A List for Lights
If you look in the Chumash, when Hashem created the meoros, the luminaries – it means the sun and the moon – it lists a number of purposes that He intended them for. ... And they should serve as signs, and for appointed times, and for days and years and to give light to the earth (Bereishis 1:14).
Now we have to pay attention to the list here because it’s not random; it’s telling us a certain order in importance. And it says that the first purpose is ... That’s number one on the list, that they should be signs, that they should demonstrate something to us. The sun is a sign, and the moon is a sign, and the stars are signs. We'll soon see what that means.
The second is ... for appointed times. The sun and the moon are both instrumental in calculating when the yomim tovim fall out. So the second purpose is to let us know ‘set times’ – “when will Yom Tov fall out?”
Third on the list is ... for days. The sun and the moon tell us when it’s day and when it's night. A very important function. And then also ... for years. The movement of the sun around the earth divides time into years. And then last on the list, fifth in importance, is ... to illuminate, to give light to the earth.
First Comes First
Now, if you give it just a little bit of thought, it’s a remarkable list because it seems to be upside down. After all, we would say that the meoros are chiefly to illuminate. That's why they're called meoros, luminaries. Also for day and night, and for years, to be a universal calendar. Those are the most evident and most practical purposes of the luminaries.
But those are all way on the bottom of the list. What comes before that? ... to be a Jewish calendar! That’s jarring even to the ears of frum Jews. We’re willing to admit that we make use of the sun and moon for our calendar, but to say that it was created for that, even more than for ... days and years and to give light?! That’s a stunning thing to say. If a professor of astronomy, a Jewish professor, would make that claim in his class he’d be finished; he’d be looking for a new job.
But the Torah is saying even more than that; we’re being told now that more important than to give light, and more important than to make days and nights and years, and even more important than the yomim tovim, is ..., to serve as signs, to demonstrate certain principles to us. That, says the Torah, is the number one reason. Yes, there are other reasons too but they're just auxiliary reasons; the primary purpose Hashem had in mind when He created the sun and the stars and the moon is for us to look at them and be reminded of certain ideals.
Understanding Sign Language
Because what does it mean ...? It means that it should cause you to think of something, to recognize something. An os means it’s demonstrating something; you have to see the sign and know what it’s trying to tell you, otherwise, it’s a wasted sign.
And so we see now that we are not fulfilling the will of Hashem, we’re foiling His purpose in creating the luminaries. I’m talking now poshut pshat in the Chumash. We’re expected to use the me’oros to be informed of certain important ideals, certain principles, but who’s doing that?
How are the sun and the moon and the stars fulfilling their function, their primary function, of providing signs if we’re not gaining information when we see them? We don’t even know what to think. And so we’ll see now, maybe we can supply some of the missing information by looking in the siddur.
The Sun of Glory
The truth is that when we study what we are told in the davening about the purpose of the sun, we see that there is a paramount purpose that overshadows all other purposes and makes them almost insignificant. And that’s as follows: ... You say that every morning: “The good One created all this glory for His name.”
Now, what’s the glory we’re talking about? It's talking about the sun. Like it says in Tehillim, ... the heavens declare the glory of Hashem, (19:2), and he goes on and says how the sun comes out every day ... It’s talking about the sun. Every morning the sun comes out in all its glory.
Now that’s pashtus sheb’pashtus. That’s what the pessukim are talking about and that's what the davening is talking about, that the purpose of the sun is to let us know about a Creator. The sun is one of the most prominent phenomena in our world and it’s coming to give glory to Hashem. It’s an os, a sign, of Hashem’s magnificence and resplendence; His brilliance.
Trying to See Hashem
You remember when the emperor spoke to Rabi Yehoshua ben Chananya (Chullin 59b). “Let me see your G-d,” he said, “I want to see Him.”
“Well, you can’t see Him.”
So the emperor said, “That's baloney. I can see my gods,” and he pointed to his getchkes. “Here is my god.” He showed him a figurine standing on a shelf. “Here is another one. You can see mine,” the emperor said. “So where is yours?”
In the olden days that was a reproach to the Jewish people. ... “Where are your gods?” the Gentiles said (Tehillim 115:2). Even today they show you a statue of someone nailed to a cross, “That’s our god, a dead god. Where’s yours?”
Debunking the Emperor
But Rabi Yehoshua ben Chananya was up to the task because he learned this subject of osos. So he said “If you insist, come up on the roof. I’ll show you something.”
They went up on the roof of the palace and he pointed at the sun. “Take a good look at that”, he said, “Don't take your eyes off it.”
“That’s impossible,” the emperor said. “I can’t look at that. It's too brilliant. I’ll go blind.”
So Rabi Yehoshua ben Chananya said “Do you know what the sun is? The sun is one of the smallest, one of the most minuscule servants that serve our Creator.” You know there are trillions of suns. Out in space, the stars are much bigger than the sun. There are some stars as big as the entire solar system. One of the biggest stars is so big you can fit five billion suns into that star.
So Rabi Yehoshua ben Chananya said to the emperor “If you cannot look even at the least of the servants of the Creator, do you expect to look at Him? You'll get blind if you look at His messenger. You expect to look at Him?”
A Story With a Lesson
Now this is not just an anecdote, a story for children. It's an important Torah lesson because it’s telling us pshat in this possuk, ... The primary purpose of the sun is to be for us a tiny token of its Creator. Of course it’s not tiny as far as we're concerned but that’s the point. It's a mighty phenomenon, a huge endless storehouse of atomic energy. You know the sun burns by atomic energy, by nuclear energy? It's been burning for five thousand years, and it shows no sign of weakening. It can go on and on. Only nuclear energy can supply that.
It's a tremendous phenomenon that bombards this earth with so much heat and so much light. And most of the sun’s energy is not even used. A tremendous surplus goes off into space. And that big fireball, that tremendous sun, is nothing after all. It’s one tiny, infinitesimal, creation of Hashem. It's a mote, an atom, a nothing, compared to its Creator. And that's what the sun is for. That’s the most important purpose of the sun, so that you should remind yourself every day – a few times every day! – about the vastness, the greatness, of the One Who created that sun.
And that’s why this os is available wherever you go; the sun shines everywhere because wherever you go, that’s the most important reminder you’ll need – that there’s a Great Creator.
Traveling to the Sun
Now the truth is that it’s such an important demonstration that even if this phenomenon would be available only, let’s say, in the heart of China, on a tall mountain in the Tibetan wilderness, we’d be obligated to travel there to see it. Suppose that’s the only place where you could see the sun; so it would be our duty to tap our way with white canes – all mankind would walk in darkness tapping our way through the world until we reach that mountaintop. And we’d open our eyes and see the sun! “Aha! We made it! Look at that os! Look at that sign of Hashem’s greatness!” And it would be worth living just for that; it would be worth being born just to see that demonstration once.
But because it’s such an important demonstration of the One Who is ... so it’s also, to a certain extent, ...; it’s an os that shines everywhere. ... To all ends of the earth its voice, its words, go out (Tehillim 19:5). You can’t avoid seeing it; you can’t avoid hearing its message.
Sunset for the Lazy
And sometimes as an added convenience, in case all day long you're too lazy to lift your head up and look at the sun, so when the sun begins to set it comes down low and it’s right in front of your eyes. And then it’s big and red – it’s more conspicuous for lazy people. And so at sunset, that’s the time to take a good look.
That's why the Gemara (Brachos 29b) says that's the best time to daven minchah; ... they will fear you together with the sun (Tehillim 72:5). It means that as the sun goes down that’s when we should stand Shemoneh Esrei. Only that some of the Sages said it’s not a good idea; don’t wait that late because you might miss minchah; better to daven early. But the original, proper time was ‘with the sun’ – when it comes down low on the horizon, in front of your eyes and it’s bigger now – at least it looks bigger – and it’s glowing red. That ohr of glory is a testimony to the One Who created it. It’s an os that Hakadosh Baruch Hu made the world.
So when the sun rises in the morning or the sun is setting at night time or anytime during the day, if you're able to take a quick peek without ...
