11th of Teves 5712Brooklyn, N.Y.
Mr. Yehudo Meir Schechter
1271 Carroll Street
Brooklyn N.Y.
Sholom u'Brocho:
I'm in receipt of your letter of 29th of Kislev, in which you ask for an explanation of the Gemoro in Pesochim 94b, regarding the statement, "During the day the sun travels under the firmament, and during the night above the firmament, etc."1 You also wish to be enlightened on the Gemoro in B.B. 25a,2 and how it can be reconciled with the fact that the Earth is a sphere, as stated in Tosefoth in Aovodo-zoro,3 based on the Jerushalmi.4
In reply, please refer to Zohar, part III, 10a, where we find the following statement:
"The earth turns about like a ball, now this side up, now down; and all creatures differ from each other because of different climatic conditions... There are places on this earth where it is light, while it is dark in other places; day here, night there. There is a place where there is one long day, and where night comes only once in a while for a short time."
The Zohar thus clearly states both facts: that the earth is a sphere, and that it turns around its own orbit.
As to the Talmudic passages mentioned above, various commentators have dealt with them, of whom I would recommend the most easily accessible, the Maharal of Prague in his "Be'er Hagoloh" Be'er 6;5 also the ReMO in his "Torath Ho'oloh", part I, chapter 2,6 where the Gemoro is explained
With blessing,
Notes and sources
For the general content of this letter see p.s. of letter dated 11 Shevat, 5720.
1) Editors note: i. e. the reason why the sun does not shine during the night, is because the sun travels higher up, beyond the firmament.
2) The gemara there reads as follows:
תניא רבי אליעזר אומר עולם לאכסדרה הוא דומה ורוח צפונית אינה מסובבת וכיון שהגיעה חמה אצל קרן מערבית צפונית נכפפת ועולה למעלה מן הרקיע ורבי יהושע אומר עולם לקובה הוא דומה ורוח צפונית מסובבת שנאמר הולך אל דרום וסובב אל צפון וגו׳ הולך אל דרום ביום וסובב אל צפון בלילה סובב סבב הולך הרוח ועל סביבתיו שב הרוח אלו פני מזרח ופני מערב שפעמים מסבבתן ופעמים מהלכתן וכיון שחמה מגעת לקרן מערבית צפונית מקפת וחוזרת אחורי כיפה.
Translation: Rabbi Eliezer says: The world is similar to a partially enclosed veranda, enclosed on three sides, and the northern side of the world is not enclosed with a partition like the other directions. The sun begins its revolution in the east and passes to the south and the west, and once the sun reaches the northwestern corner it turns around and ascends throughout the night above the sky to the east side and does not pass the north side. And Rabbi Yehoshua says: The world is similar to a small tent, and the north side is enclosed with a partition as well, but once the sun reaches the northwestern corner it emerges from this small tent, and circles and passes behind the dome, i.e., outside the northern partition until it reaches the east.
As it is stated: “The sun also rises and the sun goes down, and hastens to its place, where it rises again. It goes toward the south, and turns about to the north; round and round goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns” (Koheles 1:5–6). The verse is understood as describing the sun’s movements, as follows: “It goes toward the south” during the day, “and turns about to the north,” on the outside of the firmament, at night. “Round and round goes the wind [Ruach] and the wind returns again to its circuits”; as the word Ruach can also mean direction or side, Rabbi Yehoshua explains that these are the face of the east and the face of the west. Sometimes, in the short winter days, the sun turns about them without being seen, and sometimes, in the long summer days, it traverses them visibly.
3) Avodah Zara 41a, s.v. KiKadur.
4) Talmud Yerushalmi, "Avodah Zara," ch. 3, sec. 1.
5) Can be accessed here.
6) Can be accessed here.
Source: Typed copy.
Source & Link: The Letter & The Spirit 2, pg. 207: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17igLcavnjEEhkWoJJH1EWjbP_3OTapSp/view?usp=drivesdk Alternative Source: