[Avodah] Not Making Kiddush Between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Feb 07, 2008 at 11:04:05PM -0500, Zev Sero wrote:
: But it's not just Mars, it's all the classical planets.

Yes, but we were talking about maadim, so I used that as an example.

In short, I'm arguing that koach hamazalos means knowing what's overhead
and where. Dividing the day among the planets, or the week among them
(c.f. Saturday, Sunday, Monday... and saturn is called shabtai...) isn't
what the rishonim argue when they discuss mazalos, it's some other koach.
The hour is associated with the koach of the planet, but the planet itself
isn't doing anything interesting that our. For all I know, it's common
cause -- the hour is a time for oneshim, as is ma'adim a representative
of it. As Par'oh said, "Ki bera'ah hotzi'am..."

Thus, I would explain this gemara as being akin to the one about knowing
the times when midas harachamim dominates, and davening then.

After all, ein mazal leyisra'el, but who else is refraining from qiddush?

BTW, there is a chart of hours of the week and their corresponding
kokhavei lekhes at <http://www.dafyomi.co.il/shabbos/graph7.htm>.

Of course, by now you know I'm enoguh of a rationalist for this gemara
to cause serious squirming. But even someone with more mystical leanings
would have no more or less problem with my above argument that this
isn't a description of the usual koach hamazalos.

-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             "'When Adar enters, we increase our joy'
micha at aishdas.org         'Joy is nothing but Torah.'
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