The Origin of the Universe and the Role of Man

Vocabulary flashcards covering the Jewish perspectives and scientific theories on the origin of the universe, evolution, cosmology, animal welfare, environmental stewardship, and the role and creation of humanity from GCSE Religious Studies Unit 1:1.

Days of Creation (Genesis 1)

The sequential order of creation in the Torah: Day 1 (light), Day 2 (water and sky), Day 3 (land and vegetation), Day 4 (luminaries: sun, moon, and stars), Day 5 (fish and birds), and Day 6 (beasts and man).

Boruch dayan ha'emes

A Hebrew phrase meaning "blessed is the just judge", traditionally recited by a Jew upon hearing that someone has died, acknowledging that G-d is just in all His actions.

Bentsching gomel

A special blessing recited in the synagogue thanking G-d for delivering someone from serious danger, such as surviving an accident, recovering from major surgery, or completing an international flight.

Charles Darwin

The nineteenth-century scientist who first popularised the theory of evolution and natural selection.

Theory of Natural Selection

A five-step scientific explanation of survival: 1. Organisms produce more offspring than can survive; 2. Organisms struggle to compete for scarce resources; 3. Variation exists within a species; 4. Advantageous traits aid survival and reproduction; 5. Surviving organisms pass their traits to offspring.

Jewish View on Evolution

The theological stance that accepts variation and evolutionary development within individual species, but rejects Darwin's claim that one species (such as an ape) can transform into an entirely different species (such as man).

Rabbi Yehudah's Teaching on the First Man

A Talmudic and Midrashic teaching stating that the first man was initially created with a tail like an animal, which G-d subsequently removed for his honour to prevent him from feeling shame.

Big Bang Theory

A scientific theory proposing that the universe began $13\text{ billion}$ years ago with a cataclysmic explosion that created space, time, and all existing energy.

Microwave Background Radiation

Radiation received from all directions of the universe that scientists consider to be remnant heat left over from the original Big Bang explosion.

Stephen Hawking

The scientist identified in the notes as the first person to suggest the Big Bang theory, who at the end of his life was working on a project to disprove it.

Duties of the Heart

A major medieval scholarly work featuring the parable of ink accidentally spilling onto parchment to form an intricate poem, demonstrating that the sophisticated universe could not arise by accident without an intelligent creator.

Traditional Jewish Age of the Universe

The Jewish calendar reckoning which states that the world is currently $5779\text{ years}$ old.

Rabbi Avigdor Miller

A twentieth-century rabbinic scholar who explained that what normally requires billions of years in natural processes could have been completed by G-d in a single day, harmonizing science with the traditional age of $5779\text{ years}$.

Shechitah

The Jewish humane method of slaughtering animals for food, considered the most humane method of slaughter in Jewish teaching.

Bal Tashchit in Warfare

A biblical prohibition forbidding an army from cutting down fruit trees during the siege of an enemy city, demonstrating respect for the physical environment and natural world.

Shemittah

The Torah law requiring Jewish farmers in Israel to let their agricultural land lie fallow every $7\text{ years}$ without cultivating or harvesting crops.

Prohibition of Crossbreeding

A Torah law forbidding Jewish farmers from interbreeding different animal species or crossbreeding distinct plant species, respecting the distinct species boundaries created by G-d.

"Let us make Man"

A phrase in Genesis 1 explained by Rashi as G-d consulting the angels to teach humans a lesson in humility and consideration for the perspectives of those lower than themselves.

Rashi

The foremost traditional Jewish commentator on the Torah who noted that G-d consulted the angels before creating man to demonstrate humility and provide an example for humanity to follow.

Stewardship

The Jewish principle that humanity's divine mandate to rule over the earth represents responsibility rather than unlimited dominance, comparable to a shop manager accountable to the owner.

"In his own image"

The Torah teaching that every individual person is created with a unique identity and distinct personal traits, as verified by unique fingerprints and DNA.

"In the image of G-d"

The Jewish theological teaching that humans reflect G-d by possessing free-will, distinguishing them from angels (who can only obey) and animals (who follow instinct).

Adam

A Hebrew term meaning "human being", referring to the original person created on the sixth day with both male and female characteristics before being divided into separate genders.

Marriage in Judaism

A sacred institution regarded as the reunification and completion of the human being, combining the separated male and female halves into a complete whole.