Chasidut sobre Gênesis 13:16
וְשַׂמְתִּ֥י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֖ כַּעֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֑רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֣ר ׀ אִם־יוּכַ֣ל אִ֗ישׁ לִמְנוֹת֙ אֶת־עֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֔רֶץ גַּֽם־זַרְעֲךָ֖ יִמָּנֶֽה׃
E farei a tua descendência como o pó da terra; de maneira que se puder ser contado o pó da terra, então também poderá ser contada a tua descendência.
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 13,16. “so that if one can count the dust of the earth then your offspring too can be counted.” G’d’s comments were triggered by Avram having seen in his astrology charts that he was not going to have offspring. G’d taught him that “science” such as astrology is valid only in terms of the terrestrial part of the universe. Astrologers therefore are able to decipher only matters accessible to ordinary people’s powers of perception. The Jewish people’s fate could not be predicted on the basis of such limited powers of perception. This is why Jews are not allowed to attempt to count the stars as we know from Yuma 22, where the Talmud states כל המונה את ישראל עובר בלאו, “anyone making a headcount of Israelites transgresses a negative commandment.” The Talmud quotes Hoseah 2,1 in support of this. The result of such a count would be misleading, as the yardsticks that apply to other nations do not apply to the Jewish people. Avram who had not yet been aware of this, had therefore misread what appeared to be written in the stars concerning his future. The Talmud Shabbat 156 cites our verse in support of this. [The verses cited there are Genesis 15,4 and 5. Ed.] Basically, seeing that our prayers and/or repentance have the power to alter G’d’s decrees, how could constellations in the sky that are predictable in advance have any bearing on our fate?
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