A Jewish Narnia: Interim Summary

To this point, we have suggested two possible frameworks for constructing a Jewish Narnia. Both are recorded in the Talmud in the context of astrology; namely, those born at certain times will exhibit certain characteristics. The truth or falsehood of astrology is not what is immediately relevant. Rather, it is that the Talmud believes these times exhibit particular modes through which God interacts with people.

The first framework builds off of the days of Creation. God’s pronouncement on each ‘day’ of Creation forevermore colors the characteristic of that day. This is further attested to by the unique prayers recited on each day. The second framework uses hours, rather than days, and looks to the guiding planet of that hour. The planet manifests certain characteristics based on its name or its astronomical position.  

Both frameworks, however, require significant expansion, or even redirection, of the Talmudic narrative to properly manifest God’s interaction with His creations. The Talmud’s assertion, for example, that one born on Monday will be short-tempered is quite the opposite of God’s characteristic of being “slow to anger.” An appropriate Monday substitute (though relevant to other days as well) would be God as a divider or differentiator. He divides between the upper and lower waters, between light and darkness, and between the holy and profane. 

A similar substitute may be in order for Tuesday as well. While one born on Tuesday may, in the Talmud’s estimate, be rich and promiscuous, neither adjective is used to describe God. However, the themes manifest by plants could certainly yield a more fruitful approach. R’ Soloveitchik (The Emergence of Ethical Man) notes that “the likeness of man to plant is the most central theme in the prophets.” He expands as follows:

Man’s short-lived sojourn on earth, his weakness, vulnerability, and exposure to the elemental forces of nature are pictorially described by using the analogue of the plant, which displays similar qualities. On the other hand, the propensities of the plant to grow rapidly and in multitudes, to regenerate, to repair its losses, were used by the prophets in their vision of the glorious future of Israel and of the righteous individual. 

The second framework would also do well with certain modifications. The Talmud’s assertion that, “One who was born under the influence of Mars will be one who spills blood,” can certainly engender a story of thieves and ritual slaughterers. However, if we would like our story to  demonstrate how God relates to His creations we may be better off shifting our theme somewhat. Possibilities may be about the neutrality of human character traits (even one with a tendency to spill blood can use it destructively or constructively. Or perhaps, building on the Hebrew name for Mars, ma’dim, comes from the root edom, meaning red. This name was no doubt chosen to reflect the color of the planet. However, the bible uses Edom as another name for Esau. The ontological war of Jacob vs. Esau is widely discussed in midrashic literature and can certainly be transformed into an appropriate atmosphere for a story. 

Similarly the assertion that one born under the influence of Venus will be rich and promiscuous (like Tuesday in the previous framework) can be substituted for the Talmud’s theme of fire as being hung under the influence of Venus. This bespeaks God’s encouragement of man to advance technologically and perfect the world. Perhaps this would serve as an appropriate theme or atmosphere as well.   

In summary, both of the Talmud’s astrological constructs of the days of week (based on the days of Creation) and the planets’ influence on time can serve as frameworks for a Jewish Narnia. While the explicit Talmudic references do not all echo God’s interactions with man, as done in The Chronicles of Narnia, with some adjustments they could be made to do so. 

Still; there is another astrological construct that may also serve our purpose and is worthy of exploration, that of the zodiac. We will examine this possibility in our next post.