Destiny or Free will?


An odd statement of our Sages. “When the luminaries are eclipsed, it is an unfavourable omen for the world” (Rashi’s commentary on Genesis 1:14). It's odd because eclipses are predictable phenomenon. And they didn’t become predictable yesterday, we have records of their being predicted as far back as 700 BCE. This statement of our Sages was thus not made in pithy ignorance of astronomical patterns, as some might jump to assume. Which multiplies the peculiarity of the statement.

In making sense of the notion, one needs to acclimatise to another idea. Strange, but digestible. It is relates to the influence that time and planetary movements have over human conduct. I for example, am a Cancerian being. I don’t ever check horoscopes, but they do intrigue me – and I have plenty of patience for those who do find them meaningful. Reading into the previous sentence, you may think of me as unsure, fence-sitting or wishy-washy in my attitude towards horoscopes. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I have a firm view on the matter – I do believe they are real (although I query whether many know to read them accurately) however, I do not believe that they are deterministic. In simple terms, I believe that one can be influenced by all sorts of things, but that doesn’t force you to comply with the said influencer.

With that said, we can revisit the notion of eclipse and the unfavourable omen which manifests in its wake. Our Sages are informing us that a negative potential resides at the moment of the eclipse. A potential does not mean an actual, but a potential actual. At predictable times, we are drawn to the darker side of our personalities. However, such moments are not determinate of our conduct. As with any proclivity, we have the capacity to stay the course.

So next time there’s an eclipse, think twice before getting all excited about it. And next time you read your horoscope, think twice before accepting it as your fate.

Based on Lekkutei Sichot vol 15 pp7-12


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rose Coloured Glasses

Image
For the contemporary minded, there’s a deeply troubling introduction to a deeply troubling episode in Parshat Vayishlach. The tragic saga of Dina’s violation by Shechem, followed by the retributive massacre of the city, raises the eyebrow of the critical reader at a rate of something like twice per verse. Resolutions remains a touch out of grasp. What this a case of love or lust (see Bereishit 34:2-3)? Where Shimon and Levi even remotely justified in their vengeance? What was Ya’akov’s opinion on the matter? What outcome would Dina have wanted? Perhaps most perplexing of all is the introduction to the debacle – “and Dina, the daughter of Leah who had been born to Ya’akov, went out to see the daughters of the land.” Rashi, the foremost commentary on the Torah focuses on the superfluous rendition of her lineage and writes “due to her outgoingness she is labelled ‘the daughter of Leah’, for her mother too was an out-goer, [evidenced in the episode of the duda’im flowers (see B
Read more

Nocturnal Iconoclasts

Image
Dream interpretation seems somewhat out of vogue these days. Talmudic wisdom seems to have it that dreams are simply a concoction of what one experiences over the course of their waking hours (Berachot 55b). However, beneath the nightmare of thirsty sea-creatures meandering upon dry land, gulping from giant bottles of gurgling goop, there lies our most primal fears, anxieties and aspirations. Our subconscious lets loose as it weaves metaphors of childhood neglect (the thirsty sea creatures) which drives our insatiable appetite for approval at work (the giant bottles of gurgling goop). Obviously, this matter requires copious therapy if its seemingly far-fetched significance is to be fully unravelled. No different are the dreams that abound in Genesis. The colourful characters of the Bible were as iconoclastic in their sleep as they were in their waking hours. Jacob dreams of ladders, angels and sheep, Joseph dreams of stalks and stars, the butler and baker dreams of wine and b
Read more

The Price of Inspiration

Image
How do we look when we are uninspired? Do we let go of the values that define us, throwing in the proverbial towel, or hang on to them for dear life, praying for our next spiritual uplift? Inspiration, by definition, is short-term. It’s a burst that needs endless replenishment. Important, but not reflective of our real selves. What’s truly worth our time and energy is identifying   and shaping our lowest common-denominator, the person we are when our role models are on holiday and our texts don’t speak to us. Midrash on Parshat Vayechi tells us that Yaakov wished to reveal the date of the final Redemption to his children, yet he reneged in the last moment. What was the rationale for the change of heart? Knowing the potential date of Redemption is inspirational, it gives us the push we need to keep up our commitment, knowing that we only have a short distance still to cover. However, the very notion of the final Redemption is one of a fundamental change to reality. A c
Read more