[Avodah] mabul

[Micha Berger]

On Thu, Nov 03, 2011 at 04:56:17PM -0400, Zev Sero wrote:
> I cited the mishneh in AZ.  While it's *possible* to interpret it
> differently, in light of the Y'mi it seems more likely that Tosfos is
> correct, and the author of this mishneh knew that the earth was an orb
> -- and he assumed that it was common knowledge among the goyim too.

One last time...

The author of the mishnah clearly stated that water in underground springs
is warmer at night because the sun is under the earth. Thus, he believed
that the sun's distance below the earth at night, plus the width of the
earth, is less than its height above the earth during the day.

This rules out the earth being an orb, as well as orbits. It defies
the dome-of-sky cosmology of the Babylonians as well.

Rebbe didn't know the earth was a globe. So again, we have no evidence
of tannaim saying the earth was round, or anything implying it was. But
tannaim who say things that do contradict the idea.

And the shell of the sky comes from a comology in which the world is
flat. A globe world wouldn't have a dome shell sky, it would have a
sphere (galgal hamazalos). For the tannaim to somehow combine ideas
(despite my last sentence) that come from different places, ideas that
no one else combined, requires evidence. Rebbe's statement about the
sun going down at night isn't it.

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             Live as if you were living already for the
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