The Daf Yomi cycle just finished studying Masechet Rosh Hashanah. Mazal tov to all those who have completed this study! In Masechet Rosh Hashanah observations of the Moon play a very significant role. A major topic of study in this tractate is how the ancient Jewish “calendar” worked. In fact, it was not really a…
Category: Moon & Solar System
Ramban and the Early Atmosphere
Ramban’s comments on the meorot (heavenly luminaries) and rakia (firmament; or sky…) connect to the Earth’s early history…
Yotzer Or: The Astronomers’ Blessing 2
The blessing Yotzer Or, “Who creates light”, said daily before reading the Shema in the morning, is full of astronomical ideas to enhance kavana…
The Menorah and Planets
Chanukah is an opportune time to share this interesting midrash about the Menorah and planets…
Bereishit and the Nobel Prize
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star” can help understand a midrash on Bereishit…
HaAdam Al HaYareach (Man on the Moon) Part 4
In 1969 Rabbi Menachem Kasher, one of the gedolim [= great Torah scholars] of the twentieth century, published a series of Torah thought essays related to the most amazing event of his time, or any time ever in human history: the Apollo 11 Moon Landing. In honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing, this week I am…
HaAdam Al HaYareach (Man on the Moon) Part 3
Rav Kasher answers the question, from a Torah point of view… Is one even allowed to go to the Moon?
HaAdam Al Hayareach (Man on the Moon) Part 2
Rav Kasher explains a verse in Isaiah and gives a geopolitical drasha on why the Apollo 11 Moon Landing is a great sign for the Jewish people…
HaAdam Al HaYareach, Man on the Moon
In 1969 Rabbi Menachem Kasher published a series of Torah essays related to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing: HaAdam Al Hayareach…
Eclipses
In the less well known Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer we find a less ominous, more astronomy focused talmudic take on eclipses…
Midrash & the Making of the Moon
Shemot Rabbah on Parshat Hachodesh and Barchi Nafshi helps explain difficulty on the Moon in Genesis…
The Shining Faces of Moshe & the Moon
An astronomical analogy on Moshe’s face shining like the Moon in Parshat Ki Tisa…
AstroRav: Torah & Astronomy 