Moshe Ben-Chaim
Maimonides teaches that our love of God is obtained through the study of creation, and Torah. Therefore, the true Torah scholar embraces scientific discovery, and seeks to discover compatible and complimentary understandings for both realms of his findings. When confronted with an apparent “contradiction” between the two sciences – Torah and nature – he does not feel satisfied with such a contradiction, since he knows that God created both, and they must be harmonious, by definition. For God cannot have one plan – Torah – that contradicts His “other” plan – the universe. Additionally, when studying natural law, the Torah scholar will not stop there, but he will seek to understand how God’s universe plays a role in man’s approach to God. Case and point: the Earth’s axis.
The Earth rotates at about 1000 mph on an axis tipped over 23.5° from vertical. This axis is responsible for the changes in temperature experienced during our various seasons. It is also responsible for the length and brevity of our days and nights. Due to this axis: during summer, certain locations experience shorter nights; and during winter, shorter days. Figure “A” refers to New York and Israel – on roughly equal latitudes – displaying the increased duration in daylight during summer, and the increased duration in shade, during winter. But this does not explain temperature differences.
At least two reasons contribute to our change in climate: 1) the angle of the sun’s rays which cause indirect exposure to the sun, and 2) the amount of the Earth’s atmosphere through which sunlight must travel to reach us. Elongated sunrays do not concentrate the sun’s heat, but dissipate it over a larger land mass. This results in cooler temperatures. This is similar to our youthful activity of burning leaves with a magnifying glass: when highly concentrated, the sun’s rays ignite the leaves; but when widened, the sunray carries less heat. Additionally, when sunlight travels through a greater amount of the atmosphere, it is that much more diluted. We thereby experience less heat.
But as a student of Torah, we may rightfully ask how the change in daylight hours is a boon to our Torah lifestyle. My suggestion is as follows: man must procure food. To do so, God offers us appropriate weather and abundant sunlight during the summer, so we may work the fields, and so the sun may cause growth. However, food is a “means” to a life of Torah. Therefore, when ample food has been procured, God offers us an incentive to stay indoors where we may study His Torah: He diminishes daylight, and creates not so favorable outdoor weather. We are thereby less distracted with outdoor labor, and less in need of working the fields. Additionally, daylight causes man to feel ambitious, while nighttime produces a greater state of calm, a necessary backdrop for study.
We may suggest that this axis is not an end, but in fact, targets the greater good of Torah study.