Q&A: The Eternity of the World
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
The Eternity of the World
Question
Hello Rabbi, aside from the Big Bang, is there reason to think that the world is not eternal? And if so, can the Rabbi say what reason or reasons there are? Thank you very much!!!
Answer
The fact that the world is material means it is not reasonable to think that matter is eternal. Matter is not “its own cause”; that is, it requires a cause outside itself.
But even if the world is eternal, there is still the principle of sufficient reason, meaning that its particular and rare structure still requires an explanation.