Many people assume that the Big Bang theory contradicts Torah. They hear scientists describe the universe expanding from a single point and think this leaves no room for the Creator. But the opposite is true. The Gemara described this very process almost two thousand years ago—with one crucial difference that changes everything.

The Gemara's Account of Creation

Mesechet Chagigah teaches that before creation, there was only Hashem. He minimized Himself, so to speak, to make space for His creation, and brought forth a single point that began expanding. The universe grew larger and larger until Hashem roared and commanded it to stop. From this we learn one of Hashem's names: El Shaddai—the God who said "Dai," the God who said "Enough."

The Crucial Difference

This is not a minor detail. Science imagines an autonomous universe, one that either expands forever or governs itself according to impersonal laws. The Torah tells us the exact opposite: every moment of expansion, every natural process, every physical law exists only because Hashem sustains it. The universe did not decide to stop expanding. It cannot decide anything. Hashem commanded it to stop, and it stopped.

This distinction defines the difference between emunah and apikorsut. A person who sees the universe as self-governing has removed Hashem from his life. He may acknowledge that Hashem created the world long ago, but he lives as if nature runs itself now. He thinks gravity just works, atoms just spin, and the sun just rises. This is a fundamental mistake. The moment Hashem withdraws His will, everything would return to nothingness. There would be no explosion, no gradual decay—just instant disappearance.

Torah Sustains Creation

The Gemara makes this clear in Yirmiyahu's teaching: if not for Hashem's covenant with the Jewish people to learn Torah constantly, the very laws of the universe would cease to exist. Atoms would stop spinning. Gravity would vanish. Everything we see as solid is mostly empty space, held together only by Hashem's continuous will. One second without Torah learning in the world, and creation itself would collapse back into the void.

What does this mean practically? It means you cannot live as if the world runs itself. You cannot treat your health, your parnasah, or your family as subject only to natural causes. Yes, Hashem created natural laws, but He is not bound by them, and He actively directs every outcome. When you eat, Hashem is giving you strength. When you breathe, Hashem is sustaining your life. The fact that these actions feel automatic does not make them independent of Him.

This also means that when you see the beauty and precision of creation—the exact distance of the sun, the perfect balance of elements, the intricate design of a single cell—you are not seeing the result of random forces. You are seeing Hashem's active supervision. He cares enough to position every star, to design every vegetable with its unique taste and color, to calibrate every physical constant so that life can exist. If He cares about these details, how much more does He care about you?

The scientists are correct that the universe began from a single point and expanded. They are incorrect in thinking this process was random, uncontrolled, or self-sustaining. They are incorrect in thinking it continues without direction. And they are entirely wrong in imagining that any of this could happen without a Creator.

Living With Emunah

Emunah means seeing Hashem's hand in every moment. It means understanding that the reason your heart beats right now is because Hashem wills it. The reason the earth orbits the sun is because Hashem commands it. Nothing is autonomous. Nothing governs itself. Everything, every instant, is under Hashem's direct control.