Does the Sun revolve around the Earth?
Question
Honorable Rabbi,
I found in Rashi’s words on the Gemara an explanation regarding the sun revolving around the globe. And also in Kohelet:
4 דּ֤וֹר הֹלֵךְ֙ וְד֣וֹר בָּ֔א וְהָאָ֖רֶץ לְעוֹלָ֥ם עֹמָֽדֶת: — “A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth stands forever.”
5 וְזָרַ֥ח הַשֶּׁ֖מֶשׁ וּבָ֣א הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְאֶ֨ל־מְקוֹמ֔וֹ שׁוֹאֵ֛ף זוֹרֵ֥חַֽ ה֖וּא שָֽׁם: — “The sun rises, and the sun sets, and hastens to its place, where it rises.”
Today it is known from physical calculations and observations that the earth moves, and not the sun.
Answer
Shalom u’vracha.
There are two explanations for this that I am familiar with:
1. The prophet writes according to what appears to the eye, not according to the physical reality. A person’s perception is that he is stationary and that the sun revolves around him. This is also the language used by all people: “sunrise” and “sunset.”
2. [An explanation that requires depth and knowledge]: Only with regard to something limited is it meaningful to say that one object is stationary and the other moves around it. But in an infinite universe, the concepts of “stationary” and “moving” have no absolute meaning; it is all a question of perspective. In other words, any point that we establish as primary is the one considered stationary, and everything else moves around it.
Meaning: if we place the sun at the center, the earth moves and the sun is stationary. And if we place the earth at the center, then the sun is the one that moves relative to it.
