Conference taveng::bagels

934.0. "Is astrology kosher?" by GAON::jem (Even paranoids have enemies) Wed May 09 1990 20:07

SHABBAT SHALOM: Achrai-Mot/Kedoshim

by Shlomo Riskin

     Efrat, Israel -- What does the Torah say about the signs of
the Zodiac whose predictions grace the pages of so many daily
newspapers and magazines?  Columns on astrology are so common
that even though Nancy Reagan's stargazing caused a minor
scandal when it was disclosed that she checked with her
astrologer before making appointments for her husband, the
country took it in stride, another minor aberration of the White
House, but the Commander-in-Chief didn't have to turn in his Air
Force One.

     Most of us think that because we're living in the last decade
of the 20th century, idol worshipping is dead, just a shadow of
what it once was, limited to corners of the Far East or among
prehistoric jungle tribes.  But according to Maimonides'
understanding of idol worship, if you've ever changed your path
because of a black cat, or altered a decision because of an
astrological reading, then you're trafficking in some form of
idolatry, and what seems an innocent, harmless superstition is
forbidden.

     In the second part of this week's reading.  Kedoshim.  G-d
commands that "...neither shall you practice divination nor
soothsaying..." [Lev. 19:26]  Rashi, quoting Talmud Sanhedrin
60, speaks of "people who divine using weasels or birds, or
bread that fell from his mouth or if a stag crossed his path."

     Although bread and its gravitational pull may not seem
particularly idolatrous, the Talmud's examples illustrate the
wide range of divination.  Maimonides, in his formulation of
idolatrous practices (Laws of Idol Worship, Ch. 11:4) also seems
to reflect the account in Tractate Sanhedrin when he writes of
those who say, "... since my bread fell from my mouth I'm not
going to such and such a place ... or since a fox passed on my
right side, I'm not leaving the house today..."

     In the opening words of the above law, (11:4), Maimonides makes
the general statement that one is not permitted to divine like
idol worshippers, a phrase which could very well imply that even
if I don't change my path when a black cat crosses my path, but
only hesitate, I'm thinking like a idol worshippers.


     In the same paragraph, Maimonides continues with his discussion
of what happens when someone makes signs for himself by saying:
'If this and this occurs to me, I will do the following, and if
it doesn't occur to me, I won't do it..."  And the example he
uses to illustrate what he considers to be divining or following
signs is rather astonishing, given that we usually think of
Eliezer's mission as virtuous, and not tainted by an idolatrous
echo.

     Early on in Genesis, Abraham bids his servant Eliezer to find a
wife for Isaac among his own people in his native land.
Arriving at the outskirts of the city, Eliezer stops near the
well, aspiring with all his strength to find the right person
for his master's son.  And he comes up with the following
method:  "If I say to a girl, 'Tip over your jug and let me have
a drink, and she replies, 'Drink and I will also water your
camels' she will be the one You have designated.'" [Gen. 24:14]

     Maimonides' inclusion of Eliezer is based on the Talmudic
Tractate in Hulin 95b that quotes Rav:  "Divining which is
different from Eliezer the slave of Abraham, and Jonathan son of
Saul is not called divining," a passage which implies that both
Eliezer and Jonathan's behavior were unacceptable in the eyes of
the Torah.

     According to Maimonides, the very articulation that a sign
shall determine one's future action compromises G-d by bringing
in a mediating force other than the Divine.  Had Eliezer come
upon the maiden and decided she was the appropriate one because
of her kindness, no one could fault Eliezer's choice, but
initially thinking in terms of signs is what troubles Maimonides.

     The Ra'N (Rabeinu Nissim) disagrees.  In his Hidushai HaRa'N
(Hulin 95B), he points out that when the Torah forbids devising
signs or omens, it depends on whether the sign is logical or
arbitrary, the former being permissible and only the latter
forbidden.  After all there is a world of difference between
bread that fails from one's mouth, or a black cat crossing one's
path, and Eliezer's sign which was based on common sense and
lovingkindness.  In the words of the Ra'N, if someone says, "
'...If it rains, I won't go outside,'  this can't be called
divination because it's the way of the world.  And Eliezer the
servant of Abraham and Jonathan son of Saul behaved this way.

Eliezer knows the wife for Isaac must be perfectly suitable, and
he takes as a sign that if she acts graciously and
wholeheartedly, not only restoring his soul by quenching his
thirst, but offering water to the camels as well, then she is
heaven sent."

     The Jonathan incident referred to by the Ra'N occurs when
Jonathan faces a Philistine garrison, and addresses his armor
bearer.  "Behold, we will pass over to these men....and if they
say to us, "Tarry until we come to you;' then we will stand
still in our place....But if they say to us, 'Come up to us,'
then we will go up, for the Lord has delivered them into our
hand, and this shall be a sign to us...." [1 Samuel 14:8-10]

     The Ra'N is not worried that Jonathan calls this a sign; he
interprets the dialogue logically:  "If the enemy will say,
'Come up to us,' it means they're probably afraid of an ambush,
so Jonathan was confident in his strength that he and the armor
bearer would defeat them, because the nature of the world is
that two or three chivalrous soldiers can attack the frightened.
 However, if they say, 'Tarry until we come to you', it would
seem from their words they're not afraid and it wouldn't be
right to risk his [Jonathan's ] life...."

     Maimonides is uncompromising.  He forbids any kind of
mediation, even if it appears to be logical (such as Eliezer and
Jonathan).  Maimonides doesn't eschew logic.  What bothers him
is the making of the sign itself.  This creation of signs in any
form, for any reason, is idolatrous.

     In Tractate Pesachim, 113b, we read that Rabba bar Chana says
in the name of R. Shmuel bar Marta, "How do we know that we
aren't allowed to make inquiries of astrologers [Chaldeans].
Because of the verse, 'You shall be wholehearted with the Lord
your G-d.'" [Deut. 18:13] which appears in a series of
prohibitions against wizards, mediums, necromancers,
soothsayers, and other shadowy characters.  Apparently, R.
Shmuel understands the verse's concept of wholeheartedness to
mean that any reliance upon any external sign or system,
including the art of the Chaldeans (astrology) which will serve
as a substitute for G-d.

     In commenting on this idea of 'being wholehearted with G-d,'
Nachmanides says [loc. cit.] that we aren't allowed to have any
mediation between us and G-d, which is the underlying
prohibition in our portion this week against divination and
soothsaying.  Arbitrary mediation causes us to be not
wholehearted before G-d.  This, of course, would not include
reliance upon medicine or psychology, which are scientifically
demonstrable, and specifically permitted by the Torah.

     A hasid once sought the advice and blessing of his Rebbe.  He
wanted to go into the lumber business.  When the Rebbe asked why
this enterprise, the hasid explained that he thought there could
be considerable profit, at the same time acknowledging the risk
of the venture.  The Rebbe advised him not to take the risk.

     Later, a second hasid came to the Rebbe; he too was interested
in the same business.  When the Rebbe asked why this particular
project, the hasid explained that although it was a risky
venture, he believed that lumber was a good business, and with
the help of G-d, he'd make a go of it.

     The Rebbe blessed his venture, telling him to go ahead.
Naturally, when the first hasid saw someone else running the
business he'd wanted to buy, he felt betrayed.  The Rebbe
explained that he knew little about lumber, but that since the
second hasid had spoken about going into the business with the
help of G-d, he thought that he had a good chance.  "You," he
pointed out, "left G-d out of the picture."

     The message is clear.  Even when the signs and wonders we seek
have a seemingly Jewish aroma, we have to make sure that we
don't get distracted by the charisma of the moment, always
remembering Who is first and foremost.  Without the presence of
G-d in our partnerships, it makes no sense to even go to a Rebbe
to bless our businesses.



SHABBAT SHALOM



Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chief rabbi of Efrat, Israel, and the
Dean of the Ohr Torah Institutions.

--
                        Alan Lustiger
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