“Machar Chodesh” is one of my favorite haftarot… but what’s hiding within this awesome haftarah episode from David’s adventures?
Author: astrorav
Midrash & the Making of the Moon
Shemot Rabbah on Parshat Hachodesh and Barchi Nafshi helps explain difficulty on the Moon in Genesis…
The First Mitzvah, The First Month
Astronomy is a prerequisite for the first mitzvah, which we read about in Parshat Hachodesh…
The Shining Faces of Moshe & the Moon
An astronomical analogy on Moshe’s face shining like the Moon in Parshat Ki Tisa…
The Thirteenth Month and the Constellation Ophiuchus
The thirteenth month, Adar, and the thirteenth Zodiac constellation, Ophiuchus. what is the connection?
There’s a Bad Star on the Rise
In the course of the arguments of Moses and Aaron convincing Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, we find fascinating ideas that are illuminated by astronomy.
Blessings on Comets
The apparition of Comet Catalina is an ideal opportunity to talk about the blessing said on seeing comets…
Asarah B’Tevet: The (Babylonian) Empire Strikes Back & The Torah Awakens
A New Hope is followed by The Empire Strikes Back… and Chanukah is shortly after followed by Asarah B’Tevet. In these, the rebels/Jews are besieged – on Hoth or in Jerusalem…
The Torah Awakens
Torah and Star Wars!
Zot Chanukah & Incandescence
To illuminate the process described in Rashi’s comment, I thought people would really enjoy this awesome video by Ben Ames explaining “What is a Flame?”
Dreidel Earth
As a brief follow up to the last post, which discussed the Earth’s axial tilt, I thought I’d add another brief point about how the Earth is like a dreidel – in one respect, at least. This won’t involve much actual Torah, but dreidels are, at least, a very traditional part of Chanukah customs. As mentioned,…
The First Festival of Light
Chanukah is often referred to as the Festival of Light(s). But it is not the first Festival of Light in the world, as the Talmud tells us.
AstroRav: Torah & Astronomy 