No Drinking Water on the Solstice!

Although the modern Hebrew words for the four seasons all occur in the Tanakh, they likely don’t correspond to the four seasons known today. Israel’s climate, in fact, only has two seasons: a dry one and a rainy one. But the Talmud does note four seasons (t’kufot) corresponding to ours, each one beginning with a solstice or an equinox, and named after the month during which it normally falls. Assaf Golan considers the history of an ancient custom connected to these periods:

During the transitions between these seasons, some communities traditionally abstain from drinking water, believing it could pose serious health risks. The practice’s origins trace to the geonic period over a thousand years ago, documented in responsa literature that offers two primary explanations: the changeover of guardian angels between seasons, and a symbolic avoidance of beginning new periods with water, considered an elemental substance.

Today, Golan notes, many non-hasidic Ashkenazi rabbis dismiss the custom, while many prominent Sephardi rabbis support adherence to it, although giving conflicting reasons:

Rabbi Meir Mazuz, citing his father Rabbi Matzliach Mazuz, suggests modern health issues might stem from disregarding this practice. Meanwhile, the kabbalist Rabbi Yitzchak Basri emphasizes its mystical significance, referencing the Zohar’s teaching about heightened divine judgment during these transitions.

Read more at Israel Hayom

More about: Sephardim, Superstition, Talmud

 

Expand Gaza into Sinai

Feb. 11 2025

Calling the proposal to depopulate Gaza completely (if temporarily) “unworkable,” Peter Berkowitz makes the case for a similar, but more feasible, plan:

The United States along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE should persuade Egypt by means of generous financial inducements to open the sparsely populated ten-to-fifteen miles of Sinai adjacent to Gaza to Palestinians seeking a fresh start and better life. Egypt would not absorb Gazans and make them citizens but rather move Gaza’s border . . . westward into Sinai. Fences would be erected along the new border. The Israel Defense Force would maintain border security on the Gaza-extension side, Egyptian forces on the other. Egypt might lease the land to the Palestinians for 75 years.

The Sinai option does not involve forced transfer of civilian populations, which the international laws of war bar. As the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other partners build temporary dwellings and then apartment buildings and towns, they would provide bus service to the Gaza-extension. Palestinian families that choose to make the short trip would receive a key to a new residence and, say, $10,000.

The Sinai option is flawed. . . . Then again, all conventional options for rehabilitating and governing Gaza are terrible.

Read more at RealClear Politics

More about: Donald Trump, Egypt, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula