Many people today ask questions about the age of the world. They hear scientists say the world is billions of years old. They hear the Torah teaches the world is approximately 5,784 years old. Then they say, "Until I resolve this question, I cannot keep mitzvot. If the world is older than the Torah says, then how can I trust the rest of the Torah?"

Mitzvot Are Independent of This Question

This is a serious mistake. This question is actually irrelevant to your obligations.

The obligation to keep Shabbat does not depend on whether the world is 5,784 years old or 13 billion years old. Brit milah does not depend on it. Kashrut does not depend on it. Taharat hamishpacha does not depend on it. Tzniut does not depend on it. Even if you prove that the world is billions of years old, you still must keep all the mitzvot that Hashem commanded. Even if you prove that the world was created last week, you still must keep them.

Hashem gave the Torah 3,300 years ago at Har Sinai. That event does not change based on the age of the world. The mitzvot that Hashem commanded do not change based on the age of the world. Your obligation does not change based on the age of the world.

An Excuse, Not a Question

Some people think this is an intellectual question. It is not. It is an excuse. A person who truly wants to know the truth will recognize that this question does not affect his responsibility. A person who wants an excuse will use any question as a barrier. The Gemara teaches that Hashem created the world to fear Him. If you lived your entire life without yirat Shamayim, it would have been better if the world had not been created at all. This means that your purpose in this world is not to resolve intellectual questions. Your purpose is to serve Hashem by keeping His mitzvot.

The Unreliability of Scientific Dating

Scientific dating systems are not reliable. Scientists themselves admit that their methods depend on many assumptions that cannot be proven. One scientist says the world is 50 million years old. Another says 14 billion years old. They constantly change their estimates. Even when they test the same object, they get completely different results. This is not absolute truth. This is theory and educated guesswork.

But even if science were perfectly accurate, it still would not matter. The Torah obligation remains. Hashem did not say, "Keep Shabbat only if you agree with every detail of creation." He said, "Keep Shabbat." Hashem did not say, "Eat kosher only if you understand the age of the world." He said, "Eat kosher." When Hashem commands, you are obligated to obey whether you understand everything or not.

The Gemara makes it clear that the only reason we do any mitzvah is because Hashem said so. Rabban Gamliel teaches that a person should never say, "I hate stealing," or "I hate eating milk and meat." Instead, a person should say, "I want to do these things, but my Father in Heaven said I am not allowed, so I do not do them." This is the entire foundation of Torah. You do not wait to agree with every detail. You do not wait to resolve every intellectual question. You do mitzvot because Hashem commanded them.

Your Responsibility Is Clear

If a person says, "I will not keep Shabbat until I know how old the world is," he is not asking a question. He is making an excuse. He is looking for a reason to avoid responsibility. Tzaddikim look for truth. Reshaim look for excuses. The age of the world is not a barrier to mitzvot. It is a distraction that the yetzer hara places in your mind to keep you from serving Hashem.

Your responsibility is clear. Keep Shabbat. Keep kashrut. Maintain taharat hamishpacha. Observe tzniut. Learn Torah. Do teshuvah. Stop looking for reasons to delay. Stop using intellectual questions as a substitute for action. Start today. Your eternity depends on what you do in this world, not on what you think about questions that do not affect your obligations.