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THE EARTH

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Tzvi Ben Roshel1:
THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH
THE ROTATION OF THE EARTH
DIFFERENT CLIMATES SHAPE THE FEATURES OF INHABITANTS OF THE EARTH
THE PERIOD OF ONLY DAY AND ONLY NIGHT AT THE POLES
THE EARTH IS SHAPED LIKE THE HUMAN EYE
IT IS WRITTEN IN THE ZOHAR (VAYIKRA 10a)
“In the Book of Rab Hamnuna the Elder it is explained further that all the inhabited world rotates in a circle like a ball, so that some are above and some below, and the strange appearances of certain races are due to the nature of the air, each one according to his respective place but they live and are sustained as other men. There is a part of the inhabited world where it is light for some when in another part it is dark for others, so that some have night while others have day. Also there is a place where it is always day and where there is no night save for one short hour. All this account which is found in the books of the ancients and in the Book of Adam the first man is confirmed by Scripture, which says: "I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, wonderful are Your works" (Ps. , 15), and again, "O Lord, how manifold are Your works" (PS. 104, 24). This mystery" has been entrusted to the masters of wisdom,[The Rabbis and prophets who received the knowledge from the first man] but is not known to those who mark the boundaries because it is a deep mystery of the Torah.

SO YOU CAN SEE IN ONE SMALL PARAGRAGH RABBI SHIMON BAR YOCHAI TELLS US IN THE ZOHAR THE FOLLOWING:
1- THE EARTH IS ROUND
2- IT ROTATES JUST LIKE A BALL
3- SOME PEOPLE ARE ABOVE AND SOME BELOW [YET THEY DON’T FALL]
4- APPEARANCE OF PEOPLE GO ACCORDING TO THE DIFFERENT CLIMATES
5- ROTATION PRODUCES DAY AND NIGHT AT THE SAME TIME IN DIFFERENT PLACES
6- THE LENGTH OF DAYLIGHT AT THE POLES
7- RABBIS KNEW ABOUT THESE THINGS BUT NOT GEOGRAPHERS
HERE ARE ANOTHER 2 PORTIONS FROM THE ZOHAR WHICH SHOW YOU ITS KNOWLEDGE MORE THAN 1500 YEARS AGO OF THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH
(ZOHAR VAYECHI 226a)
THE EYE AND THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH
The human eye represents the world with its various colors. The outer ring of white corresponds to the Oceans that surround the whole world. The next color represents the land that is surrounded by the Seas. A third color in the middle of the eye corresponds to Yerushalaim which is in the center of the world. Finally there is the pupil of the eye, which reflects the onlooker and is the most precious part of all and it corresponds to Tzion which is the central point of the Universe, in which the reflection of the entire world can be seen.
THE EYE AND THE SHAPE OF THE EARTH
[ZOHAR II, 222b]
Now, the earth's expansion round the central point was completed in three concentric rings, each of a different hue and texture. The first ring, the nearest to the Point, is of the purest and most refined earth-material; the second expansion, surrounding the first, is of a less

polished, less refined earth-material than the first, but is superior to the one surrounding it; the third expansion consists of the darkest and coarsest earth-material of all. Then, surrounding that expansion, come the waters of the ocean that surrounds the whole world. Thus the point is in the center, and the various expansions encircle it. The first expansion embraces the Sanctuary and all its courts and enclosures and all its appurtenances, as well as the whole city of Jerusalem bounded by the wall; the second expansion embraces the whole of the Land of Israel, the Land which was declared holy; the third expansion comprehends the rest of the earth, the dwelling-place of all the other nations. Then comes the great ocean which surrounds the whole. The whole arrangement is symbolized by the structure of the human eye. For just as in the human eye there are three concentric layers surrounding a central point, which forms the focus of vision, so is the world's vision focused in the central point, consisting of the Holy of Holies and the Ark and the Mercy Seat. Hence the description, "a beautiful bowery, the joy of the whole earth", "beautiful" in its appearance, and radiating joy to the whole world. It is compared to a "bowery" because the beauty of a tree is displayed in its branches. Observe that true beauty and symmetry were not manifested in the world until the Tabernacle was finally erected and the Ark brought within the Holy of Holies. From that moment the world appeared at its best, it attained its just balance, and a way was opened through the Tabernacle and past the Ark up to that Point.
It is he who sits upon the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are as grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. (Isaiah 40:22)
He stretches out the north over the void, and hangs the earth upon nothing. (Job 26:7)

Tzvi Ben Roshel1:
any responses?

Vito:
I don't usually question the Bible.. I just try to understand better what I don't understand. It's the true word of G-d, so I don't doubt anything that is written in it. Just a matter of understanding it better, that's all. Thanks for the quotes though Tzvi!

Eliezer Ben Avraham:
Some of us are under the age of 40 and would be thankful if you would state that you quote the Zohar here so that we may know not to open it.
Thanks

Mifletzet:
The word the Zohar uses is מתגלגלת which does not refer to the Earth rotating on its axis. Rashbi, like all of pre-Copernican Chazal, held by geocentrism. Nowhere does the Tenach attribute any diurnal or annual motion to the Earth. A stationary, non-rotating Earth is fully in accord with modern science: "It is my firm belief that the sun revolves around the Earth, as I have also declared publicly on various occasions and in discussion with professors specializing in this field of science." (Lubavitcher Rebbe).

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