In Perek Shira, the ancient Midrash that lists
the songs (that is to say, the spiritual messages) of the
natural world, we find an interesting message that is
broadcast by the sun: "The sun is saying: `The sun [when
covered by] the moon, stood in its abode; they speed at the
light of Your arrows, and at the shining of Your glittering
spear' (Chavakuk 3:11)."
The Mabit explains the posuk sung by the sun to be
speaking of a solar eclipse. To the ancient Chinese, solar
eclipses meant that dragons were devouring the sun. To the
Czechoslovakians, they meant that ice giants, bitter enemies
of the sun, were conquering it. To the Romans, they meant
that the sun was poisoned and dying.
To the Jews, solar eclipses meant that the moon was passing
between the sun and the earth, thereby blocking the sun's
light.
Notwithstanding the physical explanation of a solar eclipse,
there is still spiritual significance to it: "At the time
when the sun is eclipsed, it is an unfavorable period for the
world. A parable: To what can this be compared? To a human
king who made a feast for his subjects, and placed a lantern
before them. When he grew angry with them, he told his
servant, `Take away the lantern from before them, and place
them in darkness!' " (Sukkah 29a). The king is Hashem,
the King of Kings; the people at the table are ourselves; the
lantern is the sun. The moon obscuring the sun is the king's
servant who takes away the lantern.
Although eclipses can be described in entirely natural terms
and occur at set intervals, they nevertheless indicate that
the period is one of Divine retribution for various sins. So,
a solar eclipse signifies a harsh period.
But an eclipse does not mean that the sun has been
extinguished (contrary to what everyone else in the world
thought)! The servant did not extinguish the lantern; he
merely prevented it from illuminating the king's subjects.
The sun shines as merrily as ever during an eclipse, even if
we cannot perceive its light.
Many eras in history have been dark for us. But during these
times, we should remember that Hashem's light has not been
extinguished; it is merely in a state of hester ponim,
hiddenness. The sun sings to us that "The sun [when
covered by] the moon, stood in its abode" -- it was not
extinguished, nor did it move away; it was merely
concealed.
And just as the sunlight always emerges from its eclipse, so
too are all situations of hester ponim only temporary,
destined to be followed by the light of Hashem's
redemption.
Interestingly, even during the darkness of a solar eclipse,
all is not entirely in gloom. The sun is four hundred times
further away from us than the moon, but it is also four
hundred times larger than the moon (which secular scientists
call a "grand coincidence"). This means that the moon
precisely covers the sun. The result of this is that while
the sun is essentially obscured, shafts of sunlight may
appear around the edge of the moon as they shine through the
mountains on its surface (these can damage the retina of a
human eye, and it is therefore dangerous to look at a solar
eclipse with anything less than a welder's mask).
We can also perceive the glimmer of burning gases in the
sun's outer atmosphere. Admittedly, the light presented by
these sources is minimal, but it is certainly detectable.
When Yosef's brothers sold him to a passing caravan, we are
told that G-d arranged matters such that the merchants would
be carrying sweet-smelling spices instead of their usual foul
cargo. Now, this would appear to be of little comfort to
Yosef. He had just been betrayed by his brothers and sold to
heathens as a slave. What was the consolation in his prison
quarters having a nice smell?
HaRav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zt"l, answers that precisely
because this was the lowest point of Yosef's life, Hashem
wanted to show that He was still with him. He did not want
Yosef to fall into despair, so He sent him a small sign to
reassure him. This minor but significant gesture strengthened
Yosef's spirits during his long ordeal.
Such is the message of the shafts of light, that "speed at
the light of Your arrows" that we perceive during the
darkness of a solar eclipse. They are literally "rays of
hope," and they remind us that even during the dark periods
of life, we are to look for those small signs, which tell us
that Hashem is still with us. This is the song of the sun; a
song of hope for redemption.
*
Addenda: Are Eclipses Physics or Metaphysics? The gemora
(Sukkah 29a) calls eclipses of the sun and moon
unfavorable periods for the world. It further states that
solar eclipses occur due to four reasons: 1) if a talmid
chochom is buried without being adequately eulogized; 2)
two brothers being killed at the same time. The other two
causes are specific arayos violations.
The question is clear: Many ancient peoples believed that
eclipses were unpredictable events. But we know that they
follow a set pattern and can be calculated in advance. Did
the gemora not know this? How can eclipses be a
punishment for sins if they occur at predictable times?
Two basic approaches are taken to explain this. The first
approach states that the gemora certainly knew that
eclipses are physical and predictable events. R' Yaakov
Ettlinger (Oruch LeNer ad loc.) notes that the
gemora clearly understood solar eclipses to be caused
by the moon obscuring the sun, as can be seen from the
parable that it gives with a lantern. He also points out that
the gemora uses the seemingly superfluous wording, "at
the time when the sun is eclipsed, it is an unfavorable
period," when it could have simply said "when the sun is
eclipsed." The word zeman, "time," is related to the
word "zamen," prepared. (It appears in Tanach
only in the books of Esther, Koheles, Daniel, Ezra
and Nechemia; in every instance, it is written only in
reference to pre-appointed times.)
Thus, the usage of this word shows that eclipses were known
to be pre-arranged and predictable events. However, this does
not present a contradiction to their being portenders of sin.
R' Ettlinger and the Iyun Yaakov explain that during
eclipses, Hashem exacts retribution for certain sins. Certain
periods are set aside for Divine justice to be meted out, and
these are indicated in the physical universe by eclipses.
A different approach is taken by R' Yonoson Eybeschitz
(Ya'aros Devash 2:12). He explains the gemora's
term likuy hachamah, literally "the striking of the
sun," to be referring not to solar eclipses but to sunspots.
These are cool dark patches on the face of the sun, caused by
magnetic storms. These being events of unknown occurrence, he
explains them to indicate Hashem's displeasure.
Indeed, sunspots send vast amounts of charged protons into
our atmosphere, and several studies have tentatively shown
corresponding variations in animal populations and incidence
of disease amongst people. R' Eybeschitz states that people
of earlier times were more sensitive to such sunlight
aberrations. A difficulty with this is that we now know that
sunspots and solar storm disturbances occur in an
approximately eleven-year cycle; however, this can vary from
seven to sixteen years.
Nosson Slifkin studies at the Mirrer Yeshiva and teaches
at Ohr Somayach. He is the author of the Focus Series on the
parsha, and Seasons of Life: The Reflection of the Jewish
Year in the Natural World, all published by Targum
Press.
