The sun reminds us whether this world of ours is heaven or hell TB Baba Batra 84

The Mishnah on daf TB Baba Batra 83b teaches when both the seller and the buyer have the opportunity to invalidate a sale because the negotiated item wasn’t the item received. “If the seller sold reddish-brown wheat and it is found to be white, or white wheat and it is found to be reddish-brown (שְׁחַמְתִּית-shekhamtit), and similarly, if he sold olive wood and it is found to be wood of a sycamore, or he sold wood of a sycamore and it is found to be wood of an olive tree, or if the seller sold him wine and it is found to be vinegar, or vinegar and it is found to be wine, in all of these cases both the seller and the buyer can renege on the sale. Since the sale was for a different item than that which was delivered, the transaction can be nullified even if there was no mistake with regard to the price.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Because one of the varieties of wheat is reddish-brown, the Gemara goes off on today’s daf TB Baba Batra 84 on a tangent what color is the sun. Embedded in the word שְׁחַמְתִּית-shekhamtit is the Hebrew word for sun, חָמָה-khama; consequently, the sun’s actual color is red. The Gemara explains why the sun appears white (yellow) during the daytime.

“Rav Pappa said: From the fact that the mishna teaches: White, in contrast to sheḥamtit, and there are two types of wheat, one white and the other red, conclude from the mishna that this sun is red, not white. Know that this is the case, as it reddens in the morning and evening. And the reason that we do not see the red color all day is because our eyesight is not strong and we cannot discern the redness of the sun.” (Sefaria.org translation)

For those who hold that the sun’s color is white (yellow) explain why the sun appears red at sunrise and sunset. “In the morning it becomes red as it passes over the site of the roses of the Garden of Eden, whose reflections give the light a red hue. In the evening the sun turns red because it passes over the entrance of Gehenna (hell-gg), whose fires redden the light.” (Sefaria.org translation)

I like to understand this explanation metaphorically. Each new day we can choose to remake our world into a Garden of Eden by our words and actions. As night false, the red sun makes us reflect whether the world is closer to the Garden of Eden or Gehenna by the we lived the day that has just ended.

If you really want to know why the sun is red go to https://www.talmudology.com/ and read the newest installment Bava Basra 84a ~ “Why are Sunsets Red?” asked the Rabbi and the Scientist.