Finding God in the Seasons: The Divine Tilt In our Sha'ar HaBechina series, we are exploring how to find God within creation. The Chovot HaLevavot teaches us to look for signs of wisdom in the world, specifically pointing to the seasons . He notes that the seasons require additional thought to fully appreciate their benefits, and then he leaves us to ponder it. Where is the Blessing for Seasons? Rabbi Yeruchom Levovitz once asked: "If the sun is so important, why don't we make a beracha (blessing) on it?" His answer was that we do—every day in the prayers of Yotzer Or and Yotzer HaMeorot . We can ask the same of the seasons. If they are so vital, where is their blessing? We find it in the evening prayers of Arvit , in the blessings surrounding the Shema : "... משנה עתים ומחליף את הזמנים " "...Who changes the seasons and alternates the times." The Sefer Iyun HaTefillah explains the nuance: Meshaneh (changes) is used for Eitim (seasons) because they transition progressively (1 to 2 to 3 to 4). Machalif (switches/alternates) is used for Zemanim (times) because day and night simply swap back and forth. The Origin of Seasons: Two Approaches The source for seasons appears in God's promise to Noach after the flood: "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease" (Bereishit 8:22). Rashi's View: The seasons always existed, but the sun and moon ceased to function during the Mabul (Flood). After the flood, they simply returned to their normal cycle. The Sforno's View: Before the Mabul , there were no seasons. The earth stood straight, creating a perfect, eternal spring. This perfect climate led to long lives, but also overindulgence and sin. After the flood, God tilted the earth's axis to create seasons, making life harder to curb man's impulse to sin. The "Perfect" 23.5-Degree Tilt As we know, the globe is tilted at 23.5 degrees. This tilt is the engine of our seasons: Summer: The hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, creating a high density of solar rays. Winter: The hemisphere is tilted away , resulting in a lower density of rays. Crucial Fact: Summer and winter are not caused by our distance from the sun, but by the angle of the tilt. If the Earth stood perfectly upright (0° tilt), the equator would bake into an uninhabitable desert, and the poles would be permanently frozen. Our 23.5-degree tilt acts as a giant heat distribution system, sharing the sun's energy across the planet. The "Big Whack" vs. Divine Design Science calls the origin of this tilt a "colossal cosmic accident" occurring 4.5 billion years ago. The "Giant Impact Hypothesis" (or the Big Whack) suggests a Mars-sized planet named Theia struck Earth with a glancing blow, knocking us off-center to exactly 23.5 degrees. Furthermore, they say that to keep the Earth from wobbling or flipping over, we need a stabilizer. That stabilizer is the Moon, whose gravity keeps the tilt steady. And where did the moon come from? The theory claims the "Big Whack" knocked a chunk off the Earth, which just happened to settle in the exact right spot to provide the necessary gravitational balance. To believe this happened by chance is like saying a man with a hunchback and no teeth got hit by a car, and the impact perfectly straightened his spine while the flying debris became his new teeth. It's far more logical to see the hand of Hakadosh Baruch Hu (The Holy One, Blessed be He) designing a perfect system for life.