Balak – The Rosh Yeshiva Responds – Understanding One’s Personality through Zodiac Signs

by Rabbi Dov Linzer (Posted on July 18, 2024)
Topics: Balak, Rosh Yeshiva Responds, Sefer Bamidbar, Torah

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דָּרַ֨ךְ כּוֹכָ֜ב מִיַּֽעֲקֹ֗ב
“There shall step forth a star out of Jacob” (Bamidbar 24:17).

This question is taken from a WhatsApp group in which Rabbi Linzer responds to halakhic questions from rabbis and community members.

QUESTION—New York

I was informed by someone that there are ways to understand one’s personality based on the zodiac signs. This involves looking at not only the astrological sign, but also the time and location of birth, as well as the position of the moon, stars, and planets. I don’t actually believe in this, but I am curious to explore it with my student who very much does believe it.

I’m concerned about any kind of divination issurim (prohibitions). From my understanding, you could stop before you get to predicting the future with this Zodiac stuff. This is just about understanding one’s personality and in that way is very similar to Myers-Briggs or the Enneagram or other personality tests that exist. If that is the case, and exploring the Zodiac is just understanding one’s personality more, I would think it would be permissible provided that does not leech into questions about predicting the future. What is your opinion?

ANSWER

Your analysis is correct. The Gemara and Rishonim, as I am sure you know, give credence to astrology both in terms of identifying propitious times for action (e.g., Adar—see Taanit 29b) and suggesting that the star one is born under can influence one’s personality (i.e., Mars being associated with violent tendencies —see Shabbat 156a).

Rambam, not surprisingly, entirely rejects the validity of astrology and rules that one who uses it gets malkot—lashes (Mishnah Torah, Hilkhot Avodah Zarah 11:8-9). Importantly for our purposes, he limits this to using astrology to determine good and bad times for doing something (since it is based on the prohibition of מעונן = עונה – Devarim 18:10). Rambam does not mention any problem with using astrology as a means of gaining insight into one’s character traits, or with studying it without acting upon it.

So – yes, you are correct that using Zodiac signs/astrology in this way would not be prohibited.

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About Rabbi Dov Linzer

Rabbi Dov Linzer is the President and Rosh HaYeshiva of YCT Rabbinical School. Having served as YCT’s Rosh HaYeshiva for over 20 years, Rabbi Linzer became its President in 2019 and assumed both the institutional and Torah-based leadership of YCT. In this dual capacity, Rabbi Linzer has set the vision for YCT as a Center of Torah and Torah Leadership, and, with an amazing team of colleagues and partners, oversees its growth, reach, and further development. An acclaimed Torah and halakha scholar, Rabbi Linzer has been a leading rabbinic voice in the Modern Orthodox community for over 25 years. He has published over 100 teshuvot (responsa) and scholarly Torah articles, and hosts a number of highly popular Torah podcasts. He is co-author, together with Abigail Pogrebin, of It Takes Two To Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses and will soon be coming out with The Rosh Yeshiva Responds, a collection of his scholarly, halakhic teshuvot to the yeshiva’s hundreds of rabbis in-the-field. In his capacity as a mentor, Rabbi Linzer provides religious guidance to the yeshiva’s students and the over 150 YCT-ordained rabbis who are serving in the field. He answers hundreds of halakhic questions from YCT rabbis and broader community each year, which are available to the public on his blog, psak.yctorah.org.