Archaic orthodox view, as in what they ONCE used to believe? A small sub-sect of Judaism at best then. Modern Orthodox mostly not, and all other sects definitely not.
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no this isn’t correct, especially those who are not Modern orthodox. Lubavitch, Lakewood...all the major accepted authorities today.
All Orthodox Jews, including modern, date their Jewish legal documents (marriage, divorce, etc) from the beginning of creation. All orthodox Jews believe in a universal flood of Noah.
I, on the other hand, once used to believe that the universe was billions of years old and there is some solid basis for this idea in judaism (and not just a simple 1 day = 1000 year equation which doesn’t really give you billions of years by itself)
see
http://www.lulu.com/content/86052 by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan that you can download for free
But this is not the mainstream view even though obviously there is some truth to it. That’s why this debate is so crazy :)
Apparently not that many.
The Rabbinical Council of America (Orthodox) has maintained that evolutionary theory, properly understood, is not incompatible with belief in a Divine Creator, nor with Genesis.
Prominent Orthodox rabbis who have affirmed that the world is older, and that life has evolved over time, include Aryeh Kaplan (1934-1983), Israel Lipschitz, Sholom Mordechai Schwadron (the MaHaRSHaM) (1835-1911), Zvi Hirsch Chajes(1805-1855).
One of the most prominent writers on this subject in the Orthodox Jewish community is Gerald Schroeder, an Israeli physicist. He has written a number of articles and popular books attempting to reconcile Jewish theology with modern scientific findings that the world is billions of years old and that life has evolved over time. (Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery of Harmony Between Modern Science and the Bible) His work has received approbations from a number of Orthodox rabbinic authorities.