There is an obviously very appealing idea extant in Jewish sources that Abraham the Patriarch was an astronomer. Where do we see this idea? And where does it originate?
Category: talmud
Rosh Hashanah vs. The Sun Blessing
The Rosh Hashanah Machzor says היום הרת עולם and depending on your edition, probably translates it something like “today is the birthday of the world” or some fairly similar translation. But… Says who? This holiday is not called “Rosh Hashanah” (“start of year” or more colloquially, “new year”) in the Torah. It’s called a יום…
Origins of Rainwater in Taanit
Masechet Taanit features a disagreement between Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Eliezer about the origins of rainwater…
Lunar Observations in Rosh Hashanah
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…
Black Holes in Pesachim
The very first line of Pesachim focuses attention on one of astronomers’ favorite topics: light! Or does it?
AstroRav: Torah & Astronomy 