Jewish views on astrology

[1] There are a handful of synagogues from the early Christian era with remarkably well-preserved zodiac mosaics, as part of greater tableax or alone.

The layout is such: a sun god, presumed to be Helios rather than Shamash, surrounded by the twelve signs on a roundel, cornered into a square by the four seasons.

There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination, a soothsayer, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or one that consulteth a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a necromancer.

hold that astrology slowly made its way into the Jewish community through syncretism with ancient Hellenistic culture.

In prophesizing on the destruction of the Temple, the Sibylline oracles praise Jewish ancestors who "have no concern about the course of the sun's revolution, nor the moon's [..] Nor soothsayers, nor wizards, nor enchanters [...] Neither do they astrologize with skill of the Chaldeans, nor astronomize; O For these are all deceptive";[8] although the author of the Encyclopaedia Judaica article on astrology holds that this view is mistaken.

[citation needed] The early historian Josephus censures the people for ignoring what he thought were signs foreshadowing the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

[10] In early classical rabbinic works written in the land of Israel (Jerusalem Talmud and midrash compilations) astrologers are known as astrologos and astrologiyya.

[13] Samuel of Nehardea, a physician and astrologer, taught that it was dangerous to bleed a patient on Tuesday (as well as on Monday or Thursday for a different reason), because Mars reigns at the midheaven.

[14] Ecclesiastes Rabbah states that the rulers of some non-Jewish nations were experts in astrology, and that King Solomon too had expertise in this realm.

[21] Similarly, Jose of Hutzal prohibited consulting an astrologer: "We are not permitted to appeal to the Chaldeans, for it is written (Deuteronomy 18:13), 'You shall be perfect with the Lord your God'".

Besides translating another Jewish philosopher Mashallah's astrological work Questions and another work of this author on the eclipse of the moon from the Arabic into Hebrew, he wrote Nativity, Sentences of the Constellations, Reshit Hokhmah (Beginning of Wisdom), Book of the World, a treatise on the Planets, a treatise on the Luminaries, and a horoscope.

To him heaven with its constellations is "the book of life," in which man's destiny is written, and against which there is recourse to God as "the Almighty," who overrules all these influences.

[26] A modern scholar summarizes Ibn Ezra's attitude as follows: "The deity has delegated to the stars the governance of the sublunar world.

As long as a Jew is engaged in the study and observance of the Torah, he is linked to a spiritual realm which is itself superior to the stars.

Thus, when a prophet deals with the destiny of a particular person or human group, he receives from the active intellect a knowledge of the order of the constellations, and with sufficient precision to enable him to predict its fate in full detail.....

[31] Isaac ben Joseph ibn Pulgar (14th century, Spain) was a Jewish philosopher who wrote against astrology.

Quoting the Talmudic dictum in Shabbos 156a – "for Israel, there is no mazal ("luck", literally "planet" or "constellation")", he also states that higher powers (i.e. God or angels) may overcome the influences of this system, and that they typically do so for Jews.

Commenting on Deuteronomy 18:9–12, Etz Hayim, the official Torah commentary of Conservative Judaism writes "Hence the use of astrology is prohibited (BT Pesachim 113b)."

I'm not talking about the David Copperfield type of entertainment; I'm referring to those who believe that their predictions or tricks can have a real influence on the world, and by implication, can force God to give them what they want.

[37]On the Union for Reform Judaism website Jeffrey K. Salkin derides astrology as "a new-age trap": If you visit a Barnes and Noble superstore, you will see what much of American religion has become.

The New Age menu is diverse, including spiritualism, astrology, and psychic phenomena; alchemy, tarot, goddess worship, and Wicca (witchcraft); out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences, and reincarnation: angels, Satanism, and the occult ...[38]Modern Orthodox rabbis have written against the practice as well, some seeing it as forbidden by Jewish law.

For instance, Modern Orthodox Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald writes: The Torah tells us in Deuteronomy 18:9, that when the Jewish people enter the land of Israel, they must not follow the abominable practices of the nations that reside there.

It is strictly prohibited to cause a son or a daughter to pass through the fire, to practice divination, astrology, or to visit one who reads omens.

In a letter to the rabbis of Southern France he distinguishes between astronomy as a true science and astrology which he deems to be sheer superstition.

[39] The Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom (Orthodox) Jonathan Sacks, writes:Wrestling with men: since the days of Abraham, to be a Jew is to be an iconoclast.

It is always possible to define one's fate, by choosing behavior which is guided by morality and integrity, within the parameters – intellectual and emotional, physical and spiritual, which a person is given to work with.

Between God and man, there are many levels of interaction, the lowest being those of the angels and the stars, The Midrash thus teaches, "There is no blade of grass that does not have a constellation (Mazal) over it, telling it to grow."

Kabbalistic astrologers tend to take a slightly different approach because they wish to observe the planets as they relate to each sephira in the Tree of Life.

The correspondence of the constellations with their names in Hebrew and the months is as follows:[44] Some scholars identified the 12 signs of the zodiac with the 12 sons of Jacob/Twelve Tribes of Israel.

The menorah's 7 lamps on 6 branches correspond to the lights of the 7 Classical planets: Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun (4th), Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.