The Ptolemaic System
By R' Boruch Yonah Lipton
In 1616 the Catholic Church ordered Galileo Galilei not to teach the Copernican System - the theory that states that the earth orbits the sun. Sixteen years later, after authoring a book on the subject (Dialogue on the Two Great Systems of the World - Ptolemaic and Copernican), Galileo was forced to recant and placed under house arrest, where he remained until his death in 1642. The Catholic Church had seen a contradiction between the Copernican system and its own interpretation of the Bible. The Church believed the Bible supported the Ptolemaic System - the theory that the sun orbits the earth. Does Tanach indeed support one of these systems? What have the rishonim said on this matter?
The Rambam was of the opinion that the Ptolemaic System is correct. In Hilchos Yesode Hatorah 3:4, Rambam writes, "All these spheres that surround the world are round like a ball, and the earth is suspended in the middle." The commentary there, entitled "Perush," derives this concept from a verse. The Perush comments, "The earth is suspended with the spirit of the mouth of the Holy One, blessed is He, as it is said, ‘He suspends the earth on nothing' " ( Job 26:7). The Perush, and presumably Rambam, attributes the Ptolemaic view to Tanach.
The Meiri, however, attributes to the Torah the Copernican view (earlier than Copernicus, incidentally). On the verse, "For the sun He has set a tent in them" (Psalms 19:5), Meiri comments, "meaning to say, that He fastened its tent among them in their middle." In his Introduction to Bais Habechira, Meiri elaborates on this idea and writes, "The law of Hashem is perfect concerning what is placed next to this matter. He hints at it to the bodies of the spheres, meaning to say the seven planets with the sun in the middle, with his saying, ‘For the sun He has set a tent in them.' " Thus, Meiri interprets Tanach as supporting the Copernican System.
Rambam and Meiri differ with regard to which system - Ptolemaic or Copernican - the Torah advances, and base their opinions on their interpretations of separate verses. Whose opinion is correct? In matters of halacha (Jewish law) we tend not to ask, "Who is correct?" but rather, "Whose opinion do we follow?" Just last month (i.e., in Nisan) we merited reciting birkas hachammah, the blessing of the sun. The blessing commemorated the sun's location in the same position of the sky that it had occupied when it was first created. The notion that the world was created in the month of Nisan is the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua. According to Rabbi Eliezer, however, the world was created in Tishrei. It is the opinion of the latter that we follow when we say hayom haras olam ("Today is the birthday of the world") on Rosh Hashana. Hence, there are conflicting opinions concerning when the world was created, each followed on a different occasion. The idea that the time from one tekufas NIsan to the next is 365 days and six hours is the opinion of Shmuel. It is his opinion that we followed when we recited birkas hachammah. According to Rav Adda, however, the solar year is slightly less than this. Rav Adda's opinion is followed for purposes of reconciling the lunar calendar and solar year in order that Passover does not fall in the winter. (A third opinion as to the length of the solar year, that of modern scientists, is not followed when deciding these matters of halacha.) Again, different opinions of our sages are followed on different occasions.
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Boruch Yonah Lipton is the author of The Sin of the Golden Calf According to Rashi and The Song at the Sea According to Rashi. Both can be purchased by contacting the author via his email, boruchyonah@yahoo.com.
