I simultaneously learned that there would be a full solar eclipse this coming Monday and that it would not be visible (only partially) where I live. Someone actually showed me a map of the moon’s shadow crossing the United States and pointed out that it seems to be heading through “Red States.” This should not be such a surprise since the majority of states in the US are red, at least in terms of area; the blue states may have huge populations but not necessarily lots of territory. The sun, of course, is much closer to ‘red’ than to blue. The sun’s fire is a burning red ball, and our sages have shared the root for red to connote the setting of the sun – dimdumei chammah.

With the sun in the news, the Parsha mentions the sun early on.

"הלא המה בעבר הירדן אחרי דרך מבוא השמש בארץ הכנעני הישב בערבה מול הגלגל אצך אלוני מרה" (דברים י"א:ל)
“Are there not on the other side of the Jordan, by the way where the sun goes, in the land of the Canaanites, who live in the Aravah, opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinths of Moreh?” (Dvarim 11:30).

The Gemara (Sotah 33b) cites a debate over the meaning of this verse. Moshe reminds the nation that in the future, when they cross the Jordan River, they will renew the covenant at Shchem, near the mountains Gerizim and Eval. Where exactly is this location? Rabbi Yehudah claims derech mavo hashemesh refers to the east, i.e. where the sun rises. So Rabbi Yehudah’s rendering of the verse is that it is far from the direction of the sunrise, i.e. further west. Rabbi Elazar claims derecho mavo hashemesh refers to where the sun sets, i.e. the west. Rabbi Elazar claims that the mountains are further east, closer to the Jordan River.

Rashi on Chumash follows the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah and actually bases his decision on the cantillation marks in the Torah. We often think those symbols are there for musical purposes. There are several places in the Torah where those marks, as cadences, help us definitively understand text which can be read in multiple ways. Rashi claims the text means that it is far. Many of the great grammarians (Mizrachi, Rav Hirsch, Chizkuni, M’harsha) all agree with Rabbi Yehudah’s rendering.

The Me’am Loez, citing the Shach, suggests that the two large mountains, which were in the center of Israel, served as constant visible reminders of the blessings and the curses. Perhaps the debate between Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Elazar as to their proximity from the Jordan river helps support the Shach’s comment: finding compromise between “far from the east” and “far from the west” should place one in the center, exactly where they were meant to be, according to the Shach.

It can’t be an accident that this verse appears in the Torah portion before a major full eclipse of the sun that will be visible throughout much of the United States. It will be the first solar eclipse visible in the United States since 1979 and the to travel coast to coast in 99 years.

Since seeing a total solar eclipse is a very rare natural occurrence, one would assume that a blessing should be recited. But the Talmud does not list eclipses in its litany of natural phenomena we bless (Brachos 54a). Other sources (Sukkah 29a) consider a solar eclipse a negative omen that comes about due to serious sins. Rashi makes a similar statement when the sun and moon are created (Bereshis 1:14). The Lubavitcher Rebbe (Iggeros Kodesh vol. 15, pp. 260) mentions both reasons – that it’s not mentioned and its status as a negative omen – as rationales for not reciting a blessing.

Rabbi Benjamin Blech in his popular column at Aish.com offers a theological look at an eclipse.

“An eclipse may be an omen but it is not a verdict or a final judgment. It is a moment in time which serves as a reminder of God’s awesome power and goodness. Without the benefit of the sun, its light, its warmth, its power, its energy and its role in the solar system, we could not survive for a moment. That is why, with infinite wisdom and at preordained times on the calendar, God removes us from its rays for the briefest of times so that we might reflect on the miracle of its otherwise constant presence which we so readily take for granted. It is that which the Torah refers to as “a sign.”

So many things in life can be blessings and curses; the difference is how we use them. The sun is a perfect example. We can’t live without the sun. We would freeze to death. But the sun can also destroy and burn us to death. Even at an eclipse, staring at the sun’s corona – the outer perimeter uncovered by the moon’s shadow - is very dangerous to look at.

Despite the Talmud’s declaration that a full solar eclipse is viewed as an adverse omen, we have testimony that Torah sages encouraged their flocks to go out and “see it” (using precautions so as not to blind oneself).

The Chofetz Chaim spoke on the eve of a total solar eclipse, presumably basing himself on the M’harsha (Chidushei Agados, Sukkah 29a), claimed that the eclipse is a Divine proof meant for idolaters that the sun is not a deity.

A solar eclipse can only take place during the new moon phase (a lunar eclipse can only take place during a full moon). The new moon is the bridge between the waxing and the waning of the moon, the ups and the downs, the growth and the recession.

God’s creations are filled with wonder. Man’s creativity and inventiveness have also had a great impact on society. But it is we who exploit them and choose to do so for positive or not so positive purposes. From swords to nuclear power, items can be used for good or for bad. Our speech can hurt or heal. The twin peaks of Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eval remind us that blessings and curses are often in our hands, or our mouths, and that needs to be a central tenet of our faith, and which, according to the Shach, was also taken literally.