What’s the Charedi view on Torah and Science?
In the Charedi worldview, science is not dismissed — but neither is it worshiped. Torah is not seen as “ancient knowledge,” but as the source of knowledge itself. It is the blueprint of creation — the spiritual DNA of the universe. When science and Torah align, it brings us wonder and joy. When they appear to contradict, we wait patiently… because Torah does not change, but science always does.
Rav Avigdor Miller zt”l would often say:
“If a scientist tells you something that contradicts Torah, wait a few years. Either he’ll change his mind, or the Torah will change his.”
And Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky zt”l explained:
“The Torah is not a science book. It’s far more. But when it speaks on science, it never makes a mistake.”
Gedolei Yisrael understood that Hashem’s Torah reflects the ultimate truth — while human knowledge, even in its brilliance, is still limited and evolving. The Chazon Ish zt”l once addressed this directly to a well-known Israeli professor who claimed science had “made Torah outdated.” The Chazon Ish gently asked him:
“How long did science believe the world had no beginning?”
The professor answered, “Until the Big Bang theory — just a few decades ago.”
The Chazon Ish opened a Chumash to the very first pasuk and said:
“We’ve been reading Bereishis bara Elokim for thousands of years. When science catches up, let me know.”
Eight Times Torah Knew Before Science Did
Here are eight powerful examples in which Torah sources alluded to or directly stated scientific truths — centuries before the modern world “discovered” them:
1. The Universe Had a Beginning
Science: Until the 20th century, most philosophers and scientists believed in an eternal universe. The Big Bang theory, introduced in the early 1900s, revolutionized science by stating the universe began with a single point in time.
Torah: “In the beginning, Hashem created the heavens and the earth” (Bereishis 1:1). The Ramban writes that this refers to yesh me’ayin — the creation of something from absolute nothingness. Torah has always taught that the world had a clear starting point.
2. Ocean Currents
Science: The mapping of major ocean currents like the Gulf Stream began in earnest in the 19th century. It was only then that global sea pathways were formally documented.
Torah: Tehillim 8:9 describes “paths in the sea” (oras yam). The Malbim and Metzudas Dovid explain that this refers to consistent directional currents — divine lanes of travel within the oceans — long before human navigation tools could detect them.
3. The Role of Circumcision in Health
Science: Medical studies show that vitamin K and clotting factors are naturally low in newborns but peak on the eighth day. This reduces the risk of hemorrhaging during circumcision.
Torah: “On the eighth day, the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised” (Vayikra 12:3). The Gemara in Shabbos (132a) and the Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim explain this timing as both a divine command and a biological truth.
4. The Earth is Round
Science: Most ancient civilizations believed the earth was flat. It was only through exploration and eventually satellite imaging that a spherical earth became universally accepted.
Torah: The Zohar (Vayikra 10a) states clearly that the earth is round, with people living on opposite sides — and when it is daylight for one, it is nighttime for the other. Rashi on Yeshayahu 40:22 uses the term chug ha’aretz, “the sphere of the earth.”
5. Lunar Impact on Human Behavior
Science: Modern researchers have found that full moons affect sleep patterns, mental health episodes, and birth rates. Many ER doctors and nurses report noticeable spikes on full moons.
Torah: “The moon shall not smite you by night” (Tehillim 121:6). The Vilna Gaon in Aderes Eliyahu explains this as a metaphysical truth — that lunar phases impact human vulnerability and emotions, especially at night.
6. Quarantine and Disease Control
Science: The first use of quarantine as a medical practice began during the Black Death in the 14th century.
Torah: The Torah commands the isolation of those afflicted with tzaraas (Vayikra 13:46), and requires those who are ritually impure to dwell outside the camp (Bamidbar 5:2–4). This ancient system predates epidemiology by over 3,000 years.
7. Mind-Body Connection
Science: Today’s doctors recognize psychosomatic illnesses — where emotional stress causes or worsens physical symptoms.
Torah: “A joyful heart brings healing; a broken spirit dries the bones” (Mishlei 17:22). Chazal and the Rambam both speak about the health benefits of simcha and bitachon, and the physical dangers of fear, sadness, or anxiety.
8. Genetics and Heredity
Science: Gregor Mendel’s 19th-century experiments led to the discovery of inherited traits and, later, to modern DNA research.
Torah: The Gemara in Niddah 31a explains that the man provides the white (bones, sinews, brain), and the woman provides the red (blood, skin, flesh). Rashi elaborates that this describes how both parents contribute specific genetic characteristics.
Modern Scientists Who Became Baalei Teshuvah
Some of the most powerful stories of Torah’s truth come not just from ancient wisdom — but from the mouths of modern experts. When a scientist sincerely seeks truth, Torah becomes impossible to ignore.
1. Dr. Gerald Schroeder – MIT Physicist, Torah Believer
Dr. Schroeder, a former MIT nuclear physicist, became frum after years of wrestling with the seeming contradictions between modern science and the Torah’s description of creation.
His book The Science of God merges Torah sources with modern cosmology, showing how the six days of creation and the billions of years estimated by science can coexist, based on time dilation, relativity, and vantage point.
He writes often about the Ramban and Rambam’s insights:
“It wasn't that I ignored the science. It was that the Torah had already said it — thousands of years before.”
Source: The Science of God, lectures at Aish HaTorah.
2. Dr. Nathan Aviezer – Professor of Physics, Bar Ilan University
Raised with a secular outlook, Dr. Aviezer later embraced Torah and became a respected figure in bridging Torah and science. His book In the Beginning argues that “modern physics has confirmed the Torah’s claim that the universe had a definite beginning.”
Though not strictly Charedi, his work is widely used in kiruv and yeshiva settings, and he maintains warm connections with many gedolim.
Source: In the Beginning, Feldheim.
3. Dr. Arnie Gotfryd – Environmental Scientist
Dr. Gotfryd was immersed in secular academia until a chance meeting with Chabad shluchim during his PhD studies changed his life. He later became a Torah educator, author, and speaker, helping many understand how Torah and science harmonize.
He edited Mind Over Matter, a collection of the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s thoughts on science and creation.
“Real science led me to real questions. Real Torah gave me real answers.”
Source: Mind Over Matter, ed. Arnie Gotfryd.
4. Professor Yitzchak Ginsburgh – Mathematician and Torah Scholar
Though best known today as a mekubal and Chassidic thinker, Rav Ginsburgh holds degrees in mathematics and philosophy from the University of Chicago and MIT. His early career in abstract logic and number theory gave way to a deep immersion in Torah and Chassidus.
He teaches that Torah wisdom runs deeper than secular logic — because it comes from the infinite.
Source: Transforming Darkness into Light, Gal Einai Publications.
5. Dr. Hugh Ross – Astrophysicist
Though not Jewish, Dr. Ross is frequently quoted in Jewish kiruv efforts. A devout atheist as a young man, he became convinced of G-d’s existence through studying the fine-tuned constants of the universe.
His writings are used by Arachim and other outreach groups to inspire secular Jews to reconsider Torah's wisdom.
Source: The Creator and the Cosmos; recommended by Rav Dovid Gottlieb of Ohr Somayach.
6. Professor David Luchins – Political Scientist Turned Mechanech
Once a senior advisor to U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Prof. Luchins had a successful career in politics. But over time, intellectual honesty drew him closer to Torah, and today he teaches political science and Torah at Touro College.
Though his path was through the social sciences, he often speaks about how Torah satisfied the questions that politics never could.
Source: Public speeches; Mishpacha Magazine.
7. A Modern Story: The Geneticist and the Gadol
Dr. A., a brilliant U.S.-based geneticist, grew up disconnected from Torah. But in his thirties, he began studying the laws of family purity and was shocked to discover how they aligned with modern fertility and hormonal cycles.
He traveled to Israel and asked Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l:
“Kvod HaRav, how did Chazal know such deep biological science?”
Rav Chaim smiled softly and replied:
“They didn’t need science. They had Torah.”
Today, Dr. A. is fully observant and begins every biology course with: “Science is powerful. But Torah is truth.”
Closing Thought
The Torah doesn’t just coexist with science. It transcends it.
True science reveals Hashem’s fingerprints. And when approached with humility, it leads the honest mind back to Torah. As Rav Noach Weinberg zt”l often said:
“A mind that’s truly open can’t stay closed to Torah.”
Sources & Footnotes
- Ramban, Bereishis 1:1
- Tehillim 8:9, Malbim and Metzudas Dovid
- Shabbos 132a; Moreh Nevuchim III:49
- Zohar, Vayikra 10a; Rashi, Yeshayahu 40:22
- Tehillim 121:6; Vilna Gaon, Aderes Eliyahu
- Vayikra 13:46; Bamidbar 5:2–4; Rambam, Hilchos Tzaraas
- Mishlei 17:22; Brachos 60a
- Niddah 31a; Rashi
- Pe’er HaDor, biography of the Chazon Ish, Vol. 1
- Rav Avigdor Miller, Rejoice O Youth, Chapter 9
- Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, Emes L’Yaakov, Parshas Bereishis
- Dr. Gerald Schroeder, The Science of God, lectures at Aish HaTorah
- Dr. Nathan Aviezer, In the Beginning, Feldheim
- Dr. Arnie Gotfryd, Mind Over Matter, ed. Gotfryd
- Rav Yitzchak Ginsburgh, Transforming Darkness into Light, Gal Einai
- Dr. Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos; recommended by Rav Dovid Gottlieb
- Prof. David Luchins, public lectures, Mishpacha Magazine interviews
- Personal testimony of “Dr. A.”; conversations with Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l