The danger in unused water may be avoided by putting in it a piece of iron or an iron vessel (Bet Yosef on the Tur, and Isserles' note to Shulḥan Aruk, Oraḥ Ḥayyim, 455, 1; Be'er Hetev, to Yore De'a, 116, 5).
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# Tekufat Nisan, the vernal equinox, when the sun enters Aries; this is the beginning of spring, or "eit hazera" (seed-time), when day and night are equal.
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# Tekufat Tishrei, the autumnal equinox, when the sun enters Libra, and autumn, or "et ha-batsir" (vintage-time), begins, and when the day again equals the night.
Tekufah |
Signs of the zodiac surround the central chariot of the Sun (a Greek motif), while the corners depict the 4 "turning points" ("tekufot") of the year, solstices and equinoxes, each named for the month in which it occurs—tequfah of Tishrei, tequfah of Tevet, tequfah of Nisan, tequfah of Tamuz.