Faith and the Cosmos: A Universe Moving Toward Perfection

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What if evolution and cosmic development are not obstacles to faith—but part of its deepest message?

The universe has never been simple enough to scoff at. Its complexity grows with each passing generation. Try as we might, we can never cease to be amazed at just how much more there is to discover. It is indeed possible we will never discover it all. Good. I want there to be something which can be endlessly unearthed, endlessly probed for beauty. It is for this same reason that I hold the Torah so dear. You see, those who are convinced of the Bible’s immorality are the same as those who are convinced evolution is just a silly theory. Both camps take the claims of the other at face value, failing to probe the depths of wisdom that have emerged from these ideas.

“The Bible endorses slavery,” they yell. “Evolution is Godless,” others proclaim. The truth is that, taken at face value, Torah and science cannot agree. Indeed, I believe it is a futile pursuit to try to force that agreement on the level of literal interpretation. But if we can take a step back, we may find that the Torah complements science and elevates it to a degree of meaning unavailable to science on its own. Science, on the other hand, opens wide the wisdom available in the Torah and further enlightens us to its depth.

A helpful distinction here is between scientific fact and scientific concept. Scientific fact belongs in the domain of science alone. But scientific concepts – development, progression, emergence – can be applied more broadly, including to theology. All disciplines borrow conceptual language from one another. This is not a flaw; it is a feature of human understanding.

As Saadya Gaon famously explains, the Torah describes Eve as “the mother of all living.” Taken literally, this cannot be true – we know that human beings do not give birth to animals. Therefore, we must understand the verse conceptually, as referring to Eve as the mother of all human life. The Torah is not attempting to convey biological fact. It is conveying an idea.

This is a crucial point. The Torah is not meant to align with scientific fact. It is meant to communicate truth – often through concept rather than literal description. It is a mistake of modernity to assume that truth must always be expressed in the language of scientific precision.

This brings us back to the central question: why not create a world that matches the Torah’s simple description? Why create a universe that unfolds over billions of years? Why allow life to develop through a process that appears, at times, harsh and indifferent?

About such “peeks behind the curtain,” I have no insider information. But I do have human reason – a remarkable gift of creation – and a desire to preserve the dignity of the theistic position.

If God is perfect, what does that mean? We use the word often, but we rarely stop to consider it. Perhaps we only experience glimpses of perfection – fleeting moments like a beautiful sunset, a piece of music that resonates deeply, or a quiet moment with those we love. These are not perfection itself, but reflections of it. If anything can be called truly perfect, it must be God. And if God is perfect, then He lacks nothing. A perfect being does not need to receive – it can only give.

From this, a surprising idea emerges. A perfect being would not create a perfectly complete world. That would serve no purpose. Instead, such a being might create a world that is capable of becoming – a world that begins in a state of incompleteness but is oriented toward growth. In such a world, imperfection is not a flaw. It is a necessary condition for development.

Now consider the scientific picture of the universe. It begins in a simple state – elementary particles, basic forces. From this simplicity emerges complexity: atoms, stars, planets, life. Life develops gradually, becoming more complex, more adaptive, more aware. Eventually, consciousness emerges –the ability to reflect, to choose, to understand.

Conceptually, this is not just a story of physical processes. It is a story of progression. A movement from potential toward realization.

The Torah, notably, does not describe these physical processes. Instead, it teaches a different kind of progression – moral and spiritual development. Human beings are called upon to refine themselves, to build a just and compassionate world, to move toward something higher. Before humanity could understand the physical reality of evolution and cosmic expansion, it needed to understand the concept of development in the realm that matters most: the moral and spiritual. Only later do we discover that this pattern exists not only within us, but within the structure of the universe itself.

Rav Kook expresses this idea with remarkable clarity:
“there’s nothing in the new research, even according to the opinion of Darwin (though it’s just a theory) , that contradicts the cornerstone of the Torah, the foundation of which is only the recognition that all of the great cycles [of life] – since they’re all set up with wisdom and they all tend towards mercy and loving-kindness – are done with wisdom and knowledge, and that everything emerges from the source of light and the perfection of ‘divine intelligence’, (or, if you want to call this matter ‘divinity’, or ‘God’s nature’,) which obligates that there should be a very gradual process. But, it is impossible that anything be lacking that is needed for the perfection of something more perfect, which is the perfection of the spirit of man and his full awareness, until he returns to his natural tranquility and the garden of his refinement – but in a manner that is even more perfected, a refinement that the eye of no creation has ever seen.”

Rav Kook continues:
“It was all set up from the start, the power of the soul and the readiness for prophecy, the possibility of miracles at their appropriate time, and whenever miracles would be needed for the perfection of the spirit of man and his way of life… This system of perfection, which is never-ending, must be a systemin which the satisfaction of man will continue to grow more and become more perfect in his process of perfection, while at the same time covering all areas of satisfaction, the physical life and spiritual life, while making sense and a straight path, with justice and morality.”

To sum up the points we have made thus far concerning the BD (Brutality + Distance) part of our dilemma, we can restate the idea more simply. Human understanding of perfection is limited. If anything is truly perfect, it is God. A perfect being would not create a fully perfected world, but one capable of becoming. Such a world would necessarily begin in a state of incompleteness, containing within it the capacity for growth.

The concept of progress – of becoming better – must therefore exist. And before humanity could grasp this concept through science, it needed to be taught in a more immediate and practical way. The Torah provides that framework. Only later do we discover that the universe itself reflects this same pattern.

Evolution and cosmic expansion, then, are not random processes devoid of meaning. They are the mechanisms through which a world moves toward greater realization.
The universe was created with very bare building blocks, and a phoenix rose from the ashes. Atoms became elements. Elements combined and became inanimate objects. One, or many inanimate objects were animated. The animated objects became more and more animated, undergoing various physical processes along the way. These physical processes progress toward the beginning of God’s project –the human.

Humans progress their consciousness, becoming “like God, knowing good and evil.” Evil itself becomes a catalyst for progress. Humans, unlike God, are limited – but it is precisely through that limitation that they are capable of growth. The progression toward something greater is clear.

Will the sun one day burn out? Perhaps. But given the time humanity has before that happens, who is to say what we may yet achieve? We are quick to give up hope. But hope is directly tied to the belief that progress is real – that we are moving toward something. Put simply, perfection is not a static state. It is a process. God possesses it fully.

We move toward it.

May all our learning attune our actions to the Divine Will. Shabbat Shalom.

Dovidchai Abramchayev is a Bukharian Jew who grew up in Queens. He earns a PARNASSA as an accountant but spends his spare time delving into ethics and Torah. He is the author of the “Philosophical Jew “Substack and host of the “Philosophical Jew” podcast, both of which can be found on www.philosophicaljew.substack.com. The podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. All of the aforementioned projects are an outlet for the multifaceted approach he takes to Jewish thought and to life.