assurnet wrote:
Actually the Gemara in Sukkot discusses different human actions that bring about eclipses… I’m not quite sure I would describe Chazal as “arbitrary.” And as a disclaimer, just because we can now map the schedule of such astrological events in advance isn’t a stirah to the Gemara…
lakewood001,
How is it not a Stira? I’m asking sincerely.
I can think of several possible answers.
First, I think for the purposes of the Gemara, it’s not the occurrence of the eclipse that is important, but the observation of it. Just because an eclipse occurs does not mean that people in a given location will see it. Cloud cover, for example, can render a lunar eclipse and most solar eclipses invisible. A total solar eclipse would be viewed quite differently under cloud cover than on a clear day.
Second, if G-d created and controls the universe, including all of the physical laws, and He knows the future and the hearts of Man, then it would follow that the laws of physics and history would work together such that eclipses occur and are observed over regions where such behavior occurs.