[Avodah] birchat hachama

[Eli Turkel]

<<The even being commemorated, is the first sunrise after the tequfah
occuring during the begining of the rule of Shabetai (Saturn) on or
layom revi'i. That hour has no astronomical meaning, it's when the planet
happens to be in force with no regard to where it or anything else is.

So why are we assuming the tequfah is an astronomical season? Perhaps in
addition to the tropical year and the sidereal year, there is a totally
distinct astrological year.

And all the circumlocutions (never mind the ones that go overboard and
use the words "exactly the same place" ukhedomeh) just make more problems
for the nevuchim than they resolve. As RYL's correspondent noted.>>

On the contrary all the earlier generations understand hachamah betekufata
as an astronomical event when the sun returns to the same place it was
in creation.

Mainly in modern times when it was stressed that Shmuel's method is
not accurate
did some achronim explain that this is only a pedagogical rule and not
astronomical.
Reminds of the modern proofs that chazal knew the earth is round while
early generations
took the gemara (in several places) more literally as dealing with a flat earth.

I again looked at the CI  (OH 138:4) who says that both shitat Shmuel and R. Ada
are from Sinai and anyone who denies it is a min.
Problem is that the Rambam seems to speak of 2 differing opinions which both
can't be correct and also mentions that the same machkloket exists in the
Greek and Perisan sources



-- 
Eli Turkel