"By His Will Orders The Stars In The Constellations ..."

Shabbat Eikev, August 11-12

"... the hand of Yaakov grasping the heel of Eisav..."

The Heavens announce G-d's majesty, prior to welcoming the new moon of Elul on Shabbat, by lighting up the Heavens with a

Perseid meteor shower, seen by nine thousand Israelis at 3,000-foot high Mitzpeh Ramon, in the central Negev, watching more than one meteor a minute.

The spectacle in the sky began after the earliest time for the daily evening prayers, in which Jews around the world recite before the “Shema Yisrael” prayer, "by His wisdom opens the gates of heaven, with understanding makes time change and the season rotate, and by His will orders the stars in their constellations in the sky.”

The annual Perseid meteor shower occurs when the Earth passes through the dusty remains of the comet Swift-Tuttle. Its names is derived from the constellation Perseus, from where the meteor shower appears to put on its show. NASA said that this year’s show was expected to be the best of the year because many startling orbs can be seen as well as the usual shooting stars. "The brightest planets in the solar system are lining up right in the middle of the [Perseid] display," NASA said, referring to Jupiter, Venus and the crescent moon. The red giant star Aldebaran also was visible. Source: Arutz Sheva, INNews

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A Greek folk etymology connected the name of the Persian (Pars) people, whom they called the Persai. The native name, however has always had an -a- in Persian. Herodotus recounts this story, devising a foreign son, Perses, from whom the Persians took the name. Apparently the Persians themselves knew the story, as Xerxes tried to use it to suborn the Argives during his invasion of Greece, but ultimately failed to do so. Source: Wikipedia

the Heavens declared mastery

over the Earth when

Shabbat Eikev, August 11-12

brought twin earthquakes to Persia:

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran has raised the death toll from Saturday's twin earthquakes to 306, a day after rescuers called off the search for survivors Heath Minister Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi told a session of parliament Monday that the number jumped by about 50 after victims expired in the hospital. More than 3,000 people were injured in the earthquakes. Scores of aftershocks have coursed through Iran's mountainous northeast since the 6.4 and 6.3 magnitude quakes hit the region, where some 300,000 people live near the borders with Azerbaijan and Armenia. Iran is located on seismic fault lines and is prone to earthquakes. In 2003, some 26,000 people were killed by a 6.6 magnitude quake that flattened the historic southeastern city of Bam. Source: FoxNews

The U.S. Geological Survey measured Saturday's first quake at 6.4 magnitude and said it struck 60 km (37 miles) northeast of the city of Tabriz, a trading hub far from Iran's oil-producing areas and known nuclear facilities. The second, measuring 6.3, struck 11 minutes later near Varzaghan, 49 km (30 miles) northeast of Tabriz.

More than 1,000 villages in the area were affected by the earthquakes, Ahmad Reza Shaji'i, a Red Crescent official, told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA). Some 130 villages suffered more than 70 percent damage, and 20 villages were completely destroyed, he said. Source: Yahoo: (Dubai) Reuters

Another sign in the unfolding of the Geula