Here are pictures from Google Earth with lines emanating from Israel. The purple line in the picture below shows the approximate direction people pray to. It would end up in Uganda, but the intentions bend it. The Bluish line is the actual direction to Israel.
Update: A more accurate image was added. The yellow line goes due east, towards the Congo. The white line is the direction to Jerusalem.
12 comments:
Yishar Kochacha! The left picture makes it pretty clear
we find your analysis ludicrous. see immanenteschaton.blogspot.com for further details.
I think it's really a question of latitude. if Israel is at a higher latitude, then a northern approach may be called for. If it is not, then eastwards should be correct. It's a question of facing the right direction of where it is, not the fastest way to get there (your line cuts through the earth, thus requiring supsension during prayer).
my line does not "cut through the earth", it is simply along the "great circle" between ny and israel. the shortest path to israel is by definition the direction to israel.
for great circle info see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great-circle_distance
According to one nebach, "people pray to ... Uganda". While it is true that geocentrist New Yorkers praying eastward aren't aligned with the shortest route to Jerusalem, the shortest curve between their feet and the longitude of Israel is probably going to be intersecting that longitude (about 35°E) in Mozambique, well south of Herzl's promised land. (A perfect eastward curve ends up in Turkey, not that far north from Mt. Ararat.) I'm also not sure if the nebach intends straight lines pasted on google earth as proofs of the shortest routes. If he does...here are two more such maps to chew on:
The shortest route to Israel:
unless it's:
http://immanenteschaton.blogspot.com/2006/12/nebach-attempts-at-cartography.html
hmmm...
Which just demonstrates, tzitzis strings and a globe are still the most precise method for measuring curves.
(Of course, his point is right... this far from Jerusalem, Nova Scotia is en route...)
by placing ny and israel on opposite sides of the map, perpendicular to your line of vision, u see the shortest route btwn 2 points and see it is the true direction more than any mathematical proof or tzitzis strings.
besides, its assur to use tzitzis strings like that.
btw, the kosher compass points slightly SE when set to america. that makes no sense.
the exact direction to is israel is
54.1° Northeast by east
Link
correction: uganda is actually slightly NE also. if u head east, u'll hit mozambique.
'08..
YDK found this site that discusses the issue:
http://myzmanim.com/messagebox.aspx?messageid=direction
i think the only reason people would follow the 'rhumb line' is because they're so used to our distorted flat maps.
if the beis hamikdash was 50 feet from the north pole, and you were standing 50 feet from the other side, whta direction would R' Belsky tell you to daven?
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