Much "buzz" has abounded recently concerning two natural phenomena occurring within the last few days, a non-lethal earthquake hitting the tri-state area and a solar eclipse, total in many areas of the United States, but seen, to some extent, practically across all of that country. Much has been written and said about various Torah perspectives on these two events, for, as believing Jews, we do not attribute anything to mere happenstance. Here, I humbly submit some viewpoints culled from Torah sources with a modest attempt to connect these two natural events to broader current events and to the weekly Torah reading.
A famous passage in Maseches Brachos (59a) states:
AND OVER ZEVA'OT [a blessing is recited]. What are ZEVA'OT? R. Kattina said: A rumbling of the earth. R. Kattina was once going along the road, and when he came to the door of the house of a certain necromancer, there was a rumbling of the earth. He said: Does the necromancer know what this rumbling is? He called after him, Kattina, Kattina, why should I not know? When the Holy One, blessed be He, calls to mind His children, who are plunged in suffering among the nations of the world, He lets fall two tears into the ocean, and the sound is heard from one end of the world to the other, and that is the rumbling. Said R. Kattina: The necromancer is a liar and his words are false. If it was as he says, there should be one rumbling after another! He did not really mean this, however. There really was one rumbling after another, and the reason why he did not admit it was so that people should not go astray after him. R. Kattina, for his own part, said: [G-d] clasps His hands, as it says: "I will also smite my hands together, and I will satisfy my fury." R. Nathan said: [G-d] emits a sigh, as it is said: "I will satisfy my fury upon them and I will be eased." And the Rabbis said: He treads upon the firmament, as it says: "He giveth a noise as they that tread grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth." R. Aha b. Jacob says: He presses his feet together beneath the throne of glory, as it says: "Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne and the earth is my foot-stool."[1]
Although earthquakes are unpredictable events,[2] in the above passage, Chazal present various approaches as to the cause of their happening. At first glance, all of these statements - attributing earthquakes to various Divine actions - seem directly at odds with the contemporary scientific theory of tectonic plates which attributes earthquakes to the shifting of tectonic plates beneath the earth's surface. These plates, resting on liquid magma, are the foundation of all of the land above.[3] A fundamental statement of Maharal (Be'er Hagola 6:1) illuminates our understanding of this and similar statements of Chazal. Our Sages in their aggadic statements are rarely concerned about the siba or direct, natural cause of natural or historical phenomena. They do not deny that this is present, but since natural phenomena are created and controlled by Hashem, they are more focused on the "sibas hasiba - the cause of the cause." In other words, they seek the fundamental, spiritual, heavenly reason why either erratic natural phenomena (e.g. earthquakes and rainbows) happen at a specific time or why cyclical ones (e.g. eclipses and comets) were programmed into the fabric of the natural order of creation by their Creator.[4]
In light of this, our Torah luminaries have presented various central lessons inherent in the above-mentioned teaching of Chazal. Here, we present one of them. Maharal (Be'er Hagola 4:7) explains that Klal Yisrael being in exile represents a fundamental change of the proper state of the world.[5] Such a change causes, by means of Divine providence, another massive change in the world order, an earthquake. In the language of Maharal, "shinui goreres shinui." Perhaps we can elaborate based on another teaching of Maharal (Nesiv Ha'avodah 5) that the word for place, "makom," is related to the word "mekayeim" or causing existence. Without a place to rest on, nothing could exist; the bricks of a building are not its true source of existence, but rather the piece of land it rests on is. Hashem is called "Hamakom" since He is the true Source of existence for everything. Hence, when the world order is massively conceptually "shaken to its core" by the exile of the Jewish people, its very source of existence, the makom, is quite literally shaken by its core. According to Maharal, the various anthropomorphic expressions used by the various Amoraim[6] refer to different parts of the body representing various aspects of G-d's closeness to mankind - eyes, hands, heart (the source of sighs), the lower leg (the source of kicks) and the foot, each one focusing on a different level of Divine providence evidenced by the earthquake.[7]
Commenting on eclipses, Chazal (Sukka 29a) state (among other comments there) that when a "solar defect" occurs, this is a bad omen for the nations of the world. By contrast, when a "lunar defect" happens, this is an inauspicious sign for the Jewish people. Here too, Maharal (Be'er Hagolah 6:2), in answering the problem that these "defects" are predictable natural events, explains, as mentioned briefly above, that the world was created in an imperfect manner in light of the imperfections that different segments of mankind would later manifest. Perhaps we can also explain that just as there are times in the day which are more conducive to prayers being answered and seasons in the year where certain spiritual resources are more readily accessible, eclipse phenomena may represent such times.[8] In addition, many have noted that a solar eclipse caused by the moon, smaller than the sun by orders of magnitude, indicates the important teaching of "רבים ביד מעטים", that when one is allied with the Creator of the World and the Master of its History, the ability to overcome mighty nations can be granted even to the few and the weak.[9] Rav Aryeh Lebowitz quotes the Rishpei Eish that indeed a solar eclipse represents the victory of Klal Yisrael, represented by the moon, over the persecuting nations of the world, represented by the sun. The subsequent light of the sun represents the light of redemption over the entire world to follow that.
The bulk of our parasha deals with the physical phenomenon of tzara'as. As is quite evident, this is not to be equated with the medical condition known as leprosy. Neither its initial appearance not the halachos mandating its declaration as tamei or tahor corresponds to medical science. Nonetheless, tzara'as is a physical phenomenon on the body, clothing or home. This serves as an example of the Maharal's principle of sibas hasiba on an individual basis. True, there is a physical phenomenon governed perhaps by the rules of nature, but it clearly represents a Divinely machinated physical manifestation of some spiritual malaise as highlighted by Chazal in Midrashim listing the various sins which can cause tzara'as. Not just concerning tzara'as but concerning all travails in life, Chazal (Berachos 5a) adjure us: הרואה שייסורין באין עליו, יפשפש במעשיו - one who sees that suffering befalls him, should examine his deeds and return to G-d. In other words, one should constantly strive to see "the cause of the cause" and not suffice with a surface level focus on just the physical reason for the stress.
Klal Yisrael the world over, and, more manifestly, the yishuv in the Holy Land remain threatened by formidable enemy nations. The IDF remains locked in a multi-front war against Arab terrorists in Gaza, Yehuda and Shomron, Lebanon and Syria in a precarious struggle for survival. Iran, the modern-day kingdom of Persia, has threatened and, in light of recent events, presently threatens severe reprisal attacks against Israel and its interests abroad. Any other nation would go insane from fear under the current situation. But, the Jewish people, strengthened by the words of the haggada: "In every generation they rise up to destroy us, and the Holy One blessed be He saves us from their hand!" have confidence that they will survive against all odds.[10] The natural phenomena just occurring should both inspire us to be worthy of Hashem's protection by strengthening our avodas Hashem and by improving our interpersonal relationships and serve as an impetus to constantly realize that the Sibas Hasibos and Ilas Ha'ilos Above is the One truly running the show. May the aforementioned words of the Rishpei Aish be fulfilled in our days with a speedy victory over our enemies and may the illumination of the final redemption speedily shine in this month of the ge'ulah! אור חדש על ציון תאיר ונזכה כלנו מהרה לאורו!
[1] Translation courtesy of the online version of the Soncino Talmud.
[2] A quote from the United States Geological Survey: "Can you predict earthquakes? No. Neither the USGS nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake. We do not know how, and we do not expect to know how any time in the foreseeable future. USGS scientists can only calculate the probability that a significant earthquake will occur...in a specific area within a certain number of years." Available at https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/can-you-predict-earthquakes.
[3] A fascinating passage in Chazal perhaps references this by comparing the earth to a ship floating on the ocean (Midrash Tehillim 93) as explained by Rav Dovid Brown, Mysteries of Creation.
[4] A similar approach explains the difference between human history and Divinely recorded history as written in Tanach. The former concerns itself only with natural, historical cause and effect; the latter presents the inner Divine dimension. See the Daas Mikra introduction to the book of Shmuel.
[5] See also Netzach Yisrael 1.
[6] And the necromancer who, in the Gemara's conclusion, actually spoke truth. R. Katina dismissed his words in order to avoid people following his other falsehoods and forbidden behaviors.
[7] The existence of earthquakes before the Jewish people were exiled represented the imperfect state of the world which would allow for such an exile. These words of Maharal perhaps imply that in the perfect Messianic era, earthquakes will cease to exist. He writes this explicitly concerning eclipses (see below) ceasing in the Messianic era (Be'er Hagolah 6:2).
[8] I was delighted that Rav Aryeh Lebowitz expressed a similar thought in his recently published remarks on the eclipse.
[9] A fascinating insight by Professor Nathan Aviezer in his book, "In the Beginning: Biblical Creation and Science" suggests that, on a pshat level, the seeming contradiction between the passages describing the creation of the sun and the moon as, on the one hand ,"שני מאורות הגדולים" but, on the other hand, also as "המאור הגדול" and "המאור הקטון" can be resolved by noting that although in actual size, the sun dwarfs the moon being approximately 400 times larger than it, but in relative size - due to the sun's extreme distance from the earth and the moon's relative nearness being 400 times closer - they are practically equal. This is of course is what allows for a total solar eclipse of the gigantic sun by the small moon.
[10] Even CNN, notoriously anti-Israel in its news coverage, put out a series of videos entitled Against All Odds documenting the miraculous survival of the yishuv in Eretz Yisrael.