Imprecise Precision in Kiddush HaChodesh

Recently, I have noticed a newer practice in several shuls. When they announce the molad they declare that the molad "IN YERUSHALAYIM" will be (or was) at such and such time. Clearly, people are trying to be more precise and accurate with their announcements.

The actual molad is the time when the moon is lined up, directly, with the earth and sun. This is referred to as a lunar conjunction. From this point on the moon will begin to "grow". This event, obviously, happens in one moment and, therefore, one may want to know to which place the time announced is referring. We happen to use a calculated molad which is based on the average amount of time between conjunctions, but this still corresponds to a split second.

If one wanted to, he could figure out when the times of kiddush levana are based on the molad. Therefore, it seems like a wise practice to be more precise so that people will not recite kiddush levana too early or late (thinking that the time was their own time such as EST or PST). It seems clear that most halachic authorities (with the notable exception of the Alei Yonah) maintain that the molad is based on Yerushalayim time.

While noble in theory, this idea is actually, in my humble opinion, doing the exact opposite of what it is trying to accomplish. First of all, let's be honest, almost nobody has a clue what is being announced or of its implications. The few people who do (and know how to calculate kiddush levana times) most probably know that the time announced is based on Yerushalayim. Also, announcing "in Yerushalayim is completely inaccurate, as well and does not resolve anything.

Prior to the nineteenth century every city (location) had its own "timezone". They based their clock on the equinox and considered sunrise and sunset to be the ends of the day. They then called those times six o'clock and kept this count throughout the year. Since Brooklyn is east of Baltimore, for example, Brooklyn will be a little bit ahead of Baltimore's "timezone". When the trains started to run they needed to make uniform timezones in order for them to run on time. This was the STANDARDIZATION of the timezones. That's why we have Eastern Standard Time, etc. Whole segments of countries adapted to one timezone and rejected their local "timezones".

The times mentioned in the announced molad are not of the standardized time in Yerushalayim, but of the local time. It is actually about 21 -22 minutes off. This means that even in Yerushalayim one needs to subtract this amount from the announced time prior to calculating kiddush levana. This is not a new concept and most rabbanim and calendars are familiar with this and they adjust (or inform the reader to adjust) accordingly.

Therefore, unless one announces the time as being in Yerushalayim Local (or Solar) Time, effectively they are announcing it in Yerushalayim Standard Time. Even if one were to announce it as such, I think that it would just create confusion and blank stares since most people don't know what that means. Therefore, I would, humbly, suggest (although I know some honorable rabbanim disagree) to avoid confusion and just announce the molad in the way that it has been for as far back as most can remember. Most people have no clue as to what it is anyway, and what does one gain by confusing them?

Mincha 3 Minutes After Chatzos?

Now that the clocks have changed, many are finding themselves able to daven mincha at very early (and often times convenient times.) Couple that with the fact that we find Yitzchak Avinu davening mincha in this week's parsha and it makes for a great topic. Many are familiar with the common halachic practice of waiting 1/2 hour (defined as a 1/24 of the time between sunrise and sunset or 30 minutes, whichever is longer) from midday to daven. Upon further analysis, one must ask why one cannot daven much earlier (say 3 minutes after midday) during many times of the year.

The reason for this practice is as follows. The Gemara (Yoma 28b) tells us that they delayed from davening mincha (or bringing the afternoon offering in the Beis HaMikdash) until they could be certain that it was after midday. Since the walls in the Beis HaMikdash were sloped, it took 1/2 hour after midday for them to cast a noticeable shadow. Therefore, we wait this amount of time (the Mishna Berurah in his Shaar HaTziyun 233 is unsure if this half hour is 1/24 of the day or 30 minutes and this is why many take the longer of the two; athough ALL the earlier sources maintained it was 1/24 of the day).

We must identify upon which day we are talking regarding the shadow from the walls. The sun always "travels" at the same speed. However, during some days the sun is going in more of an east/west motion and others it is going more up/down. In the summer when the days are long, the sun is not taking a steep angle at midday and most of its motion is seen going east/west. During the winter, the sun is going at a steep angle because the day is short and it is starting to go downwards quickly. The sun will therefore cast the same amount of shadow in the summertime at a far shorter time interval than the winter.

The Gemara tells us that the day we are talking about is when Erev Pesach falls on Erev Shabbos. On such a day, the afternoon offering would be brought a half hour after midday, as opposed to a normal day when it would be brought three and a half hours after midday. Since Pesach is around the time of the vernal (spring) equinox, one can now figure the time required for the shadows throughout the rest of the year.

In the summertime, it would only take 9 minutes for the sun to travel from midday in a westward direction to reach the same point. In the winter it would take 50 minutes. This does not take into account the fact that the sun is higher in the summer than winter. That would make the times more extreme. If one goes to a latitude higher than Yerushalayim, that will also shorten the amount of time necessary to cast the shadow.

All this can be seen via a simple experiment. Take something like a book and lean it against a wall. Then take a flashlight and move it from one side to the next and watch how quickly the shadow is cast. Notice that if the "across" motion is done more quickly the shadow is cast faster. Also, notice that if the flashlight is held higher the shadow is cast sooner.

Could this mean that here in Baltimore we could daven mincha in the winter at 3 minutes after midday? The answer would most certainly be "no." A reading of the Rambam (Hilchos Tefillah 3:2) makes it clear that we are not mimicking what could be happening in the Beis HaMikdash if it were in your location and on the day you are davening. We are calculating the concept of the time based on the Beis HaMikdash and utilize when they would bring the sacrifices. Since the only day this offering was offered so closely to midday was around the vernal equinox we only take that day as a reference point. Therefore, even though the shadow would be cast much sooner in the wintertime and in Baltimore, we don't care. It must also be noted that one should preferably not daven prior to 3 1/2 hours after midday unless there is a pressing need. This is seen in the Shulchan Aruch and comes about from the fact that they only offered the sacrifice earlier in the Beis HaMikdash when there was a pressing need.

The Sky is Falling (on Sedom)!!!

Is it possible that an ancient tablet, currently in the British Museum, is actually a copy of what Avraham Avinu recorded the morning that Sedom was annihilated? Tablet K8538 is a clay tablet that many have referred to as "The Planisphere". It is clearly depicting some astronomical event that occurred many years ago as it contains a snapshot of the sky at a specific moment in time.

Although the tablet dates back to 700 B.C.E., the author of its cryptic message, clearly, was copying from an older text. The positions of the stars clearly show a date that is much older than the one attributed to the age of the tablet itself. If so, then one can conclude that the author was actually copying from a much earlier text.

Why would someone have bothered to copy some archaic and senseless picture of a night sky? Rather, it seems that this specific event must have been known and recorded over and over and the event recorded must have been something fantastic. With this in hand, one can appreciate some of the theories that have come about.

The tablet shows stars, planets and something streaking across the sky. Many have suggested that this must be a comet of some sort. It is clear that the observer was coming close to daytime based on the timing that can be seen from the celestial objects. There is also a plume of smoke that was drawn on one edge of the tablet.

The actual night in question and the exact year is subject to dispute. This mainly comes about because of the poor condition of the tablet and the inability to decipher all of the objects on the tablet. However, two scientists, Alan Bond and Mark Hempsell, have proposed that this observer saw a meteor entering the atmosphere. They suggest that he was located in the Middle East and, based on the trajectory of the object streaking across the sky, he saw a meteor that eventually impacted at Koefels in the Austrian Alps. This impact caused a massive plume of smoke that would have made its way all the way back to the Middle East.

This plume would have caused mass destruction and it was burning hot. It is fascinating, because it appears that Kofels has an impact crater that could match this exact scenario. I must concede, Bond and Hempsell place this event at a much earlier date than Avraham Avinu's lifetime (actually it would be in Enosh's lifetime, perhaps, the "flood" of his time since it came from the direction of the sea), but it is of note that the date is hotly contested. Also, with this event happening within biblical times and within the vicinity where the biblical events were recording, one would think that such a massive and destructive event would be recorded somewhere in the Torah.

The pesukim (Bereishis 19:27-28) record Avraham Avinu rising at dawn and watching toward the direction of Sedom and witnessing a pillar of smoke arising from that area. It is fascinating that the Torah records that aspect of the event and that Avraham Avinu would care to watch. Perhaps, he recorded it in order to have a document to share with others to convince them not to sin like those of Sedom. This may have become a famous document and been copied from generation to generation. Perhaps, this tablet is actually a copy of the original done by Avraham Avinu.

Witnesses to Sedom's Destruction

Rashi on 19:24 notes that the destruction of Sedom happened at day break, when the sun and moon were in the sky at the same time. This was because they used to worship the sun and moon. HaShem therefore brought the destruction when both were out as a proof to all the sun and moon worshipers that the sun and moon are powerless. Had the destruction taken place when they were not in the sky, one could have argued that they were not "there" to save them. This is a rather simple statement by Rashi but the astronomical basis for it is quite interesting.

It is not always that the sun and moon are out together at day break. It is also not always that it is the only time that they are out together. The moon rises and sets approximately 49 minutes later each day. This is a result of the moon orbiting the earth. Just as the moon's position is reset at the end of every month, so are its rising and setting times. (The math is as follows: Every full moon cycle (month), moonrise and moonset make a full circle of 24 hours such that the times are as they were precisely one month previous. The figure of 49 minutes is achieved by dividing 24 hours by the duration of the lunar cycle, 29.5 days, 44 minutes, 3 and a third seconds. More precisely, the figure is 48 minutes, 45.5 seconds.)

At the beginning of the month, the moon follows a very similar schedule to the sun. The moon rises at the beginning of the day and sets at sundown. As the month progresses, the moon rises and sets later and later. At the middle of the month, the moon has virtually the opposite schedule to the sun. It rises when the sun sets and sets when the sun rises. As we enter the second half of the month, the moon begins to rise later in the night and thus, becomes visible at the beginning of the day.

The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 50) teaches that Sedom was destroyed on the 16th of Nissan. As explained above, at that time of the month, the moon would have risen shortly after sunset and set very shortly after sunrise. Therefore, the only time in the entire day that both the sun and moon were out at the same time was very early in the morning and that is why the destruction took place specifically at the very beginning of the day. [Nevertheless, it is puzzling that Rashi uses the term "Alos HaShachar" which refers to a time before sunrise.]

A Scratch on the Wall

According to the Midrashim quoted by Rashi, Yitzchak was born precisely a year after the angels visited Avraham and Sarah, on the first day of Pesach. (According to the gemara Rosh HaShanah 11a the angels visited on Sukkos.) Rashi (21:2) writes that HaShem gave Avraham a sign. On the day the angels visited, HaShem made an etching in a wall and told Avraham, "When the sun reaches this point again next year, you will have a son." This sign requires some clarification. How exactly did this work?

An object that is standing upright in the path of the sun will form a shadow on the ground. The exact direction of the shadow depends on the position of the sun in the sky. As the sun moves through the eastern sky in the first half of the day, the shadow will be pointing westward and vice versa for the second half of the day. However, the exact direction of the shadow, i.e., its northerly or southerly bearing, will constantly change. As well, the size of the shadow is dependent on the north/south position of the sun as well. These are the principals behind the sundial. All of the factors change throughout the day and the daily patterns change throughout the year as a result of the change in direction of the earth's tilt. However, one thing is certain. At midday, the sun is not in the eastern sky or the western sky. Rather, it is either due north or due south, depending on where you are in the world. What is relevant to us is that since Eretz Yisroel, at approximately 31^o North, is above the Tropic of Cancer (23.5^o North), the sun will always be in the southern sky at midday. The size of the shadow depends on the angle of the sun in the sky which depends directly on the time of year.

Any sign involving a shadow would surely have been simplest to arrange at midday. It is therefore most noteworthy that the gemara (.ברכות כ"ז) infers from the words (18:2) "kechom hayom," in the heat of the day, that the angels visited in the sixth hour. After the food was prepared and served and the angels conversed with Avraham, it seems altogether plausible that it was exactly midday. It seems that the sign that was given was that at that moment, the southern wall (or other standing object) was casting a shadow on the northern wall. The scratch that was made on the wall indicated the end of the shadow. When the shadow reached the exact same point at midday sometime in the next year, it would indicate that a complete year had passed.

With all this considered the Midrash is quite troubling. All these details are specific to the solar year. However, Yitzchak was born precisely one year later by the lunar calendar, not the solar calendar. What significance could any sun-related sign have to the passing of a lunar year?

Davening at Neitz is Sometimes Just WRONG

The early bird may get the worm, but the late worm gets to live!!! Being early doesn't always mean better. While it is certainly true that one who davens right at neitz (sunrise, more properly called haNeitz) is doing something noble, one who davens right as he sees the sun rising may actual be worse off than someone who slept late. This is especially true this time of the year!

No, I am not talking about the silliness of having atomic clocks at a neitz minyan. While it is true that by davening at the exact time of listed sunrise (no matter how precise to the location one has calculated it for) is the most statistically improbable time for actual visible sunrise (based on barometric pressure and other weather disturbances), that is not what I am talking about. I am talking about someone who goes out and davens at the first visible sign of sunrise; the way it was done back in the times of the Gemara.

There is a phenomenon known as the Novaya Zemlya effect. Back in 1596 Willem Barentsz, the famous explorer, was sailing through the Arctic in search of a northeast passage. His unlucky crew got stuck in Novaya Zemlya (just north of Siberia), and had to stay there through the winter. As is the case above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise for a portion of the winter. The eager crew waited for sunrise and were anxious to be able to leave this frozen tundra.

Then in January of 1597 one of the crewmembers, Gerrit de Veer saw the sun peaking above the horizon. The fantastic thing about this was that this was TWO WEEKS before it was supposed to happen. Gerrit was the first person to record in writing what has now become known as the Novaya Zemlya effect.

The basic concept is that when there is a duration of warm weather immediately after a cold spell a mirage can appear on the horizon. This happens most often in spring and fall as the temperatures fluctuate a lot. The warm air creates a current near the horizon. It can be focussed right near the spot where the sun will rise (that is a warmer area). This current then acts as a lens and refracts the image of the sun from below the horizon to above it. Meaning, the sun looks like it rose even though it is really below the horizon. This sunrise often looks a little distorted, but someone with no knowledge of the effect would just think he was seeing a sunrise in a hazy patch in the sky.

While it seems clear that we take into account weather disturbances when calculating neitz, these are only the ones that are realtively small. Things like small weather disturbances and barometric pressure can affect visible sunrise and it seems that in the times of teh Gemara they based sunrise on visiblity. However, these only change sunrise by small amounts. The Novaya Zemlya effect can be very pronounced! So, before you get upset that you woke up early for nothing, make sure you know the difference between true and fake sunrise!!!

Another VERY VERY important fact that de Veer recorded. In fact, this one can even be life threatening!!! Eating polar bear livers can cause hypervitaminosis and can be fatal!!!

The Uncountable Stars

In this week's parsha (15:5) HaShem brings Avraham Avinu outside and tells him to observe the uncountable stars and tells him that his progeny will be likewise uncountable. Rashi there quotes a Midrash that states that HaShem removed Avraham from the atmosphere and placed him above the stars to observe them. R' Chaim Kanievsky questions, why was this necessary? Why was it not sufficient to simply look at the stars from where he was?

He answers that we are taught in the adjacent commentary to Rambam's Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah (3:8) that there are a finite number of stars visible from Earth, 1022 to be exact. Beyond the scope of our vision there exists an abundance of stars which are too many to be counted. Being shown the stars from Earth was simply not impressive enough. Avraham had to be removed from Earth in order to appreciate the true extent of the berachah.

Ari S.said...

The number 1,022 is also seen in Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma (on astrology). He cites Ptolemy just like the Rambam mentions in a few places (i.e. hilchos kiddush hachodesh) that his knowledge of astronomy comes from the Greek sources. Ptolemy (in the Almagest) does have this number. It is pretty clear that he (and the rishonim) were aware that there were many more. In fact, the way Ptolemy and Ibn Ezra cite it is to show how the constellations are formed. It seems that this number refers to the bigger and brighter stars.

The average person can see approximately 3 - 4,000 stars (the faintest being about magnitude 6). Perhaps, another idea expressed in the pasuk could be that it is impossible to count them at once. Some are below the horizon at times and others seasonal. Some are only seen at northern latitudes and others at southern. Maybe Avraham had to go high above in order to get an angle above them to see them at one time.

Jewish people have been dispersed throughout many countries during our exile. This is often to our benefit because it provides a defense mechanism. It is much more difficult for an enemy to ever annihilate us because of this. Maybe we are being taught that you will never be able to see all the Jews in one spot to count because they will be dispersed. In the ensuing pesukim of the covenant, there are many references to the exile.