T he eclipse is old news by now. Like for most of those who do not live in Oregon or the Carolinas where “totality” was viewable the eclipse for me was nothing more than a passing curiosity. I got my glasses — actually I borrowed them from a friend — peered up at the sun saw the “bite”… v’zehu.
But a few weeks later a photo essay by my good friend Ben Wymore in which he engagingly chronicled his experience of traveling to wherever and viewing the eclipse appeared in these pages. He added that at the moment of totality he started tearing up.
Now I know Ben. I would describe him as cerebral; a scientific technological wizard… not at all an artsy mushy type. I was therefore highly skeptical of his reporting. So I called him.
“C’mon Ben. Cut the dramatics. You teared up?” He insisted he did and asserted that he was far from the only one. People broke down. Others started hollering. Since then I’ve read other accounts of people who experienced the same powerful response. It should not be surprising. In fact the Chovos Halevavos (Shaar Cheshbon Hanefesh 23) writes that one should study nature to find Hashem adding:
