Arutz Sheva's Chanan Morrisson writes about Rav Kook's views on evolution and the age of the universe:
… In a letter written in 1905, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook responded to questions concerning evolution and the geological age of the world. He put forth four basic arguments:
1. Even to the ancients, it was well known that there were many periods that preceded our counting of nearly six thousand years for the current era. According to the midrash, "God built worlds and destroyed them" before He created the universe as we know it. Even more astonishing, the Zohar states that there existed other human races, in addition to the 'Adam' who is mentioned in the Torah. …
To summarize:
• Ancient Jewish sources also refer to worlds that existed prior to the current era of six thousand years;
• One should not assume that the latest scientific theories are eternal truths;
• The purpose of the Torah is a practical one - to have a positive moral influence on humanity, and not to serve as a primer for physicists and biologists. It could very well be that evolution, etc., are the tools by which God created the world; and
• Some ideas are intentionally kept hidden, as the world may not be ready for them, psychologically or morally.
[Adapted from Igrot HaRi'eya vol. I, pp. 105-7]
According to Rabbis Solomon, Elyashiv, Berenbaum, Wachtofgel, Shapiro and their minions of kanaim and hangers-on, what you have just read is heresy. (Especially this part: "Even more astonishing, the Zohar states that there existed other human races, in addition to the 'Adam' who is mentioned in the Torah." Wow! My screen is melting!) According to the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, at the very least it is simply wrong and should not be believed. Please burn your computer screens immediately. Either that or view the above-named 'gedolim' for what they really are (or were) – pious fools.