עברית
Faith
Is It Permissible to Point at the Moon and the Stars?
Question
I was raised in a home where it was forbidden to point at the stars or the moon, because it was said that one could develop a wart as a result. Is this superstition? Are there any sources for this? Thank you very much!
Answer
Greetings,
It is permissible to point at the moon and the stars, although some have refrained from pointing at the stars.
Sources: See in the book Segulot (page 386) where our rabbis asked Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, shlita, whether one should be concerned about those who are careful not to count the stars on their fingers, claiming that the counter will develop a sore on his hand, and he replied: We have not heard of this. However, see the footnote there quoting Rabbi Yitzchak Rezevi, shlita, in his book Shulchan Aruch HaKatzar, Part 4 (Siman 146, Note 11), that this matter is primarily known in the Yemenite communities, where there is a dry sore on the back of the hand, like a blister, which the world says will appear for anyone who counts or points at the stars with his fingers. Also see on Wikipedia under the entry "Anusim" that a widespread custom among Spanish and Portuguese Jews until recent decades was that parents forbade their children from pointing at stars at night, using explanations about diseases and sores that would result from this pointing. The origin of the custom is attributed to the Anusim, who avoided identifying the end of Shabbat by counting three stars due to fear of the Inquisition agents.
Sincerely, Hillel Meirs
