Sukkah, Daf Kaf Tet, Part 5

 

Introduction

This is a continuation of the source that began in yesterday’s section, concerning the interpretation of eclipses.

ואין לך כל אומה ואומה שלוקה שאין אלהיה לוקה עמה, שנאמר +שמות יב+ ובכל אלהי מצרים אעשה שפטים. ובזמן שישראל עושין רצונו של מקום אין מתיראין מכל אלו, שנאמר +ירמיהו י+ כה אמר ה‘ אל דרך הגויים אל תלמדו ומאותות השמים אל תחתו כי יחתו הגויים מהמה, גויים יחתו, ואין ישראל יחתו.

 

And there is no nation which is struck that its gods are not smitten together with it, as it is said, "And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments" (Exodus 12:12). But when Israel performs the will of God, they need have no fear of all these omens as it is said, "Thus says the Lord, ‘Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the nations are dismayed at them" (Jeremiah 10:2) the nations will be dismayed, but Israel will not be dismayed.

 

There are two sections here. In the first, the baraita says that the calamity that strikes the world is also meted out to the gods that each people worships. This is directly related to the verse in Exodus where our God says that in meting out punishment to the Egyptians, He will also execute judgment against the Egyptians gods. This line is probably familiar to many of you from the Dayyenu.

The second half is a message of comfort and theology to Israel heavenly omens portend calamities but only when Israel is not performing the will of God. When Israel performs the will of God, the heavenly bodies have no effect on them. To put this another way, the heavenly bodies are only signs of God’s anger at Israel. They are not the cause of Israeli’s suffering.