to us all