Someone who is not familiar with nature and has never pondered the daily path of the sun, the stars, and the moon cannot begin to appreciate the way Chazal and the Rishonim describe the path of the sun.
[This] sefer not only clarifies the sugya of z’manim in all of its details, but is an intellectual adventure to read. The narrative that unfolds is one of a quest that spans generations. It is the story of chachamim toiling in the pursuit of truth, striving to unravel confusing and conflicting sources in their search to establish the time of tzeis ha’kochavim and alos ha’shachar, as well as the proper z’manim for mitzvos. It is a quest that persists today, as there remain widely different practices in calculating z’manim. All of these practices are rooted in different opinions among the Torah giants that engaged in this pursuit of truth. It is the object of this sefer to illuminate the rationale for each of the various shitos rather than to pasken halachah l’maaseh.
