Comments on Astro Torah: Moshe Rabbeinu's Birth and Demise Seen in the Star...

It would be from daybreak and calculated as taking...

2010-08-27T00:46:58.715-04:00

It would be from daybreak and calculated as taking the amount of time between daybreak and nightfall and taking one quarter of that. There is significant debate as to what constitutes daybreak and nightfall. The most common approaches are attributed to the Magen Avraham and Gra. The M"A approach is to use dawn and dusk (there is significant debate as to how to calculate these such as, but not limited to, using a set 72 minutes prior to sunrise and after sunset, or to use the point when the sun is 16.1 degrees below the horizon). The Gra's approach is to use sunrise and sunset. (See chapter 30 of my Tiferes Aryeh Zevachim for a very interesting approach in these matters.) Practically, to figure these points in time for this specific year you would need to use some sort of software to calculate the times for you. There are plenty of free programs out there that are very useful.

thanks for your response - Is the third hour start...

2010-08-26T16:56:18.128-04:00

thanks for your response - Is the third hour starting at midnight or from naitz hachama. If the later - how would you know what time naitz was back then - thanks

The Seder HaDoros mentions that Moshe Rabbeinu'...

2010-08-25T14:04:32.472-04:00

The Seder HaDoros mentions that Moshe Rabbeinu's birth was at the end of the third hour of the day. His death is recorded as being at midday according to the Sifri, (Haazinu 337) although that may be in conflict with the Gemara in Berachos (9a) which might maintain that it was at dawn.

Hi Ari - I thought your information was interestin...

2010-08-25T11:35:09.994-04:00

Hi Ari - I thought your information was interesting. Do you know Moshe's exact time of birh and/ or his ascendent. Is that stated anywhere in torah/ kaballah?
thanks
C

Firstly, thanks for the interest. I use a few pro...

2010-01-15T08:39:07.725-05:00

Firstly, thanks for the interest.

I use a few programs, but if someone was looking for one decent user friendly program (free), I would certainly tell them to use Stellarium (Stellarium.org).

Regarding the intercalation, I use Seder Olam for the years themselves. A few things that need to be kept in mind are that there is no year 0 in either the secular or Hebrew calendar, and that the Hebrew system has Adam created in the year 2 since 1 was called Shnas Tohu (see the Rambam and Tur on kiddush hachodesh). Also, there can be a differene, sometimes, if one assumes the world was created in Nisan instead of Tishrei (see R"H 11b).

The months and dates are a totally different calculation. Prior to the time of Abaye and Rava (Hillel 2), our calendar was not in use. Rather, the actual new moon was used to determine the firsts of the months. I, therefore, base my months on that. I also look at the dates of the equinoxes in any year that I am looking at and determine which month is Nisan based on that.

Stellarium...eh? How do you know how to put the H...

2010-01-14T23:28:00.798-05:00

Stellarium...eh?

How do you know how to put the Hebrew and secular calendars together (intercalate properly)?

Excellent question. The movements of all the cele...

2010-01-13T18:12:31.739-05:00

Excellent question. The movements of all the celestial objects can be calculated mathematically. Of course, this is long and tedious, so there is software that does it for you. I strongly recommend Stellarium (a free download at Stellarium.org). It actually recreates the (an interactive) sky for you for any date or any location in the universe. The graphics are pretty good and it is very user friendly. I other programs, as well, and I have used them with each other to make sure that things are accurate.

How do you know what was in the sky when Moshe was...

2010-01-13T16:41:37.043-05:00

How do you know what was in the sky when Moshe was born?

Thanks, keep in touch. While commenting, I may as...

2010-01-07T23:22:53.491-05:00

Thanks, keep in touch. While commenting, I may as well update this post. The following Rosh Chodesh (Nisan) there was a solar eclipse. This seems to be very apropos for this moment in time. The Gemara tells us that this is a bad sign for the other nations (Sukkah 29a). It is a display of the moon, symbolic of Klal Yisrael (Midrash Tehillim 22), blocking out the light of the sun, symbolic of the other nations (see Maharsha Yoma 20b).

It was nice to see you last week, Ari. Good luck w...

2010-01-07T22:58:02.598-05:00

It was nice to see you last week, Ari. Good luck with the new book!
dr