The Truth About Dinosaurs | Rabbi Zamir Cohen

Many people are convinced that the discovery of dinosaurs dates back to around 350 years ago. A British scientist, while digging in England, found a giant bone and didn't understand what it was because there was no such creature. There were different assumptions, various theories, and more expeditions were sent out to dig until they uncovered the entire world of dinosaurs. There are religious people in the world who were so frightened by the discovery of dinosaurs that they said there was no such thing because it goes against their beliefs and they don't understand. But Judaism knew about these things long before. The Torah says that the God created the great taninim on the fifth day. In the creation story, there are no proper names when it is written and God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth." There are no specific names like lion, bear, or tiger, only general family names. So, why are the taninim specifically mentioned? And why the great ones? It is written that Moses went before Pharaoh, took his staff, threw it before him, and the staff turned into a tannin, crocodile. Later, when God spoke to him, he said, "And the staff, which became a snake, you shall take in your hand." Rashi explains, "Tannin is a snake, but tannin is not a snake. The explanation is this. Just as you can point to a sheep and say, 'Here is a behemoth,' a general term for cattle, so also the staff turning into a tannin means a reptile in the language of the Torah, or it turned into a snake, which is the specific name. So, when it is written, 'And God created the great taninim,' this means he created the great reptiles, general family names, and all the creeping things that swarm in the waters, and every winged bird according to its kind." In the holy Zohar, it is written that the great taninim refers to the Leviathan and his mate, but one must know that the Leviathan and his mate refer to the secret level of the Torah. Every verse has four levels of interpretation. Rashi taught us a great principle. The simple meaning of the text, pshat, is never abandoned. This means you can never uproot the verse from its simple meaning and only make it a secret. In its simple meaning, the Holy One, blessed be He, created the great reptiles.