The Gemara teaches that the men of high stature that joined Korach's cult were so honorable that they even knew how to regulate the calendar. (Sanhedrin 110a) Our calendar follows a set of intricate rules that mesh the solar year with the lunar months. The outcome is a set of months based on the renewal of the moon that allows for the various holidays to occur in the appropriate seasons. While this is certainly considered to be one of the more difficult parts of halacha, one can ask why this was considered to be one of the defining features of these men.
Additionally, the Gemara mentions that when the standoff happened, the sun and moon ascended to the upper heavens and refused to take their regular places. Their displacement would have caused the world to be without sunrise or moonrise and would have had caused significant damage to life on this planet. It was only after Hashem shot arrows at them that caused them to return to their respective places. (Ibid.; although see Nedarim 39b for a slightly different version)
I would like to offer an approach, based on drush, to express what is possibly being stated. Korach is famous for his arguments that the people should lead themselves and that they have no need for Moshe and his rulership. (see Rashi Bamidbar 16:1) Korach argued that every individual had sufficient holiness and connection to Hashem and they, therefore, did not need Moshe to direct them. Rabbeinu Bachye discusses how Moshe went from Shevet to Shevet and told each one of them what they wanted to hear and why they shouldn't be subjugated under Moshe. Essentially, he was a man of the people and, although divisive in his battle against Moshe, he was a man who unites people. He was asking for a united government with equalty for all. He was arguing that Moshe was not a uniter, rather, he was surpressing the individual talents in order to keep order. Thus, Moshe was not, in his opinion, united the forces and qualities of all of Klal Yisrael. Korach felt that it was he that knew how to mesh all the elements together appropriately.
This is perhaps why he would choose men who knew how to mesh the opposing forces of the calendar. These were people who knew how to take the lunar months, which are not connected to the solar year, and mesh them with the solar year in a way that both qualities are expressed. Of course, Moshe was correct and he was appointed by Hashem. He was the one who knew how to make the sun and moon stop. There were battles when he caused the sun to stand still. Meaning, he knew that sometimes it is necessary not to mesh all the forces together. Sometimes things have no place. (See Maharsha Nedarim 39b)
Therefore, on the day of the standoff the sun and moon refused to come out. They recognized that it was not the time for the two to work in tandem, they knew that their forces must cease. If they were to be controlled by the Korach cult then they realized that they were not to be expressing Hashem's true glory.
Interestingly enough, the Gemara tells that Gehinom positions the cult of Korach in a specific place once every thirty days. At that time they can be heard screaming, "Moshe and his Torah are true and we are liars!" (Bava Basra 74a) The Rashbam points out that this happens on Rosh Chodesh. (Rashi's commentary cannot be found on this section of this tracate, the Rashbam's takes it place) How apropos that every Rosh Chodesh, the day the lunar months begin, that they are forced to scream that they are not to be the ones to regulate the calendar. (As an aside, the Gemara says, "Moshe V'Soroso Emes which makes one wonder why most people, song included, say, "Moshe Emes V'Soroso Emes.)
Showing posts with label moshe rabbeinu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moshe rabbeinu. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Moshe Rabbeinu's Birth and Demise Seen in the Stars?
Rashi (Shemos 1:22) mentions that the Egyptian astrologers recognized the day which Moshe Rabbeinu was born as the day of the birth of the Jewish savior. They were, apparently, also able to see that he would eventually have some failure associated with water (this actually took place with the event when Moshe Rabbeinu hit the rock in Parsha Chukas). Therefore, Paroh decreed that all boys born that day, even Egyptian, must be killed by being thrown into the river.
When looking back to the year of Moshe Rabbeinu's birth (1392 B.C.E.) and the day on which he was born 7 Adar, one can, perhaps, see a little bit of what these astrologers saw. Saturn was entering into the constellation Pisces. Saturn is considered to be the planetary influence of the Jewish people (Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma). Pisces is considered to be the constellation that influences the Jewish people's houses of worship (Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma), and is associated with water as it is depicted as fish. While entering, Saturn could be viewed as the sign of the Jews finally finding its place of success, in the shul.
Interestingly, on the eighth day after his birth (his bris) Venus came extremely close to Saturn. Venus is associated with fertility (Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma) and at the bris is when the male child is considered completed. This celestial spectacle would been seen as the growth and development of this new savior. It also would have been easily predicted in advance by the Egyptian astrologers.
Even though, as mentioned by Rashi, the Egyptians did not know whether this savior was Jewish or not, since the eight day has significance to the Jewish people as being this day of completion, its occurrence would not have been discounted. So, perhaps, the Egyptian astrologers saw the entering into Pisces and deduced that the birth of the savior was possible, but they still could have thought that this was not indicative of the birth certainly occurring. Saturn is the slowesr moving naked eye planet, but it still makes a complete circle around the night sky over a thirty to forty year period. Maybe thirty to forty years later would signify the birth when Saturn would return to this position. However, once they saw that Venus would be touching it eight days later, they knew that this had to be the time of the actual birth.
How did they deduce that Moshe Rabbeinu would experience failure with water? Perhaps, they had seen a couple months earlier, when Moshe Rabbeinu was developing as a fetus, that Mars touched Saturn while in the constellation Aquarius. Mars does not come this close to Saturn on a regular basis. It can be centuries in between events like this from any given location. Mars, associated with death and blood (Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma) would be seen as affecting Saturn and, interestingly, it was occurring in the constellation Aquarius, the Water Carrier. Aquarius is seen as a man pouring out water from a bucket. The obvious connection would be to assume that the savior of the Jews, expressed by Saturn, would meet his demise, as seen with Mars, in the context of water, Aquarius.
(It is also of note that in the Midrash Rabbah, Rashi's source, the Midrash states that the astrologers made this prediction when Yocheved was pregnant with Moshe Rabbeinu. That seems consistent with this supposition because they would have begun making their predictions from that point and would use the future calculated events to continue their theories. Therefore, the Midrash and Rashi, if my theory is correct, are both accurate).
Perhaps, the most fascinating aspect of this entire theory is how it came to fruition. We know that Moshe Rabbeinu passed away 120 years later and it was punishment for hitting the rock (which brought forth water and showed the accuracy of the Egyptian prediction) that denied his entry into Eretz Yisrael. That year, and that day of his death, Saturn was in the same place as it was on the day of his birth; a place of water. Interestingly (although I don't know exactly what to make of the following), on day thirty of his passing, the last day that Klal Yisrael mourned Moshe Rabbeinu, Mars, Venus and Mercury all came extremely close (within a few degrees) of Saturn. This is an unusually rare event!!! Since I am not an astrologer, nor do I pretend to understand or study astrology (I have learned through some sifrei rishonim about it in order to understand some other ideas, such as astronomy, that they espoused), I don't know exactly what the significance of this event is, but I can tell you that any self respecting astrologer in those days would have seen it as a truly astronomical event.
When looking back to the year of Moshe Rabbeinu's birth (1392 B.C.E.) and the day on which he was born 7 Adar, one can, perhaps, see a little bit of what these astrologers saw. Saturn was entering into the constellation Pisces. Saturn is considered to be the planetary influence of the Jewish people (Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma). Pisces is considered to be the constellation that influences the Jewish people's houses of worship (Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma), and is associated with water as it is depicted as fish. While entering, Saturn could be viewed as the sign of the Jews finally finding its place of success, in the shul.
Interestingly, on the eighth day after his birth (his bris) Venus came extremely close to Saturn. Venus is associated with fertility (Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma) and at the bris is when the male child is considered completed. This celestial spectacle would been seen as the growth and development of this new savior. It also would have been easily predicted in advance by the Egyptian astrologers.
Even though, as mentioned by Rashi, the Egyptians did not know whether this savior was Jewish or not, since the eight day has significance to the Jewish people as being this day of completion, its occurrence would not have been discounted. So, perhaps, the Egyptian astrologers saw the entering into Pisces and deduced that the birth of the savior was possible, but they still could have thought that this was not indicative of the birth certainly occurring. Saturn is the slowesr moving naked eye planet, but it still makes a complete circle around the night sky over a thirty to forty year period. Maybe thirty to forty years later would signify the birth when Saturn would return to this position. However, once they saw that Venus would be touching it eight days later, they knew that this had to be the time of the actual birth.
How did they deduce that Moshe Rabbeinu would experience failure with water? Perhaps, they had seen a couple months earlier, when Moshe Rabbeinu was developing as a fetus, that Mars touched Saturn while in the constellation Aquarius. Mars does not come this close to Saturn on a regular basis. It can be centuries in between events like this from any given location. Mars, associated with death and blood (Ibn Ezra's Reishis Chachma) would be seen as affecting Saturn and, interestingly, it was occurring in the constellation Aquarius, the Water Carrier. Aquarius is seen as a man pouring out water from a bucket. The obvious connection would be to assume that the savior of the Jews, expressed by Saturn, would meet his demise, as seen with Mars, in the context of water, Aquarius.
(It is also of note that in the Midrash Rabbah, Rashi's source, the Midrash states that the astrologers made this prediction when Yocheved was pregnant with Moshe Rabbeinu. That seems consistent with this supposition because they would have begun making their predictions from that point and would use the future calculated events to continue their theories. Therefore, the Midrash and Rashi, if my theory is correct, are both accurate).
Perhaps, the most fascinating aspect of this entire theory is how it came to fruition. We know that Moshe Rabbeinu passed away 120 years later and it was punishment for hitting the rock (which brought forth water and showed the accuracy of the Egyptian prediction) that denied his entry into Eretz Yisrael. That year, and that day of his death, Saturn was in the same place as it was on the day of his birth; a place of water. Interestingly (although I don't know exactly what to make of the following), on day thirty of his passing, the last day that Klal Yisrael mourned Moshe Rabbeinu, Mars, Venus and Mercury all came extremely close (within a few degrees) of Saturn. This is an unusually rare event!!! Since I am not an astrologer, nor do I pretend to understand or study astrology (I have learned through some sifrei rishonim about it in order to understand some other ideas, such as astronomy, that they espoused), I don't know exactly what the significance of this event is, but I can tell you that any self respecting astrologer in those days would have seen it as a truly astronomical event.
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