The Eclipse and Us

 תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: בִּזְמַן שֶׁהַחַמָּה לוֹקָה — סִימָן רַע לְכׇל הָעוֹלָםכּוּלּוֹ. מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה? לְמֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וְדָם שֶׁעָשָׂהסְעוּדָה לַעֲבָדָיו וְהִנִּיחַ פָּנָס לִפְנֵיהֶם, כָּעַס עֲלֵיהֶם וְאָמַרלְעַבְדּוֹ: טוֹל פָּנָס מִפְּנֵיהֶם וְהוֹשִׁיבֵם בַּחוֹשֶׁךְ.   Apropos the factthat rain on Sukkot is an indication of divine rebuke, the Gemara citesseveral related topics. The Sages taught: When the sun is eclipsed it is abad omen for the entire world. The Gemara tells a parable. To what isthis matter comparable? It is comparable to a king of flesh and bloodwho prepared a feast for his servants and placed a lantern [panas]before them to illuminate the hall. He became angry at them and said tohis servant: Take the lantern from before them and seat them in darkness.     תַּנְיָא רַבִּי מֵאִיר אוֹמֵר: כׇּל זְמַן שֶׁמְּאוֹרוֹת לוֹקִין — סִימָןרַע לְשׂוֹנְאֵיהֶם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁמְּלוּמָּדִין בְּמַכּוֹתֵיהֶן.מָשָׁל לְסוֹפֵר שֶׁבָּא לְבֵית הַסֵּפֶר וּרְצוּעָה בְּיָדוֹ, מִי דּוֹאֵג — מִישֶׁרָגִיל לִלְקוֹת בְּכׇל יוֹם וָיוֹם הוּא דּוֹאֵג.   It is taught in a baraitathat Rabbi Meir says: When the heavenly lights, i.e., the sun andthe moon, are eclipsed, it is a bad omen for the enemies of the Jewishpeople, which is a euphemism for the Jewish people, because they areexperienced in their beatings. Based on past experience, they assume thatany calamity that afflicts the world is directed at them. The Gemara suggests aparable: This is similar to a teacher who comes to the school with astrap in his hand. Who worries? The child who is accustomed to be beateneach and every day is the one who worries.     תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: בִּזְמַן שֶׁהַחַמָּה לוֹקָה — סִימָן רַע לַגּוֹיִם.לְבָנָה לוֹקָה — סִימָן רַע לְשׂוֹנְאֵיהֶם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל. מִפְּנֵישֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל מוֹנִין לַלְּבָנָה, וְגוֹיִם לַחַמָּה. לוֹקָה בַּמִּזְרָח —סִימָן רַע לְיוֹשְׁבֵי מִזְרָח. בַּמַּעֲרָב — סִימָן רַע לְיוֹשְׁבֵי מַעֲרָב.בְּאֶמְצַע הָרָקִיעַ — סִימָן רַע לְכׇל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלּוֹ.   The Sages taught in another baraita:When the sun is eclipsed, it is a bad omen for the other nations.When the moon is eclipsed, it is a bad omen for the enemies of the Jewishpeople. This is due to the fact that the Jewish people calculatetheir calendar primarily based on the moon, and the other nationscalculate based on the sun. When the sun is eclipsed in the east, itis a bad omen for the residents of the lands of the east. When it iseclipsed in the west, it is a bad omen for the residents of the lands ofthe west. When it is eclipsed in the middle of the sky, it is a badomen for the entire world.     פָּנָיו דּוֹמִין לְדָם — חֶרֶב בָּא לָעוֹלָם. לְשַׂק — חִיצֵּי רָעָבבָּאִין לָעוֹלָם. לָזוֹ וְלָזוֹ — חֶרֶב וְחִיצֵּי רָעָב בָּאִין לָעוֹלָם. לָקָהבִּכְנִיסָתוֹ — פּוּרְעָנוּת שׁוֹהָה לָבֹא. בִּיצִיאָתוֹ — מְמַהֶרֶת לָבֹא.וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים חִילּוּף הַדְּבָרִים.   If, during aneclipse, the visage of the sun is red like blood, it is anomen that sword, i.e., war, is coming to the world. If the sun isblack like sackcloth made of dark goat hair, it is an omen that arrowsof hunger are coming to the world, because hunger darkens people’s faces.When it is similar both to this, to blood, and to that, tosackcloth, it is a sign that both sword and arrows of hunger are coming tothe world. If it was eclipsed upon its entry, soon after rising, itis an omen that calamity is tarrying to come. If the sun is eclipsed uponits departure at the end of the day, it is an omen that calamity ishastening to come. And some say the matters are reversed: An eclipse in theearly morning is an omen that calamity is hastening, while an eclipse in thelate afternoon is an omen that calamity is tarrying.     וְאֵין לְךָ כׇּל אוּמָּה וְאוּמָּהּ שֶׁלּוֹקָה, שֶׁאֵין אֱלֹהֶיהָ לוֹקֶהעִמָּהּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וּבְכׇל אֱלֹהֵי מִצְרַיִם אֶעֱשֶׂה שְׁפָטִים״. וּבִזְמַןשֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם אֵין מִתְיָרְאִין מִכׇּל אֵלּוּ,שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״כֹּה אָמַר ה׳ אֶל דֶּרֶךְ הַגּוֹיִם אַל תִּלְמָדוּ וּמֵאוֹתוֹתהַשָּׁמַיִם אַל תֵּחָתּוּ כִּי יֵחַתּוּ הַגּוֹיִם מֵהֵמָּה״ — גּוֹיִם יֵחַתּוּ,וְאֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵחַתּוּ.   The Sages said: Thereis no nation that is afflicted whose god is not afflicted with it, as it isstated: “And against all the gods of Egypt I will mete out judgment; I am God”(Exodus 12:12). The Gemara adds: When the Jewish people perform God’s will,they need not fear any of these omens, as it is stated: “Thussays the Lord: Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at thesigns of Heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them” (Jeremiah 10:2). Thenations will be dismayed, but the Jewish people will not be dismayed,provided they do not follow the ways of the nations.      תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: בִּשְׁבִיל אַרְבָּעָה דְּבָרִים חַמָּה לוֹקָה: עַל אָבבֵּית דִּין שֶׁמֵּת וְאֵינוֹ נִסְפָּד כַּהֲלָכָה, וְעַל נַעֲרָה הַמְאוֹרָסָהשֶׁצָּעֲקָה בָּעִיר וְאֵין מוֹשִׁיעַ לָהּ, וְעַל מִשְׁכַּב זְכוּר, וְעַל שְׁנֵיאַחִין שֶׁנִּשְׁפַּךְ דָּמָן כְּאֶחָד.   The Sages taught that on accountof four matters the sun is eclipsed: On account of a president of thecourt who dies and is not eulogized appropriately, and the eclipse is atype of eulogy by Heaven; on account of a betrothed young woman whoscreamed in the city that she was being raped and there was no one torescue her; on account of homosexuality; and on account of twobrothers whose blood was spilled as one.           בשביל ד' דברים - לאשמעתי טעם בדבר:   RASHI      AbrahamZacuto   Rabbi Abraham Zacuto was born inSalamanca, Spain in 1452. He studied Tora with his father Shemuel Zacuto andwith rabbi Isaac Abohab. He was a great Tora scholar, very well versed inTalmud, Jewish Law, Philosophy and Mysticism. He also studied astronomyin the famous university of Salamanca and taught in the universities ofZaragoza and Cartagena.  In1492, when the Jews were expelled from Spain he fled to Portugal. ThePortuguese King Joao the 2nd appointed him as the Royal Astronomer and theHistorian of the court. In 1497, upon the arrival of the new King Manuel,the Jews of Portugal underwent a forced conversion, in other words, they weredeclared Christians by Royal decree, and if found practicing Judaism they wouldbe killed by the Inquisition in the infamous Autos de Fe. He fled to Tunis andlater on managed to arrive to Jerusalem, where he died in 1515 (Other versionshave him living his final days in Damascus, Syria).  RabbiAbraham Zacuto engaged in astronomical research, an indispensable knowledge fornavigating the seas. In 1478 he wrote his major astronomical work, Ha-Ḥibbur ha-Gadol. This book along withother books and treatises on astronomy (e.g., “On the solar and lunar eclipses”) weretranslated to Spanish and Latin. In 1496 the King Joao sought hisadvice before sending Vasco da Gama on his sea expedition to India, around theSouthern coast of Africa. Rabbi Zacuto prepared the naval-astronomicalcalculations. He instructed the expedition to use his newly perfected astrolabe(an astrolabe capable to determine latitude while at sea) and hismaritime tables and charts, especially the Almanach Perpetuum (or BiurLuhoth) which revolutionized ocean navigation.   RabbiZacuto wrote many Tora books as well. His most famous book in Hebrew is calledsefer yohasin (ספר יוחסין) “The book oflineage”, a superbbook of Jewish history since Biblical times until his own days.       Rabbi David Sedley            Christopher Columbus was depressed. This washis third voyage to the Caribbean, but this time an infestation of shipworm hadleft his boats so full of holes that he had no alternative but to beach themjust off the coast of Jamaica.   He sat on the deck, under a palm frondawning, starving, suffering from gout and awaiting rescue. He wrote angryletters to Queen Isabella complaining that Nicolás de Ovando, governor ofHispaniola, had abandoned him (luckily, he had no way of sending the letters tohis benefactor and queen).   He had been marooned on the island since June25, 1503. Six months later some 50 men — more than half his crew and mainly theseasoned mariners — led by Francisco and Diego de Porras, mutinied against him.The mutineers took canoes and forced dozens of the native people to row themthe 600 kilometers (380 miles) to Hispaniola.   Despite several attempts, the current and winds kept forcing them back,so they set up camp inland. In the process, they murdered, raped, or pillagedmany of the local people.   For the first few months, Chief Huero, leader of one of the biggesttribes of the Arawak Indians on the island, had been happy to provide food tothe marooned Spanish sailors. But after the mutineers had killed his people, hestopped sending food, leaving Columbus and his men to starve.   Page from AbrahamZacuto’s Almanach Perpetuum. (Public Domain/ Wikimedia Commons)  Luckily, Columbus thought of a plan to convince Huero to once againsupply his men with food. Before he left Spain, the great explorer had met withRabbi Abraham Zacuto andreceived from him his chart of astronomical tables, which he took with him onall his voyages (these tables are now in the Columbian library in Portugal).   Columbus saw that Zacuto had predicted a lunar eclipse for the night ofFebruary 29, 1504. So he warned Huero that if he didn’t supply provisions forhim and his men, God would publicly display His anger. The tribal chief scoffeduntil a few hours later when the moon started to disappear. He ran quickly toColumbus and begged him to leave the moon alone.   Columbus’s son Ferdinand described what happened:   With great howling and lamentation, they came running from everydirection to the ships, laden with provisions, praying the Admiral to intercedeby all means with God on their behalf; that he might not visit his wrath uponthem.   Columbus used his hourglass to time when theeclipse was nearly finished (it lasted for 48 minutes), then emerged from hiscabin to say that he had prayed and God would forgive the people.   The Arawak continued to feed Columbus and hismen until the Spaniards were finally rescued on June 29, 1504.   o this is the story of how a rabbi from Salamanca, whose ancestors hadbeen expelled from France in 1305, indirectly saved the life of the Spanishdiscoverer of the New World.   But Zacuto’s tables were much more than a trick to fool the indigenouspeople. No seafarer at that time would leave port without his astronomicalcharts. For example, Vasco di Gama met with Zacuto before setting off aroundthe Cape of Good Hope on his voyage to India.   Zacuto also designed a new type of astrolabe,which mariners used to determine their latitude while at sea. He taughtastronomy at the universities of Zaragoza and then Cartagena and was RoyalAstronomer and Historian to the King of Portugal, until Manuel I expelled theJews.   In addition to several invaluableastronomical works, Zacuto wrote a history book entitled Sefer Yuchasin, and akabbalistic book called Matok Lanefesh, in which he discusses the soul, theafterlife, and the resurrection of the dead.   In Sefer Yuchasin, Zacuto wrote of himself (Section 1, aleph,Rabbi Eliezer ben Yehuda):   I was in Spain and in other Christiancountries when my books on astronomy were published, and they would call me‘Rabbi Abraham Zacuto of Salamanca.’ And I am permitted to boast of this,because the Sages said ‘What is the wisdom through which you will be consideredwise in the eyes of the gentiles? It is calculating the astronomical seasonsand constellations’ (Shabbat 75a).And I can testify to Heaven that they praised the Jews greatly for this. But myonly intent was to understand the words of our Sages and the laws that theywrote about this.  So, although Zacuto was praised for hisscientific knowledge, his goal was not primarily to be a scientist, but ratherto understand the words of the rabbis.   Maimonides writes (Hilkhot Yesodei Hatorah2:1-2)   Which is the path to the love and fear ofHim? When a person contemplates His tremendous wondrous actions and creations,and sees in them His infinite, unbounded wisdom, immediately he comes to love,praise, exalt and desire with a great desire to know God… And when he considersthese very same things immediately he recoils and is afraid, and knows that heis a small, lowly creature standing with weak, superficial knowledge before theOne who has perfect knowledge.  According to Maimonides, both love and fearof God come from studying God’s creations. Maimondes then spends the next threechapters explaining physics and metaphysics in detail, so that his readers willbe able to attain love and fear of God. Although his science is taken fromancient Greek philosophers and appears outdated to us nowadays, his pointremains valid.   For Maimonides, the path to loving God, andto fearing God, begins with understanding the greatness of God through studyingscience.   If it wasgood enough to save Columbus’s life, maybe it is good enough for us.         R’ YonasanEybeschutz makes the ingenious suggestion that the Gemara is actually referringto sunspots (“which have no known cause”), not eclipses.[10] Although “the details of sunspotformation are still a matter of ongoing research,”[11] and the formation and location ofindividual sunspots are not entirely predictable,[12] sunspots are nevertheless considered byscientists to be just as rooted in the laws of nature as eclipses.Additionally, our Gemara refers to both the sun and the moon (and the“luminaries”), and while starspots do exist,[13] to the best of my knowledge there are nomoonspots.  The Rema (Toras Ha-Olah 1:8) asks howthe Sages can attribute reasons to a solar eclipse, which is a naturaloccurrence. Whether or not people sin, the solar eclipse will happen. What arethese reasons? He quotes the Akeidas Yitzchak(Vayechi, ch. 32) and Yesod Olam (3:17) who eachinterpret this passage allegorically. The Akeidas Yitzchak explains thatsolar eclipse really refers to the death of the righteous, the lights of ourcommunity who are extinguished. Yesod Olam goes in the other direction.He understands the four reasons for a solar eclipse as allegories for themovement of the moon. For example, the two brothers who die refer to the sunand the moon who both lose their light, so to speak, during a solar eclipse.Rema offers a different allegorical interpretation, connecting the four reasonsto the movements of the astrological signs relating to a solar eclipse.  Centuries later, Rav Chaim Elazar Shapiro (Divrei Torah 6:93) offered anadditional allegorical interpretation. He compares the moon’s receipt of lightfrom the sun to the Jewish people’s receipt of divine attention or overflow.When that is blocked in any way, it signifies a distance from God.  Significantly, Rema explains that a solareclipse can be a bad omen even though it is a natural phenomenon. The basicpremise of astrology is that there are times of the year that are good forcertain things and bad for other things, which can be understood by examiningthe stars. While great rabbis debated the legitimacy of astrology (e.g. Rambamwas against, Ibn Ezra was in favor), Rema explains that a solar eclipse is nodifferent. It is a natural phenomenon like the movement of the stars, whichthose who accept astrology recognize as meaningful to people. Centuries later,the Aruch La-Ner (Sukkah 29a)and Ben Yehoyada (Sukkah 29a)explained the bad omen similarly, as a time when bad things happen naturally.  R’ Yitzchak Arama (the Akeidas Yitzchak) alsointerprets the Gemara allegorically. He rejects out of hand its straightforwardreading as preposterous and false, declaring that “it is not a condition ofadherence to the Torah to accept obvious falsehoods.” He approvingly cites theMuslim philosopher al-Ghazali’s rejection of a similar idea of eclipsesconstituting omens apparently held by Muhammad, in the course of whichal-Ghazali states that greater harm is caused to religion by one who takes suchthings literally and accepts them than by one who challenges them  Rabbi YeshayahuHorowitz (Shelah haKadosh) and Rabbi Chaimibn Attar (Or haHayim haKadosh). The former takes the views that Godcannot know which moral choices people will make, but this does not impair Hisperfection. The latter considers that God could know the future if He wished,but deliberately refrains from using this ability in order to avoid theconflict with free will.[7]  Maharal (Be’er Ha-Golah, ch. 6, p.106) explains that the Gemara is offering reasons why God establishednature in such a way that there would be solar eclipses. If people did not sin,we would merit eternal light. However, because God knew people would sin, Hecreated the world in such a way that solar eclipses would happen. The Gemara isnot offering the reason for a solar eclipse (which is nature) but the reasonbehind the reason (why nature is that way). The Shelah (Hagahos toBereishis, quoted in Sedeih Tzofim, Sukkah 29a)explains similarly      The Shelah Hakadosh, in parashasNoach, addresses a similar question regarding the os of the keshes, which isalso meant to be connected ..  Guy on the roof  You forgot to make the fence  The fallen one will fall   Was supposed to fall  So why am I responsible   Because I am the irresponsible agent   Hashem knew  And arranged pelony guilty   The way I explained   Set up Split Sea, set up Sun would stop  Phenomenon like clock work  Set up now   Free choice   With foreknowledge      לפעמים כי ככר, לרשחי כאשר כך, הוא כאמח אךמצאו כאשר גלולים, כחמים עצמה כחמה נמצאכזמנים ככלי הכטה, וכחמים אלו אין להם סכה ילועה,ומכל שכן זמן ילוע וחשכון, וכאשר יהיו כה כחמים, איןוא״כ זהו ליקוי כחמים, כמוכלי מכהיקכל כך אורהאפסה אורה, וזהו סיכח עונש, כאמח, כי החמה חמהוזהו מאורוח לוקין. וכאמח לעכירוח שנוללו כנו אין אנואכל מהחמה, אור קצח כהעלר כלום כו מרגישיםקלמונים הרגישו למאול כחסרון אורה כרוכ או כמעט,אלמה כיהוא חשכח אור, וכל כך מיעוט שפעח ככניכמאמר כחוללה, פעולחו וכל וכמחכונחו, כצחצחוגלול עונש ולכך משמש, אלם אלםיולילהו הפילוסוףכמה שקרה כחמים לחמה וקלרוח, כי למאול גכרו, וזהוחטאים שהזכירו חז״ל, ולפי גולל ככל עון, כן כסיכוחעול. עיי״ש ע״כ. כמאורוח. והקלרוח הליקוי יקרהממונקאטש זצ״ל כלכרי חורה )ח״ו הגה״צ כזה ומ״שאות צג-צד(     עיין מ״ש הגה״ק ר׳צלוק הכהן מלוכלין שם. גמ׳.כספר קומץ המנחה )חלק א אות יח( וז״ל: לקוחכשיעמול ירח כינה לארץ. ולקוח לכנה כשיעמול החמהארץ כינה לחמה. לכן כשלכנה לוקה סימן רע לישראל כיהרע המגיע לארץ ממנה עצמה וכן ישראל פרי מעלליהםיאכלו. אכל חמה לוקה סימן רע לאו״ה שגמול מעשיהםהם ואין המערכח כפי כעוה״ז המגיע ורע לעוה״כגם כלכנה הגורמיםאלא ל״א או יאמר כי ליקוי לכנהעמו רעלישראל כמ״ש נעלרהאור. וזהו סימן עצמהשל פמליא נחמעטה כיהמ״ק וכשנחרכ כצרה אנכימעלה. אכל ליקוי החמה העלר האור לרואים ולא כחמה.וחסר כמקומוכשלימוח שהשפע לאו״ה רע סימן וזהלהם. ע״כ     שכחכ: )בהגהות לספר בראשית( להשל״ה הקלוש וע״עמה על שהקשה זו לוגמא קושיא עול וכןשאמרו רכוחינו ז״ל על ל׳ לכרים מאורוח לוקין, על אכ     נספל כהלכה כו׳, הלאהליקוי הוא כיחלין שמח ולאוהכקיאים כחכמה זו יכולים וירח, מצלחנועוח השמשלחשוכ כאיזה שעה חהיה הליקוי והוא לכר טכעי. ואניפרק לאיחאכמסכח שכח מהא מחורץ אומרשכל זהכמה מלליקין )לב ע״א( חנא לכי רכי ישמעאל, כי יפולהנופל ממנו, ראוי זה ליפול מששח ימי כראשיח, שהרילא נפל והכחוכ קראו נופל, אלא שמגלגלים זכוח על יליימי מששח רש״י, ופירש חייכ. ילי על וחוכה זכאיהלורוח מראש, שנגלו לפניו כל קורא לכחיכ כראשיח,כשניחנה שהרי פורענוחם, וקנס ומעשיהם הלורוחחורה עליין לא נפל זה וקראו נופל, עכ״ל. ומאחר שכןופורענוחם, מעשיהם וילע מראש הלורוח שקרא הואעל כן המציא הקכ״ה וכרא זו הטכע להיוח הקשח, כיאז כעמלו כעח עמלו מימי נח ואילך יורה הכריח הזהעול יהיה ככריחושלא נאמן והקכ״ה חוטאים, שהםהקכ״ה ומכיט ככל מכול. וכן לענין הליקוי, היהצופהכעח לקוי שיהיו השמים צכא מהלך וכרא הלורוח,שראויים ללקוח מפני חטאים הנ״ל. ואל חכהל אח פיךהנה ככר גלוי וילוע כל החטאים שיהיו ועל זה לאמר,נראה לעין וכראכריאחו, אם כן מעשה הקכ״ה עשההכחירה. איפוא ואיה הכרחיים הם האלה שהחטאיםוהקושיא הקלומה של יליעה וכחירה היא קשה כענין זהכזה הארכחי ככר כי לע לעין. ונראה כחוקף יוחריראו שם עיין הכחירה, ככיח אלם חוללוח כהקלמהעיניך וישמח לכך, על לרך ההם הוא על לרך הפשט     הנ״ל כשם עניינים וישרככל טוכ לרך מצאחי עודחכם מופלג וזה לשונו, כענין מאורוח לוקין, הגםכי הליקוי הוא על פי החשכון, מכל מקום לולי החטאהנכיא שאמר לרך על ומסך, כענן ונעשה המעכה)ישעיה נט,ב(, כי אם עונוחיכם היו מכלילים כיניכם לכיןאלהיכם הכלל גופני גשמי, היה הצל כהיר וזך כל כך, לאיאונה לצליק כל און ולא יעשה רושם והפסק האחל כפנימאירים והכוככים והלכנה שהשמש כשעה חכירוכן אורם, מעככים והיסולוח השמים ואין ומזהיריםהלכר הזה. ולהיוח סיכח החטא שכהיוח זה לעומח זהשנעשה כענן מפסיק, על כן הוא סימן ללכריהם ז״ל. וכןכענין הקשח נוכל לומר שהגם שהוא לכר טכעי כהיוחכגכורחו, שכנגלוהשמש וחלק גשומה אחח ארץ חלקכזכוחם וחחחונים העליונים כח הנוטל החטא אלמלאוכהירחם, לא היה עושה רושם גשמיי כזה. נמצא עשייחהעליונים כח הנוטל השחנוח סימן גשמיי, רושםוחחחונים כזכוחם וכהירחם, לא היה עושה רושםגשמיי   גשמיי, 0ימ; השחנוח עלידי כזה.נמצא עשייח רושםגו6ני מקכל שינוי ונעשה כח מעשינוכח וחיוח עליוניככח היה אם היהכ; מהשלא ומקריוח, והשחניוחשינוי יקכלו שלא מעלה של הנכדלים כשאר עליוניומקרה. ודכר זה עיקר גדול ואמוניי, שכ; כידינו על ידימעשינו ח0 ושלום השמים לא יחנו טלם והארץ יכולה