Shabbat Gathering: The eclipse: bad omen or for a blessing?

Dear Chevrei, as is our custom, we will gather tonight at 5.45p ct to welcome Shabbat. These are the coordinates:

Zoom
Meeting ID: 883 8469 4181
Password: 822665
Phone: +1 312 626 6799

(To unsubscribe from the newsletter, click the link at the very bottom of this email.)

Here we go.

Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying.
--Bob Dylan, It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding).

In just a few days, an eclipse will cross Earth. Once upon a time, before science, an eclipse was a mysterious and terrifying event. Bees and cows are baffled and fearful. A nighttime chill wraps around everyone in the path of the totality. And when the sun peeks back out from behind the moon, roosters will cock-a-doodle-do once again.

By the time of the rabbis, eclipses were predictable and not a supernatural sign of good or evil. Still, the question remained as to whether we say a blessing for an eclipse. Afterall, there’s all sorts of natural phenomena we bless: rainbows, flowers, thunder, and even using the bathroom.

But some believe an eclipse is a bad omen and a blessing is not to be said. Today, most rabbis split the difference between an eclipse being a bad omen and a phenomena of nature with most opinions leaning to the opinion that we do not bless an eclipse. And it takes just a second for the rabbis to start weighing in on the paradox of free will and fate.

In general, the rabbis side with the prophet Jeremiah who believed that such natural phenomena as an eclipse is not, in and of itself, a portent of something evil as long as we don’t do evil during the eclipse.

And remember, don’t look at the sun!

And may it be for all of us a blessing.

See you tonight!
Gut Shabbes!

All my love,
brian.

PS

The Upcoming Total Solar Eclipse Is Totally Stressing Me Out

The April 8 solar eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and my anxieties about planning, traffic, and photographing it are growing by the day.

GizmodoThe A.V. Club

New graphic novel for middle graders about what pickled herring might have done to Grandma

I know cartoonist Alex Schumacher mostly through his comic strip Mr. Butterchips, a foul-mouthed hard-drinking, chain-smoking organ grinder’s monkey angry at the world. But he has a brand-new, very sweet…

Boing BoingRuben Bolling

Jewish jokes for your Passover Seder table

With all of the traditions on the Seder night, here’s a little humor to lighten the mood and keep everyone awake.

The ForwardChanie Kirschner

Finding Your Way as a Jew by Choice Is Anything but Simple - Hey Alma

Hey Alma’s advice column recently tackled a letter from a convert who was curious to know if it’s necessary to disclose the fact that they converted to Judaism. As a convert myself, I loved the supportive tone of the response. While I 100% believe that the column comes to the right conclusions, getting to that […]

Hey AlmaLeah Grisham

Easy Spinach and Feta Noodle Kugel Recipe | The Nosher

Of all the kugels out there — from potato and sweet potato to broccoli, and even cauliflower — noodle kugel…

My Jewish LearningShannon Sarna

Why Rabbi Shai Held says love is the cornerstone of Jewish belief and practice - Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Forget what you’ve been taught about the differences between Judaism and Christianity, a co-founder of Hadar writes in a new book.

Jewish Telegraphic AgencyAndrew Silow-Carroll

Ask the Expert: Are Any Jewish Rituals Forbidden During the Conversion Process? | My Jewish Learning

Question: Which mitzvot can someone in the process of conversion participate in?— Anonymous Answer: The performance of mitzvot — the…

My Jewish LearningRabbi Eric Woodward

I Was Told My Great-Bubby Had an ‘Unfulfilled’ Life. That’s Not How I Remember Her. – Kveller

It wasn’t until several years ago that I began telling people that I was lucky to have known my velvet-voiced great-grandmother, whom I called Bubby, until I was a freshman in college — who among my peers was so fortunate? But I wish that my last memory of her wasn’t how she lay in her […]

KvellerMarla Fogelman

-30-