Q&A: The Eternity of Israel / The End of the Universe
The Eternity of Israel / The End of the Universe
Question
How does the belief in the eternity of the Jewish people, as reflected according to various commentators in the verse "The Glory of Israel does not lie," fit with the fact that in the very distant future the sun will die, and over an even longer timespan the entire universe will no longer allow life to exist because of the principle of increasing entropy?
On a practical level, maybe this is a meaningless question, since we are talking about billions of years after all, but on the conceptual level I still wonder what the point is of creating a universe, choosing a people, giving it the Torah, etc., when all of this has an expiration date—even if it is very far off.
Answer
First, nobody knows what will happen at that expiration date. One who created a world out of nothing can do whatever He wishes. Second, "The Glory of Israel does not lie" has nothing whatsoever to do with a promise of the eternity of the Jewish people. It refers to the Holy One, blessed be He, who does not lie. See I Samuel 15:29.
Discussion on Answer
As I've said more than once, verses from the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) are open to different interpretations, and it's hard to draw any conclusions from them.
Before you start talking about billions of years, take into account that there is a possibility that all of humanity will be wiped out in the coming millennium and that's that..
From the verse, "Thus said the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day, the laws of the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs the sea so that its waves roar… If these laws depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel too shall cease from being a nation before Me forever" (Jeremiah 31:34-35), one can understand that when dawn no longer rises and the stars stop shining at night, the Jewish people too will cease to exist. Just saying… 🙂