Is the Eclipse Good For the Jews?

I am experiencing serious FOMO. I am totally bummed that I am going to be out of the range on Monday to watch the solar eclipse. So, let's talk about Judaism and eclipses. Are there eclipses in the Bible? Most likely. It is possible that the plague of darkness during the Exodus from Egypt was a total eclipse of the sun. Likewise, when the sun stood still in the book of Joshua, that also might have been an eclipse. There are also references to solar eclipses in medieval Jewish texts, especially as they might have influenced the calculation of the new moon. But, far more compelling is the idea that God is also in eclipse. The term for that is "hester panim," the act of God concealing the Divine Presence as a way of punishing the Jewish people. To experience the hidden Presence of God was to experience great terror and anxiety: "How long, O LORD; will You ignore me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long will I have cares on my mind, grief in my heart all day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Look at me, answer me, O LORD, my God! Restore the luster to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death; lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,” my foes exult when I totter" (Psalm 13: 2-5). It is dangerous — to directly experience the hidden nature of God can sear itself into your eyes, and into your soul. God chose to conceal the Divine Presence — either as a punishment for sin or because God cannot tolerate the fact of our suffering. But, here is the good news: a God Who hides is also a God who can be found. The eclipse itself is a testimony to the cycles that attend to the natural universe, the flowing of time and the placement of the planets and orbs — all imagined, all in the mind of God — as intimated in the opening words of Genesis. You have bought your eclipse glasses, haven't you? In the words of Bruce Springsteen: Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sunBut mama, that's where the fun is ("Blinded by the Light"). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices