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I was always taught it is for when judaism first began, but now Ive been hearing christians saying the world is only 6000 years old so that would mean its like around when the world was created

I honestly am also not sure

thats why I had creation in quotes since some people, even religious people, have a different view on it

but thank you for telling me

nightstalker and nathan are good on this, but i have a bit more to add.

the count of years, being 5766 years and 8 months as of today (gut chodesh, everyone biggrin ), began upon the completion of creation, ie, the end of the "7 days" and adam's expulsion from the garden. we have no way of knowing how long the original week was, relative to our perception of time. the "days" were only seperated by the events that occured on each respectively, as the sun and moon were only created on the fourth. this is also why the mistranslation "in the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth" is incorrect. there was no beginning, because time (our concept of time, at least. hashem exists outside the rules of reality that we are bound to. after all, he created them) didn't exist. the correct translation of the verse "bereishis bara Elokim ais hashemayim v'ais ha'aretz" is "in the beginning of god's creating the heavens and the earth-when..."EDIT: when creation was completed, it lierally meant creation was completed. meaning, there was nothing left to create. everything, at the completion of it's own creation, appeared in it's full capacity. in other words, everything in the world was old after being created, or at least nothing was new. there were full-grown trees, adult animals, eroded rocks, everything. this is one method of accounting for the geological evidence of the age of the earth. alternatively, this evidence may have occurred during the year of the great flood, as the waters were supposedly boiling hot, and many hundred feet deep.

judaism has metamorphosed many times, not in essence, but rather in identity. when judaism began can be first traced back to avraham aveinu (avraham our father). depending upon your definition of "began", judaism either started when avaham was 3 years old (approx 1750 BCE) and recognised hashem as the sole creator and master of the universe, or when he was 99 years old and circumcised himself, thus sealing the covenant's first stage (thought the covenant is essentially the bris, there were other times it was reinforced or extended. at sinai, for example). at sinai is the second possible "beginning" (though it is more metamorphisis), since that is when the torah was given (approx 1313 BCE). the third and fourth metamorphosi (sp) are not beginnings at all, except in the most abstract terms. they are the Roman exile, which still exists today, and the the compilation of the talmud. both of these are imbued in judaism today, though in many ways they are the antithesis of each other, like fire and water. the fifth and final metamorphis will come with the messianic era.

y'hi rotzon meliphnechah hashem elokainu v'ailokai avosainu, sh'yibanu beis hamikdash bimheira v'yameinu, v'sain chelkainu b'sorasecha.

that's not an opinion. it's as much a fact as hashem creating the world in the first place.

silly?

ok... stare

anyway....i edited my long post.