On Monday, a total eclipse of the sun will pass over Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. Mira Fox delves into the ways Jewish texts have understood this celestial phenomenon, suggesting that biblical passages such as Amos 8:9, “I will make the sun set at noon, I will darken the earth on a sunny day,” refer to eclipses. She then turns to later sources, which tend to see an eclipse as a bad omen, but not always:

In the talmudic tractate Sukkah, for example, the rabbis say that an eclipse where the sun appears red means war is coming, while a black shadow predicts famine. Thankfully, not all of the meanings are quite so threatening. Later in the same tractate, the sages say that solar eclipses are sometimes the Heavens’ eulogy for someone who was not mourned properly. . . . Other times, they’re a punishment for people chopping down fruit-bearing trees, or forging false documents, or not coming to the aid of a woman being raped.

Regardless, though, solar eclipses seem to always be some sort of marker of bad behavior. The Maharal [Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel, ca. 1512–1609], a renowned talmudic scholar from Prague, wrote that if humanity did not sin, we would live in eternal light. That’s why, while most natural phenomena have blessings in Judaism—there are a specific brakhot for rainbows, as well as thunder, lightning, and earthquakes—eclipses don’t merit a prayer.

Israel’s goals of freeing the hostages and defeating Hamas (the latter necessary to prevent further hostage taking) are to some extent contradictory, since Yahya Sinwar, the ruler of the Gaza Strip, will only turn over hostages in exchange for concessions. But Jacob Nagel remains convinced that Jerusalem should continue to pursue both goals:

Only consistent military pressure on Hamas can lead to the hostages’ release, either through negotiation or military operation. There’s little chance of reaching a deal with Hamas using current approaches, including the latest Egyptian proposal. Israeli concessions would only encourage further pressure from Hamas.

There is no incentive for Hamas to agree to a deal, especially since it believes it can achieve its full objectives without one. Unfortunately, many contribute to this belief, mainly from outside of Israel, but also from within.

Recent months saw Israel mistakenly refraining from entering Rafah for several reasons. Initially, the main [reason was to try] to negotiate a deal with Hamas. However, as it became clear that Hamas was uninterested, and its only goal was to return to its situation before October 7—where Hamas and its leadership control Gaza, Israeli forces are out, and there are no changes in the borders—the deal didn’t mature.