Astrology, the mother of our base sciences of Astronomy, Medicine and Psychology has developed an erroneous reputation in the Western world. But during ancient times it was an honored and respected field of study, which impacted and permeated the lives of all. Even the Rabbis of the Talmudic times were not exempted from this knowledge. In fact, we know that many of them were considered outstanding astrologers. Their deep understanding of the workings of the universe, their profound experience in energetic and spiritual issues, their acute comprehension of human nature, were the tools that allowed them to guide a generation of people that had lost all their possessions and were at risk of losing also their identity as a nation and more importantly, the loss of their religious path to a new level of understanding of life, faith, respect, forgiveness, love, and profound connection with the Source of All. It is my interest to discover if such knowledge could serve our generation, to recreate once again our tradition, to rekindle the spark of faith in our people, to assume the role of being “the light unto the nations” with pride and humbleness. I hope also that this delving into the ancient knowledge will serve as a key to open our hearts and minds and inspire the new generations to take the torch of Torah and keep walking the path that Abraham started almost six thousand years ago.

The institutionalization of astrology which began with the rabbis of the Talmud found its climax in Judaism's medieval era: the golden age of Jewish astrology. This brief overview gives insight into how medieval Jewish thinkers used astrology and incorporated astral-magical understandings of the Torah into their religious world-view.

Abraham ibn Ezra (Tudela, 1089/1092-1164/1167) was the most important writer of scientific treatises in Hebrew in the twelfth century; prior to him and his predecessor, Abraham bar Hiyya (d. after 1136), Arabic was the only language of scientific knowledge among Jews. After Ibn Ezra’s work, Hebrew became a language of science, and eventually of research, among the Jews of the Iberia Peninsula and Europe. This fact makes Ibn Ezra’s language, his choice of technical terms, and his linguistic agenda fascinating subjects that deserve more attention than received so far. Our purpose in this article is to distinguish Ibn Ezra’s strategies in coining technical terminology in the context of his biblical commentaries. The presence of astronomy and astrology in religious exegetical texts is not a feature exclusive to Ibn Ezra, but he is surely the most inclined (and effective) to find astronomical and astrological meanings in the biblical words

"Modern science historians have typically treated the sciences of the ancient Near East as separate from historical and cultural considerations. At the same time, biblical scholars, dominated by theological concerns, have historically understood the Israelite god as separate from the natural world. Cooley’s study, bringing to bear contemporary models of science history on the one hand and biblical studies on the other hand, seeks to bridge a gap created by 20th-century scholarship in our understanding of ancient Near Eastern cultures by investigating the ways in which ancient authors incorporated their cultures’ celestial speculation in narrative. In the literature of ancient Iraq, celestial divination is displayed quite prominently in important works such as Enuma Eliš and Erra and Išum. In ancient Ugarit as well, the sky was observed for devotional reasons, and astral deities play important roles in stories such as the Baal Cycle and Shahar and Shalim. Even though the veneration of astral deities was rejected by biblical authors, in the literature of ancient Israel the Sun, Moon, and stars are often depicted as active, conscious agents. In texts such as Genesis 1, Joshua 10, Judges 5, and Job 38, these celestial characters, these “sons of God,” are living, dynamic members of Yahweh’s royal entourage, willfully performing courtly, martial, and calendrical roles for their sovereign. The synthesis offered by this book, the first of its kind since the demise of the pan-Babylonianist school more than a century ago, is about ancient science in ancient Near Eastern literature."

This article suggests that Rashi’s exegetical commentary to Gen 15:5, in which Abram counts the stars, is meant to invoke an association to the astrological technique known as Primary Directions (based on equating one degree of Right Ascension in the rotation of the earth around its axis with one year of life), which was one of the main methods of prognostication in pre-modern astrology – beginning already in Hellenistic times and quite central in Mediaeval astrological thinking. Rabbinic sources discussing the relevant biblical passage and the idea of Abraham as a supreme astrologer are analyzed, as is parallel material from Abraham bar Ḥiyya and Ibn ʿEzrā. The article discusses both what Rashi kept and what he removed from his Rabbinic sources, and also discusses the role of astrological thinking in his milieu.

PREVIEW ONLY - READ FULL ARTICLE HERE: https://doi.org/10.33929/sherm.2020.vol2.no1.10 While the Torah instructs Jews not to practice soothsaying or divination, the Talmud includes several discussions about the power of astrology with many Rabbis even arguing that the use of astrology is both permitted and meaningful. Add to this discrepancy the numerous astrological mosaics on the floors of ancient synagogues, as well as certain Kabbalistic practices, and it becomes clear why there is confusion within the Jewish community. This article examines Jewish perspectives on evolutionary astrology throughout Jewish history and its link to current mystical applications.