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As We Begin to Read the Torah Again, Let Us Reflect on What Has Changed — and What Hasn’t
Reading from a Torah scroll in accordance with Sephardi tradition. Photo: Sagie Maoz via Wikimedia Commons.
In some fundamentalist religious circles, the word “evolution” is a term of abuse. To me, it is a word that — apart from its many meanings — also describes the positive process of change in stages.
This week, we start reading the Torah again from the very beginning, with the stories of creation itself. Many books — from Jewish, to Christian, to Muslim — have been written trying to reconcile the literal translation of the Book of Genesis with the evolutionary system most famously associated with Darwin.
Long before Darwin, however, scientists, archaeologists, and even divines were talking about the different stages in the creation of the universe, and speculated about a much earlier time scale than some 6,000 years.
I feel no need to try to reconcile the different ways of reconciling religion and science, and if there are people who still believe that the world is only 5,785 years old, then like those who believe the earth is flat, I see no point in trying to make an argument out of it. Anyway, the Bible doesn’t just talk about the physical stages of creation. It is far more concerned with another kind of evolution — the spiritual one.
Religiously, there’s no doubt that we have gone through different stages in how we understand and relate to God or the idea of God. Consider the change from Biblical Judaism to Talmudic Judaism, the development of Kabbalah and mysticism and then Hasidism and on to the many different sects, denominations, and communities within the small Jewish world of today.
The process of a relationship with God begins with Adam and Chava(Eve) — treated like children, given a clear simple instruction by their heavenly parent, which they disobey. The next stage in the relationship is that of Cayin (Cain), and Havel (Abel), who for the first time, try to relate to God through sacrifices and giving gifts (Bereishit 4). Although Cayin is the first to offer a sacrifice, it is Havel whose sacrifice is found to be more acceptable. God’s message to an angry, frustrated Cayin is that if things don’t always work the way you want them to, you must persevere and try to do better, not give up. Cayin, unable to accept rebuke, became so angry and frustrated he could only resort to violence. The genealogical line of Cayin died out, and it was the children of Adam and Chava’s third son, Sheyt (Seth), that initiated a line of spiritual successors.
The next stage in how to relate to God came through Enosh (Bereishit 4:26), when people began to call in the name of God, which could be understood in two ways. Some people say this is the beginning of idolatry. Others say this is the beginning of the idea of prayer, relating to God through words. After Enosh comes Chanoch (Enoch) who was the first to walk with God (Bereishit 5:22), and as the Torah said, God took him away. Once again, opinions vary as to whether God took him away before he could get up to any monkey business, or whether his idea of relating to God was by turning his back on society and humanity, and retreating to the mountains and caves in pursuit of a personal relationship with God. Whereas Noach (Noah) who also walked with God (Bereishit 6:9), was involved in trying to save humanity.
At the same time as these seekers of God were trying to find their way, humanity was still caught in a more primitive and violent, rapacious world of giants, perhaps Neanderthals — the very failings of humanity that we still exhibit and bemoan to this very day. Only when we get to Avraham does this relationship with God begin to achieve what the opening chapter of creation hoped for — that mankind would know the difference between good and bad, and that the purpose of religion was not only to encounter God, but also enable us to be better human beings.
The geologist will tell us that the world has been evolving for millions of years. Humans too are evolving and changing, getting stronger and healthier, living longer. And yet the evil we experience at this moment all around us is the very same evil that was experienced then. In some respects, we remain stubbornly the same. Even though some of us are trying our best to strive for good, there are others who still believe violence, compulsion, and forced conversions are the ways to succeed.
If it is true that we have been on earth for millions of years in one iteration or another, perhaps we expect too much of a few thousand years, and there is hope for us if we are patient and try to do our best. As an aside, notice that the idea of a Tsadik, a righteous person, is used in the Bible, long before a clearly defined Israelite religion emerges. And that is what we all should aspire to be, regardless of our differences.
The author is a writer and rabbi, currently based in New York.
The post As We Begin to Read the Torah Again, Let Us Reflect on What Has Changed — and What Hasn’t first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.