Today is the summer solstice, which marks the highest tilt of the Earth’s northern pole toward the sun, making it the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Though the solstice represents a day of significance across many religious and ethnic traditions, it bears little import in Judaism, which is based upon a lunar calendar.
Nevertheless, the sages were aware of the solstice, and, ironically, feature it in a tale regarding Jewish mysticism:
“As Rabbi Joshua walked beside Rabbi Yosi HaKohen along the road, they said, ‘Let us, like our esteemed colleagues, discuss the Work of the Chariot [referring to the mystical inferences from the descriptions of God’s chariot found in Ezekiel 1 and elsewhere]. Rabbi Joshua began to expound. This was the day of the summer solstice. And [though the day of the solstice rarely contained clouds], the heavens filled with clouds, with something like a rainbow in the clouds. And the ministering angels gathered to listen, like people gathering to see the celebration of a wedding couple.’” (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 14B)
Though many renowned scholars, including Maimonides (the Rambam), reject the idea of mysticism, encouraging us to look upon Biblical accounts of the Divine form as simple abstractions, this story suggests that there are times and places for the exploration of the nature of God and its bearing on our relationship with the Divine, especially days that highlight the beauty of creation, like the summer solstice.
How might we dedicate this extraordinary day toward exploring our relationship with God?
– Rabbi Josh Knobel