Here is a discussion of why the first Parasha of Beresheit doesn't quit jibe with the possibility man was not unique in creation...
http://www.shemayisrael.com/p a r s h a/chrysler/archives/bereishis70.htmParashat Bereishis
Adam Names the Animals(Based on Rabeinu Bachye)Commenting on the Pasuk " … and whatever Adam named every living creature, that remained its name", R. Bachye cites the Medrash describing how Hakadosh-Baruch-Hu passed before Adam all the animals and all the beasts, and he (Adam) named each one. 'It is befitting to name this one 'Aryeh', this one 'Chamor' and that one 'Sus', he announced, and so with each and every animal. His ability to do that, says the Medrash, gives us an insight into the depth of Adam's profound wisdom. He was after all, made in the image of G-d and was the work of His Hands!
The author elaborates; he explains that in his great wisdom and power of perception, Adam understood the nature of every single animal and beast. And he now used that knowledge to name each of them according to its nature and characteristics. For example, he says, he recognized the immense strength of the lion and (perhaps on account of that strength) that it is the king of the beasts. Indeed, the prophet Hoshei'a even went so far as to compare G-d Himself to a lion, when he said (11:19) "They will go after Hashem like a roaring lion". So he (Adam) called it by the name 'Aryeh', since the letters of its name are all spiritual - the 'Alef', 'Yud' and 'Hey' are taken from Hashem's Name ('Eh'keh'), whilst the 'Reish' stands for 'Ru'ach' (spirit).
Likewise, he realized in his great wisdom, that the eagle is the king of the birds, and that it flies higher than all of them … and, citing R. Sa'adya Gaon, he explains that every ten years it soars higher than ever before, until, overcome by the heat of the sun, it casts itself into the sea, where it becomes rejuvenated and begins a nother cycle. And it continues to do this after every ten years, until it reaches the age of a hundred, at which stage it soars high into the sky once again, but this time it falls into the sea and dies. All this Adam knew, and so he called the eagle 'Nesher' - the 'Shin' representing 'eish' (fire), the 'Reish', 'ru'ach' (wind) and the 'Nun', nofeil (fall), depicting its ways, its life-span and its end in three short letters.
And so it was with the donkey, which he called 'Chamor', based on the word 'chomer' (physical), because the donkey constantly pursues its own desires, and because in its physicality, it is the most stupid of all creatures. In addition, he called it by that name because it is its way to carry loads of produce, and one of the most common measurements used by Chazal in describing the loads carried by a donkey is 'Chomer' (the equivalent of fifteen Sa'ah).
Rabeinu Bachye then cites 'Sus' (horse), so-called by that name because (based on the word 'sos' - spelt with two 'Sinim' [a 'Siyn' and a 'Samech' are interchangeable]), the horse rejoices in warfare, as Chazal have taught. And so Adam went on to name every single animal and bird.
(The Medrash explains that he called himself 'Adam', because he was created from earth [adamah]).
And when Hashem finally asked him what He (Hashem) was to be called, he replied with the four-letter Name of Hashem, because, he explained, He was Master of all the creatures (see the author's final words in 2:19, and the footnote - also bear in mind that we pronounce Hashem's Name 'Alef, Daled, Nun, Yud', which means Master).
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Chazal explain that Adam was created as an adult of twenty. Considering that the above took place immediately after his creation - just before he went on to name Chavah, his knowledge of language (Lashon ha'Kodesh), state of intelligence and profound knowledge of the creation was phenomenal, to say the least.*
One can perhaps reconcile the creation with evolution, by explaining that G-d commanded each creation to appear, after having condensed the long, long process of evolution in a split second. In other words, things that ought to have taken millions of years to reach a stage of completion, came into being already formed at G-d's command.
But if this is feasible to say this with regard to all the other creations, it is not feasible to say it about man, who as the Pasuk describes, was formed directly by G-d "in the image of G-d", into whom He breathed a Neshamah, as the Torah writes (2:7) "And G-d formed man … and He breathed into His nostrils a Soul of life".
Adam was created directly by the Hands of G-d, body and Soul, in the form of a super-intelligent human-being, precluding the possibility of any vestige of evolution from any part of his creation!See also Parshah Pearls (1:27).
Topic: Rav Kook comments on evolution (Read 3002 times)