The following are excerpts from a pamphlet published by
Rabbi Alex Schutz entitled "Of the Heavens" (Di
Shemaya -- in Hebrew and English) in parallel with the
current masechta of the daf yomi: Rosh
Hashanah. The first part is from the Introduction, and the
second is taken from a comment on the masechta
itself.
Science and Torah
Rambam directs us to look and marvel at the creations of
Hashem (Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 2,5). One may suggest
that this is one of the intentions of the Ribono Shel
Olom in commanding us mitzvos that incorporate the
necessity to know and understand the intricate aspects of
creation. Time and time again the gemora indicates
that Chazal, indeed, were proficient in all areas of science
(see Bechoros 8b).
Of all the sciences intertwined with the Torah, astronomy
clearly stands at the forefront. A basic knowledge of
astronomy is useful in understanding many facets of the
Torah. The following are examples from the Chumash
where such knowledge adds a deeper insight into the events
described and an appreciation for the creation of the world
which should lead us to greater ahavas Hashem.
Example One: Balance in Beri'as Ho'olom
We see Hashem was meticulous to maintain a balance in the
creation of both the physical and spiritual worlds. We find
that when Hashem created the world He used the words "ki
tov" upon the completion of each day. On the second day
of creation, the words "ki tov" are not mentioned at
all; however, on the third day of creation, we find the words
"ki tov" stated twice.
Rashi (Bereishis 1,7) asks, "And for what [reason were
the words] ki tov not stated on the second day?" He
answers that the creation of the waters was not completed
until the third day, and even though it was started on the
second [day], something that is not finished is incomplete in
its goodness. On the third day, when the creation of the
waters was completed and the next task was started and
completed, the words "ki tov" are stated twice: once
for the completion of the task started on the second day and
once for the completion of the task of that day.
One may ask why Hashem chose to complete the creation of the
waters on the third day rather than finish the entire task on
the second day? This can be explained based on the following
Rashi (Bereishis 2,7) which discusses the creation of
man: "He made him from the upper [world] and the lower
[world]. The body was from the lower, and the soul from the
upper. [This is] because on the first day, the heavens and
earth were created, and on the second day the roki'a,
the firmament, which belongs to the upper [was created]. On
the third, the land appeared in the lower. On the fourth, the
luminaries in the upper, and on the fifth the waters swarmed
in the lower. Therefore, the sixth day required creation from
both the upper and the lower worlds, for if not, there would
be jealousy in the creation because one [world] would have
one day more than the other."
Likewise, Hashem did not want to finish the creation of the
water on the second day (which was designated for the upper
world) because the completion of that task was on the land.
In order to prevent jealousy in the creation, He delayed the
completion of that task until the third day.
We find additional evidence in maseches Keilim (17,14)
that there was balance in creation. The mishna states:
"There is in the creation of the first day tumah, on
the second day there is no tumah, on the third day
there is tumah, on the fourth and fifth days there is
no tumah and all of the creations of the sixth day
have tumah." Thus, we find that on three of the days,
there were things created that had the capacity to receive
tumah, and there were three days in which the
creations did not have the capacity to receive tumah.
If the completion of the creation of the waters had taken
place on the second day ("Let the dry land appear"), then the
creation of the second day would also have had in it the
capacity to receive tumah, thereby disturbing the
balance in the creation.
The revolution of the earth around the sun takes 365 days and
the gemora (Makkos 23b) states that this
revolution corresponds to the 365 negative commandments. In
keeping with the concept that there should be no jealousy in
the creation, it would be appropriate to find some celestial
phenomenon corresponding to the 248 positive commandments;
but such a phenomenon is not immediately apparent.
However, upon more careful reflection we can detect a lunar
pattern of 248. The yearly course of the sun through the
stars (as viewed from the earth) is called the ecliptic. This
course traveled by the sun through the stars in one year
(sidereal year), takes the moon only 27.321661 days (one
average sidereal month). The moon orbits the earth in the
path of the ecliptic with a 5 degree inclination to the plane
defined by the ecliptic. Because the moon's course is
inclined to the ecliptic, it crosses the ecliptic twice a
month, once heading north forming an ascending node and once
heading south forming a descending node. The nodes of the
moon are the points where the moon crosses the ecliptic.
The plane of the moon's orbit slowly shifts backwards
(opposite to the direction of the moon's orbit) relative to
the stars. The average time interval from ascending node to
ascending node is 27.21222 days or one draconic month. The
average sidereal month is 27.331661 days. Since a draconic
month is shorter than a sidereal month, the nodes of the moon
of one month precede the positions of the nodes of the
previous month on the ecliptic by approximately 1.5 degrees.
It takes 18.6 years to complete one full revolution of
regression (backward movement) of the nodes along the
ecliptic. During this time, the moon completes 248 orbits of
the earth against the backdrop of the stars (248 sidereal
months).
Based on the interpretation of the words shono and
chodesh by the Ibn Ezra (Shemos 12,1) we may be
able to explain why the negative commandments are hinted at
by the sun's orbit and positive commandments by the moon's
orbit. The word for "year" in Hebrew -- shono -- means
repetition because the sun repeats its course, almost
exactly, year after year. The word month -- chodesh --
means new, because the moon has a slightly different (new)
course each month (in addition to going through its various
phases).
Based on this explanation, it is fitting to have the orbit of
the sun hint at the negative commandments because
prohibitions are constant as is the sun's orbit. The hint to
the positive commandments comes from the moon because
performance of mitzvos asei can be done with renewed
vigor and with new and deeper understanding each time they
are performed -- like the rejuvenation of the moon.
Example Two: Destruction of Sdom
Rashi states that Hashem overturned Sdom shortly after
sunrise, when both the sun and the moon ruled the sky. The
explanation of this Rashi is clearly based upon the monthly
cycle of the moon. Rashi states that the mal'ochim
came to Lot on Pesach (he fed them matzos see
Bereishis 19,3). The mal'ochim visited Avrohom
on the first day of Pesach, which occurs on the 15th of
Nisan. They then went to Sdom and the next morning,
presumably the 16th of Nisan, Sdom was destroyed.
Beginning from the time of the molad (when the moon
passes between the earth and the sun), the moon distances
itself from the sun (as seen from Earth) by slightly more
than 12 degrees per day. Thus, on the 16th of the month, the
distance between the sun and the moon will be almost 200
degrees. The spin of the earth on its axis causes the rising
and setting of the sun and the moon. On the 16th of the
month, the moon will not yet have risen when the sun sets,
since our view of the sky overhead is an arc of only 180
degrees and the moon is, as we said, almost 200 degrees away
from the sun. The moon will thus rise about an hour after
sunset and will appear as an almost full moon in the sky for
the remainder of the night. The moon will set in the west
more than one hour after sunrise. Thus, in the early morning
of the 16th both the sun and the moon "rule" in the sky. The
sun rules in the east as it rises, and the moon in the west
as it has not yet set.
Example Three: Makkas Bechoros at Midnight
The Torah refers to the plague of the slaying of the first-
born Egyptians as an act of "passing over" by Hashem. He
skipped over the homes of the Hebrews and killed only the
Egyptians. HaRav Shlomo Miller of Toronto asks: How could
this plague have occurred in a sequential pattern if the
firstborn all died at the very instant of midnight? He
answers that indeed they all did die at exactly midnight, but
exact midnight is relative to one's position on the earth.
The line of midnight is in opposition to the sun. As the
earth spins in its daily rotation, the lines of longitude
move through midnight in succession. Therefore, the plague
started in eastern Egypt where midnight comes first. Then, as
the line of midnight moved from east to west, Hashem jumped
over the houses of the Hebrews and killed the Egyptians, each
one exactly at midnight in his location.
The following comment applies to the daf yomi of
last Thursday, 2 Av.
Rosh Hashanah 11a: Tosafos (Elo dekoi) brings a
Medrash Tanchuma which states that when the angel
informed Avrohom about the future birth of Yitzchok, the
angel said, "I will return," and drew a line on the wall. The
angel then said, "When the sun reaches this spot [Soroh] will
be remembered [with a child]," implying that one year from
that Pesach (the following Pesach) Yitzchok would be born.
The sign given for one year was when the sun casts its shadow
again in the same spot.
The Rivo asks as follows: If the predicted date of the birth
of Yitzchok was based on the sun's position (as indicated by
the shadow cast), how could Yitzchok have been born on the
following Pesach? Is there not an eleven day discrepancy
between the solar and lunar year? (Jewish holidays are based
on the lunar year.)
One answer to this question is that the angel who informed
Avrohom that he would return in a year was Refoel, who came
on the third day after the mila of Avrohom, to heal
him. He also visited the baby Yitzchok on the third day after
his mila, in order to heal him. Since Yitzchok was
eight days old at the time of his mila and the angel
came three days later, it follows that the angel came one
solar year later. Even though Yitzchok was born on Pesach one
lunar year later (354 days), the angel came eleven days (one
solar year) later. I heard this answer in the name of HaRav
Tzvi Yehuda Friedman. (Note: This is not in accordance with
the Medrash which states that it was the angel Gavriel
who informed Avrohom, and not Refoel.)
According to the gemora which states that the angels
came in Tishrei, the scratch on the wall can be explained as
follows. The earth is tilted at 23.44 degrees to its orbit
around the sun. As the earth circles the sun, this tilt
causes the changing seasons. In spring (Tekufas
Nisan), the sun shines directly above the equator. As the
earth revolves around the sun, the sun shines each day at a
spot further north than the previous day until it reaches
23.44 degrees north of the equator (on the first day of
summer, Tekufas Tammuz). After that, the daily
position of the sun shifts further south until it reaches the
equator on the first day of fall (Tekufas Tishrei). It
continues heading south until the winter (Tekufas
Teves), when it reaches 23.44 degrees south of the
equator. After that, the path northward is resumed.
Because of this cycle, each spot between 23.44 degrees north
and 23.44 degrees south will have the sun directly overhead
twice a year, exactly six months apart: once as the sun heads
north and once as it heads south. When the mal'ochim
came to Avrohom in Tishrei, the sun shone directly over the
equator. In Nisan too, the sun shines directly over the
equator. Therefore, the sun cast its shadow again in Nisan on
that same spot on the wall that the mal'ach etched the
previous Tishrei.
Rabbi Schutz lives in Kiryat Sefer, Israel.
