posted May 13, 2019 03:32 PM            

By the Sky (displaying) the Zodiacal Signs; (1) /different translation/ I swear by the sky, the one having stellar formations (Burooj*) (1) Surat Al-Burooj

Glorious is the One who made stellar formations (Burooj*) in the sky, and placed therein a lamp (i.e. the sun) and a bright moon. (61) Surat Al-Furqan

We have created stellar formations (Burooj*) in the sky and have beautified them for onlookers, (16) Surat Al-Hijr

*Surat Al-Burooj
The surah opens with an oath by a heaven full of stars: by the sky containing great stars. The Arabic word Al-Burooj is interpreted in several ways. The word Al-Burooj is the plural of Burj which means fort or tower; something that can be seen from a distance. Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhaj, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and As-Suddi said Burj means stars. Ibn Jareer chose the view that it means the positions of the sun and the moon, which are twelve Burooj. The sun travels through each one of these Burj in one month. The moon travels through each one of these Burj in two-and-a-third days, which makes a total of twenty-eight positions, and it is hidden for two nights [making a month of 30 approximately].
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Burooj

posted May 13, 2019 05:45 PM            

Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:
"Who is this that darkens my counsel
with words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,
and you shall answer me.

"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,

posted May 13, 2019 05:56 PM            

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of His hands!

'Day after day' they pour forth speech;
'night after night' they reveal knowledge.

Without speech or language,
without a sound to be heard,
their voice goes out unto all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

In the heavens He has pitched a tent for the SUN
like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber,
like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

It rises at one end of the heavens
and runs its circuit to the other;
nothing is deprived of its warmth.

from Psalm 19 {old testament}
- http://biblehub.com/bsb/psalms/19.htm

(music) The Heavens Are Telling (Haydn, from oratorio, The Creation) [4:04] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Jkktpp9QI

posted May 13, 2019 10:54 PM            

Psalms 8:3-4 {old testament}
- http://biblehub.com/niv/psalms/8.htm
When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained;
What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?

(music) O Lord, Our Lord (Torah Generations, Marty Goetz, 2014, lyrics = 'Psalm 8') [5:08] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i67rjZn9ThQ

posted May 16, 2019 05:06 AM            

Source Talmud - Shabbath 156a:11-12

Rabbi Ḥanina said to his students who heard all this: Go and tell the son of Leiva’i, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: It is not the constellation of the day of the week that determines a person’s nature; rather, it is the constellation of the hour that determines his nature.

One who was born under the influence of the sun will be a radiant person; he will eat from his own resources and drink from his own resources, and his secrets will be exposed. If he steals he will not succeed, because he will be like the sun that shines and is revealed to all.

One who was born under the influence of Venus will be a rich and promiscuous person. What is the reason for this? Because fire was born during the hour of Venus, he will be subject the fire of the evil inclination, which burns perpetually.

One who was born under the influence of Mercury will be an enlightened and expert man, because Mercury is the sun’s scribe, as it is closest to the sun.

One who was born under the influence of the moon will be a man who suffers pains, who builds and destroys, and destroys and builds. He will be a man who eats not from his own resources and drinks not from his own resources, and whose secrets are hidden. If he steals he will succeed, as he is like the moon that constantly changes form, whose light is not its own, and who is at times exposed and at times hidden.
One who was born under the influence of Saturn will be a man whose thoughts are for naught. And some say that everything that others think about him and plan to do to him is for naught.

One who was born under the influence of Jupiter [tzedek] will be a just person [tzadkan]. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: And just in this context means just in the performance of mitzvot.

posted May 19, 2019 02:22 PM            

The Pilgrimage of the Magi {astrologers}
Book of Matthew

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired where the Christ was to be born.

“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
.. ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of My people Israel.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and learned from them the exact time the star had appeared.

And sending them to Bethlehem, he said: “Go and search carefully for the Child, and when you find Him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship Him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way,
and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with great delight.

On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.

Matthew 2 {New Testament}
- http://biblehub.com/bsb/matthew/2.htm
- http://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%202%3A2

posted May 22, 2019 04:44 PM            

Ecclesiastes 1 {old testament}
New International Version (NIV)
- http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%201&version=NIV

Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher,[a] son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2
“Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3
What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
4
Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5
The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6
The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7
All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8
All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9
What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10
Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11
No one remembers the former generations,
and even those yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow them.

To Everything There is a Season
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
- http://biblehub.com/bsb/ecclesiastes/3.htm

1 To everything there is a season,
and a time for every purpose under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to break down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6 a time to search and a time to count as lost,
a time to keep and a time to discard,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

~
9 What does the worker gain from his toil?

10 I have seen the burden that God has laid on men to occupy them.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.

12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to rejoice and 'do good' while they live

13 and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.

(music) Turn Turn Turn (Pete Seeger, The Byrds, lyrics) [3:38] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WB6jhbtDUZE