Hilkhot 'aboda zara 11:8: Maimonides vs. Astrology

Astrology,  the supposed influence of the stars on human events, is alluded to in the Hebrew Bible more than once.  In Lev. 19:26 and Deut. 18:10 the Tora warns about idolatrous practices like theme'onen (=the seer of times).  The prophets of Israel were also aware of this very popular pagan practice among the Babylonians and virtually all other ancient civilizations, and they scoffed at the  "star-gazers"  or  hobere ha-shamayim, "The readers of heavens". Isa. 47:13 and Jer. 10:2. 

In the Talmud astrology is called itstagninut. This is also the term used by Maimonides in Mishne Tora.  In Hilkhot 'aboda zara 11:8 he writes: "Who should be considered a me'onen? The one that predicts the times, saying through astrology (itstagninut) such-and-such a day will be a good day... or a bad day, such-and-such a day will be auspicious for performing this task, and such-and-such a day will be bad for doing that task, etc." It is forbidden by the Tora, as part of the prohibitions against idolatrous practices, to tell fortunes, to seek astrologers or fortunetellers and even worse, to act upon an astrological sign or warning.

To clarify even further Maimonides' position on this matter I'm quoting his words in Perush haMishnayot, 'aboda zara, 4:9: "Astrology... is not as some people believe, a credible science which the Tora wished to forbid. It is a nonsensical superstition... by which people attribute to the stars imaginary powers... [astrology] together with witchcraft, demonology, incantations, divination and summoning the spirits of the dead represent the essence of idolatry ('aboda zara)". 

Upon being asked by the rabbis of southern France whether it was possible to combine astrology with Judaism Maimonides replied that he had explored the principles of astrology and concluded that "[astrology]... is no science at all, but mere foolery and superstition ...  I well know that you may seek and find in the Talmud and Midrashim isolated sayings implying that the stars at the time of a man's birth will have a certain effect upon him... but this need not perplex you".  The supposition that the fate of a man could be dependent upon the constellations was ridiculed by him. He argued, furthermore, that such theories were devised to rob life of purpose and to make people dependent on the whims of the readers of heaven.

The TENTH of TEBET

Today, Friday December 13th we observe the Tenth of Tebet, a fast day.  The main event we remember on this day is the onset of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuhadnezzar, King of Babylonia. The siege of the city signaled the beginning of the battle that ultimately destroyed Yerushalayim and our first Bet haMiqdash in the year 586 BCE.  Hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed, died of starvation during the siege or were sent as captives to the Babylonian exile. The date of the Tenth of Tebet was recorded by the prophet Yehezqel. At the time of the destruction of the Bet haMiqdash Yehezqel was already exiled in Babylonia with the first group of Jews who were taken there by Nebuhadnezzar eleven years earlier.

On the 10th of Tebet there are only two restrictions: eating and drinking. NO additional limitations apply, such as the prohibition of wearing leather shoes, working, driving, washing the body, etc.

Most contemporary Rabbis (R. E. Melamed, Rab O. Yosef z"l) authorize to wash one's mouth or brush one's teeth in this Ta'anit provided you are careful to lower your head, avoiding swallowing water unintentionally.

IMPORTANT NOTICE about the TODAY'S FAST 

The Tenth of Tebet is the only fast day that might fall on a Friday. In NYC the fast began today at 6:16am.  Today, we will be receiving Shabbat while fasting and we will break the fast with the Qiddush, which should be said not before 4.49pm, NYT.  Minha service this Friday will probably be early than a normal Friday, because we will have Tora reading and Birkat Kohanim.  Follow your community's calendar and notifications.

Shabbat Shalom!

Candle lighting in NYC:    4:09 p.m.

Shabbat ends in NYC:        5:09 p.m.

Who is exempted from fasting today?

  

*Minors: boys under 13 and girls under 12 years old are completely exempted from fasting.

  

*Nursing women: According to the Sephardic tradition after giving birth women are exempted from fasting for 24 months, even if they are not actually nursing their baby.

  

*Pregnant women, especially after the first 3 months, are exempted from fasting.

  

*A person who feels sick--for example, flu or fever-- or one who has a chronic disease--for example diabetes-- should not fast.

  

*Elders should consult with their physicians if the fast will not affect their health. If it will, they are exempted (and in some cases, prohibited) from fasting.

YOM HAKADDISH HAKELALI

 

In modern Israel, the 10th of Tebet is also recognized as the day of the Kaddish haKelaly. According to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, on the Tenth of Tebet a remembrance-candle should be lit in the Synagogue and the Hazkara leHalale haShoah should be recited. Additionally,  all those whose parents are not alive should say the Kaddish Yatom (luach dinim uminhaguim 5772, pages. 55,109).

This point requires more explanation. 

In 1949, and before the day of Yom HaShoah was established, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel decided that the Tenth of Tebet should be assigned as the national remembrance day for the victims of the Holocaust. They recommended traditional Jewish ways of remembering the dead, such as the study of Mishna Mikvaot, saying Tehilim, lighting a candle and a communal recitation of the Kaddish for the victims of the Holocaust whose names and date of death remain unknown. Fasting, the most common Jewish expression of sorrow, was already prescribed for this day. 

In Israel many people felt that the horror of the Holocaust should be remembered on its own, and a special day should be dedicated to the Shoah's victims' memory.   "For the Holocaust survivors there was only one day worthy of being a memorial anniversary for the Holocaust--April 19, the beginning day of the Warsaw ghetto revolt the greatest revolt of them all, the uprisings that had held the Nazis at bay for a longer period than the great French army"  (I. Greenberg). That is how the 27 of Nissan was chosen to commemorate Yom haShoah. Yom HaShoah was inaugurated in 1953, by a law signed by the Prime Minister of Israel David ben Gurion.

Since then, and in practical terms, there are two days in which we mourn for the Holocaust: Yom haShoah, the official day, and'asara beTebet, in which people say the Kaddish haKelaly to remember the victims of the Nazi genocide. 

The Tenth of Tebet and ezra haSofer

This coming Friday, December 13th we will observe the Tenth of Tebet, a fast day which remind us of three tragic events.  The main event we remember on this day is the onset of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuhadnezzar, the King of Babylonia.  But there are two other events that we also recall on this fast day. The translation of the Tora to Greek (which occurred on the 8th of Tebet,  see this) and the death of Ezra haSofer (9th of Tebet).   Seventy years after the destruction of the Bet haMiqdash, approximately the year 516 BCE, the Jews were allowed to come back to Erets Israel by the Persian Emperor Cyrus. Roughly forty thousand Jews were led back to Israel by Zerubabel and years later  by Nehemia and Ezra the Scribe.  Ezra had the tremendous responsibility of reeducating the Jews who, after two or three generations in exile without Jewish institutions (schools or synagogues) and living, and in many cases marrying, with the local population.  Most Jews had forgotten the Tora and its laws, and adopted many customs and values from the surrounding Babylonian culture. Ezra established  the Anshe Keneset haGedola, the first Jewish Parliament, composed of 120 scholars and prophets.  With the court that he presided, Ezra issued many new rulings to reclaim and revive Jewish values and reeducate the Jewish people.  He increased the days of public reading of the Tora,  composed the text of the Amida (main prayer), adapted the names of the Hebrew months and the fonts of the Tora-text, etc.  Ezra also had to make very tough decisions, like excluding the Samaritans, a semi-pagan mixed population living in Israel from the times of the destruction of the Bet haMiqdash, who reclaimed to be considered as Jews. Thanks to his wisdom and courage the Jewish people was able to survive and reestablish again in Israel as the Nation of God.  Ezra was also considered by the Rabbis as the historical link between the written Tora and the oral Tora, which was forgotten in the long Babylonian captivity and retrieved by Ezra the Scribe. Together with Nehemia, they also concluded the building of the second Bet haMiqdash and the protective wall around the city. Ezra died on a 9th of Tebet. He was regarded by our Rabbis as second to Moshe Rabbenu.

IMPORTANT NOTICE  about the  FAST DAY TOMORROW The Tenth of Tebet is the only fast that might fall on a Friday. In NYC the fast will begin tomorrow morning, Friday Dec. 13th, at 6:16am.  We will be receiving Shabbat while fasting and we will break the fast with the Kiddush, which cannot be said before 4.49pm, NYT.  Minha service this Friday will probably be early than a normal Friday, because we will have Tora reading and birkat Kohanim.  Follow your community's calendar and notifications.