Rashid and the Bermuda Triangle | jewish general

The Bermuda Triangle is perhaps one of the most famous myths in modern contemporary history. Countless passengers, warships, and even US Navy planes are said to have disappeared without a trace in the 1.3 to 3.9 million square kilometers between southern Florida, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.

The most famous incident in the Bermuda Triangle is the disappearance of Flight 19, five US Navy TBF Avenger bombers, during a training mission in late 1945. Although the strange events began many years earlier, the mysterious and mysterious term for the Bermuda Triangle was used George first used sand in 1952 and used sand in the American magazine “Fate,” and that name has stuck ever since.

Disappears According to the Israeli newspaper, “Israel Hayom”, it was reported again in early 2021 that a ship with 20 crew members on board had disappeared without a trace. The US Coast Guard searched an area of ​​51,800 square kilometers for 84 hours without finding a trace of the blue and white mako kodi.

There are many different attempts to explain what happened in this mythical region, both natural and supernatural, and theories range from natural phenomena such as explosions and giant waves to attacks by sea monsters and kidnappings by aliens. However, none of these theories can be proven.

According to Lawrence Koch (The Bermuda Triangle Mystery – Solved, 1980), statistically speaking, there are no more ship accidents in this area than any other busy shipping route. In addition, among the victims of the Bermuda Triangle, many wrecked ships and planes are counted, although they often disappear hundreds of kilometers from this area.

mythos A joint official statement from the US Navy and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Authority (NOAA) regarding the alleged myth of the Bermuda Triangle stated that there were no supernatural incidents there and a combination of adverse weather conditions and the susceptibility of human error to accidents. In that area he is in charge.

However, even the greatest skeptics have to admit that something is wrong with this. Official sea and air charts are said to warn that the compass in this area can deviate by up to 14 degrees.

An explanation of events in the Bermuda Triangle can be found in the medieval Bible and Talmud commentator Rashid (1040-1105). In his commentary on Brachot 8a, he wrote: “There are some places in the ocean that do not allow metal, so the boards from which ships are built must be attached with ropes.”

metal Why are metals not allowed in these places? Rasch, Rabbi Shmuel Strachon (1794-1872), an important commentator on the Talmud, explains that there are magnets on the sea floor in these places. Whether or not Rashi and Rabbi Shmuel Strachon explicitly mean the Bermuda Triangle is a matter of debate. Anyway, they knew a similar look.

Magnets on the ocean floor can mean magnetite, one of the strongest magnetic minerals. According to Nick Hutchings, an expert in deep-sea mining in the Bermuda region, an ancient volcanic eruption caused huge amounts of this mineral to be distributed around the Bermuda Islands, causing the compass to deviate depending on the amount.

But no matter how many times the authorities emphasize the absence of the Bermuda Triangle myth and the plausibility of logical explanations – for many people, the Bermuda Triangle remains an unsolved mystery. Ancient but always current Jewish wisdom has provided its own interpretation for centuries. And, as is often the case, it can only be a matter of time before modern science confirms it.

The author is a prospective rabbi and teaches at Jerusalem Kollel.