The festival of Purim will begin on Thursday evening, March 13, and last until Shabbat begins on the evening of March 14. In Jerusalem, where Shushan Purim is celebrated, the festival takes place the following day, starting Saturday evening, March 14, and ending on Sunday evening, March 15.
Astronomers predict that a total lunar eclipse will coincide with the first day of Purim, lasting for 65 minutes. The eclipse will be visible over North and South America, rising over Australia and northeast Asia and setting over Africa and Europe.
A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is between the sun and the moon, and the moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. In this case, the Earth’s shadow will block out 97% of the moon’s surface. This eclipse will be a “blood moon,” resulting from atmospheric conditions that give the moon a reddish tint rather than black when it moves into the shadow. The red color comes from some of the sunlight passing through Earth’s atmosphere, where it gets bent, and colors like blue or green are filtered out, leaving behind longer wavelengths like red.
Rabbi Mordechai Genuth discussed the meaning of eclipses in Jewish tradition, explaining that lunar eclipses are considered a bad omen for Israel under normal circumstances. This is based on a section in the Talmud (Sukkot 29a) that specifies that lunar eclipses are a bad omen for Israel since the moon spiritually represents Israel. If the lunar eclipse takes place in the eastern side of the heavens, then it is a bad omen for all the nations in the east, and similarly, if it occurs in the western hemisphere of the sky, it is a bad sign for all the nations in the west.
“This is because in the time of the Talmud, only Israel set the calendar according to the moon,” Rabbi Genuth said. “Setting the calendar according to the sun was the practice of the idolaters, like Rome, which named the solar months and days after pagan gods.”
“Today, the Muslims set their calendar according to the moon, even more than the Jews, in a manner that leads their calendar to be imbalanced. So a lunar eclipse is closely connected to the Muslims and, in this case, is a warning for the Arabs,” Rabbi Genuth said. “It is more than a warning. They will be cut off from the moon in the middle of Ramadan. They will be dislodged from their belief and fall into discord and confusion. After the lunar eclipse, they will begin to see a chain of disasters in their war against Israel.”
“A lunar eclipse in the month of Adar is a sign that there will be war among the Sons of Ishmael who are connected to the moon,” Rabbi Genuth said. “It is also a sign of famine and drought in the West.”
Rabbi Genuth noted that there will also be a solar eclipse on March 29, the first day of Nisan.
“That is the month of Pesach when the Jews go out to freedom,” Rabbi Genuth said. “This is a bad sign for the foreign leaders who will become like Pharoah; examples of what happens to the nations that mistreat Israel. This is centered on Jerusalem.”
He explained that Jerusalem is symbolized by the sun as the name of the city implies completeness.
“The sun is always complete, unlike the moon, symbolizing the city of Jericho, which is named for the moon,” Rabbi Genuth said. “The Arabs are laying claim to Jerusalem and many of the nations support them in this. Jerusalem is eternal and must remain eternally whole. The Biden administration was committed to the two-state solution, which would establish an Arab capital in Jerusalem. That is why the Democrats fell from power. Two eclipses, a lunar eclipse followed by a solar eclipse, in the month of Adar and Nisan, are warnings that entire governments are shaky and can fall quickly and easily at this time.”
“But since both eclipses will only be seen in the West and not in Israel, it is a warning to them that they will be judged in how they treat Israel,” the rabbi explained.
“A lunar eclipse over the US is also a warning to the Jews in the US. Before Purim, it is a reminder that when they are in exile, they are at the mercy of the non-Jews like Haman. They need to do teshuva and attach themselves to the fate of Israel.”
Rabbi Genuth made one disclaimer; at the end of the section of the Talmud describing the omens contained within eclipses, the Talmud states: “When Israel does the will of the place (God), they have nothing to fear from all of this,” citing the Prophet Jeremiah as a source.
Thus said Hashem: Do not learn to go the way of the nations, And do not be dismayed by portents in the sky; Let the nations be dismayed by them! Jeremiah 10:2
The rabbi also noted a prophecy in the Book of Joel that indicates that a blood moon will precede the coming of the Messiah.
Before the great and terrible day of Hashem comes, I will set portents in the sky and on earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke; The sun shall turn into darkness And the moon into blood. But everyone who invokes the name of Hashem shall escape; for there shall be a remnant on Mount Tzion and in Yerushalayim, as Hashem promised. Anyone who invokes Hashem will be among the survivors. Joel 3:3-5
“We are indeed close to the end of days, so these astronomical signs are taking on increased importance,” Rabbi Genuth said.
