A distinct memory from my childhood is the
many long hours we spent in the car traveling between Connecticut and New York
to visit my grandparents. In those days before cell phones, tablets, and other
handheld devices – truly the dark ages – there was nothing to do during those
long night drives but to...well...sit in the dark. The only entertainment was
to look out the window, which, though it may sound dull, was actually magnificent.
The sparkling lights of the bridges spanning the vast darkness of water, the
other cars and trucks racing to their destinations – the view was mesmerizing and ever changing. The
only constant was the companionship of the moon, which followed me on each
journey. I knew I could count on the moon from the minute I left one house to
the moment I reached the other.
There is a sense
of security in the moon’s faithfulness amid our uncertain lives. Its predictable
patterns never change. Indeed, the moon’s constancy is reflected in our Jewish
calendar, which is based on its cycles. Unlike many other nations, whose
calendars rely on the sun, ours is a lunar calendar. The length of each month
corresponds to the time it takes for the moon to travel around the Earth:
approximately 29.5 days. But, since the lunar calendar is slightly shorter than
the solar year – which based on the time it takes for the earth to travel
around the sun – strictly following the moon’s cycles would slowly shift the
months, such that Chanukah would eventually fall out in the summer, and we
would be cleaning for Pesach in the fall. To avoid this issue, leap months were
added to our year.
Until 358 CE, the
relationship of the Jewish people to the moon was direct. The beginning of each
month was determined by the testimony of two witnesses that they had seen the
new moon. The Sanhedrin then established the beginning of each month and the
Yomim Tovim, holidays, and fast days that would soon arrive. In the year 358,
the calendar was set in place by the Sanhedrin because people no longer lived
in close proximity to Eretz Yisrael and the court system was disrupted.
A Little Light,
Please
As bright as the moon is, it actually doesn’t
emit its own light. Its brilliant luminosity is simply a reflection of the
sun’s light, similar to the way a car’s headlights illuminate road signs at
night. Although the moon seems to change each night, it is really only our
perception of its appearance that is different. The moon shifts from fully
empty (new moon) to half full (first quarter) to fully illuminated (full moon)
to half empty (third quarter), and then the cycle repeats itself. The part of
the moon that we can observe is the part that the sun is shining on, which
changes depending on its position relative to the sun. For example: the new
moon occurs when the earth and sun are lined up with the moon in the middle.
The sun is shining on the half of the moon facing away from the earth so we
only see the half that is shadowed – or, rather, we don’t see it – because it
is nearly invisible in the dark sky. The full moon occurs when the earth is
between the moon and the sun. The slight tilt of the earth allows the sun’s
rays to illuminate the moon, presenting us with a bright luminary suspended
against the black sky. Not rocket science, but close.
Occasionally, the
moon appears larger than usual. This is merely an illusion and occurs when the
moon is low in the sky. Gazing at the moon overhead leaves us with no reference
point, nothing to compare it with, and our minds convince us that it is closer
than it really is, leaving us with the impression that it is small. When the
moon is close to the horizon, though, we can easily compare it with buildings
or nearby natural features, making it look larger in contrast. (The moon
doesn’t actually change size.)
Eclipse
A lunar eclipse is created when the sun, earth,
and moon are perfectly aligned, so that the shadow of the earth falls across
the face of the full moon, darkening it completely. Occurring only a few times
a year, a lunar eclipse can be seen from almost half of the world. The moon may
appear red during an eclipse, casting a “Blood Moon.” The effect is created by
the light from the sun bending toward the moon after passing through the
Earth’s atmosphere. The next lunar eclipse is expected on May 26, 2021.
“Time and
the tide wait for no man” - Geoffrey Chauser
Although the percentage of the moon that
we see illuminated changes slightly each night, its gradual waxing and waning
is expected. It may be unsettling, though, to wonder what is actually keeping it
there. Why does it continue travelling in its predictable path each night and
not just drift off into space? Or, chas
veshalom, fall to the earth?
The same
gravitational force that holds us to the earth’s surface, effectively keeping
us from floating away, is the reason that the moon remains in orbit around the earth
and is present to greet us each evening. At the same time as the earth is
pulling on the moon, the moon is also pulling on the earth. Although we cannot
feel that force, we can see it clearly in the tides.
The ocean’s tides,
the constant rising and falling of the water level twice each day, are
controlled by the moon from over 200,000 miles away! The water that is on the
side of the earth that is closest to the moon experiences the strongest pull,
resulting in a high tide on that side of the planet. But why should there be
two high tides per day? Shouldn’t the water rise only on the side closest to
the moon, while the rest of the earth’s oceans remain low? It is fascinating to
note that the water on the side of the earth farthest away from the moon also
experiences a high tide because the moon’s gravitational pull there is weakest,
and water is “free” to flow away from it as another high tide! Thus, as the earth
spins on its axis, the world’s waters rise and fall twice, first when facing
the moon and again, when facing away from it.
Once in a Blue
Moon
The months of the general calendar, which
is solar based, have up to 31 days, Because the moon’s cycle is only 29.5 days,
a full moon will occasionally occur twice in one secular month, at the
beginning and then again at the end! When this happens, the second occurrence
is called a Blue Moon. (No, Blue Moons are not actually blue.) This happens
approximately once every 30 months, so the expression that something rare
occurs only “once in a Blue Moon” is fairly accurate. If you want to mark your
planners, the next calendrical Blue Moon is expected on August 30, 2023.
Supermoon
The moon does not orbit the earth in a
perfect circle, rather it follows an elliptical (oval-shaped) path around our
planet. This means that the moon is sometimes closer and sometimes farther away
from the earth. When a full or new moon coincides with when it is closest, the
result is a supermoon. This moon appears even larger than usual when it rises
and sets (but mostly due to moon illusion as noted above) and causes extremes
in the tides.
“One small
step for man, one giant leap for mankind” - Neil Armstrong
On July 20, 1969, after travelling for
just over two days aboard the Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin
became the first two humans to ever set foot on the surface of the moon. With no
wind to blow away their footprints, they are still there as a silent testimony
to the power of the human mind to push past its limitations and conquer new
worlds. (Without wind, there was also no way that the flag they planted would
have appeared to be waving in the breeze as it does in the photographs taken. A
rod was actually inserted along the top of the flag, holding it open;
otherwise, it would have just hung limp.)
Life on
the Moon
The earth has a much larger mass than the
moon. As a result, the earth’s gravity is six times stronger than its smaller
neighbor. This means that if someone weighed 180 pounds on earth, a scale on
the moon would only read 30 pounds! This difference in gravity is what enabled the
astronauts to effortlessly leap across the moon. But, before committing
yourself to living on the moon as a means of weight loss, consider the extreme
temperatures of its environment: 260° F. during the day and –280° F. during the night. (And we thought
Baltimore has drastic weather. There is no humidity on the moon, though, so
maybe…)
The moon suffers
from this enormous range of temperatures because it has no atmosphere to
protect it. Without an atmosphere, it also cannot burn up meteorites that
routinely fly through space and is consequently pockmarked with craters from
their impact. Eerily, the lack of atmosphere creates a perpetually black sky
that surrounds an inhospitable environment, vulnerable to solar winds and
cosmic rays. With this in mind, we are better able to appreciate the beautiful,
blue sky that encompasses the earth.
“Anyone
who blesses the new moon in its proper time is as if they have greeted the
Divine Presence.” - Rabbi Yochanan, Sanhedrin 42a
In the quiet moments of a chilly night,
after our day’s work is set aside and we begin to relax, perhaps then we can
spare a few moments to gaze with child-like wonder at the moon. For as long as
people have lifted their eyes to the night sky, they have claimed to see a face
in the moon. Created by countless craters from the impact of meteorites and
asteroids, the moon’s “face” shines down on all of us as a constant companion
in the night sky. It offers us the security of clarity on an otherwise black
landscape and the comfort of a light shining in the darkness.
Remembering that
this light is merely a reflection of another light serves as a reminder to lift
our face to others in warmth and understanding. The light we share with them
will be reflected in turn. It is a mitzva to greet every person with a shining
countenance, but our smiles are currently covered with masks, and we are
distant from one another. We have to learn how to smile with our words, with
our sincere questions. Just as the moon’s face shines down on us each night,
the faces of the people around us will be radiant when we greet them with a
smile that reaches all the way to our eyes. The moon is held in place not on
its own but because the earth is pulling it close; it is not shining bright on
its own but because the sun is giving it light. Perhaps the greatest lesson we
can learn from the moon is to always remember to be the earth and the sun for
someone else.
Debbie
Glazer lives in Pikesville with her husband and seven children and teaches
Language Arts in Bnos Yisroel High School. She can often be found either
writing or reading and loves to share her passion for the written word with
others.
