Jewish tradition sees eclipses as bad omens. Many American Jews are seeking totality anyway

• Published date: 09 April 2024
• Author: JTA STAFF
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The attitude was common across the ancient world, when eclipses could not be predicted and were experienced as frightening, though astronomy was more developed by the time the Talmud was written in the fourth century

But now, with a swath of the United States on the verge of experiencing a total eclipse of the sun for the last time in 20 years, contemporary Jews have had months to anticipate the eclipse that will take place on Monday afternoon — and some of them have joined the crowds of eclipse-chasers headed to the narrow path of totality.

In Rochester, New York, where the sun will be blotted out for nearly four minutes starting at 3:20 p.m., for example, the Jewish community center is hosting an eclipse party and local synagogues have invited their members to take part. In Dallas, where totality will last 10 seconds longer, Temple Emanu-El is holding a "Totality Temple" event that will include a lesson the eclipse in Jewish tradition.

One possible lesson: Because an eclipse can take place only around the time of a new moon, they are always adjacent to the start of a new Jewish month. (The month of Nisan begins Monday night.)

In recent weeks, many rabbis have offered answers to the question of the right Jewish response to witnessing the eclipse. It is not traditional for Jews to say a blessing on an eclipse, but some rabbis have pointed to all-purpose blessings reserved for witnessing natural wonders and major demonstrations of God's might as appropriate for the moment. (One may be familiar to East Coast Jews, from last week's surprise earthquake.) The Conservative movement even officially endorsed two options in 2017, the last time there was a major eclipse in the United States.

The power of light over dark

Others say an eclipse provides an...