Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Dr Maurice M. Mizrahi B"H D'var Torah on Bereshit
Judaism in Outer Space
This week's Torah portion, Bereshit, "In the beginning", relates the creation of the universe.
God said, "Let there be light!", and there was a Big ***, and there was light. This
conjures up images of stars and galaxies, deep space and little green men. So it's a
good opportunity to ask the question: As Jews go into space, how will they practice Judaism
there? Many commandments are tied to the time of day, the seasons, the human body, the Land
of Israel. But, on a spaceship, there is no day, no night, no seasons, no sun, no moon,
no gravity, no Israel. On a planet, the days may have different lengths and the seasonal
cycles may be different. Finally, how would aliens from outer space practice Judaism if
their bodies are different? It is too early for definitive answers, but some rabbinical
responsa are available today. Only after lots of observant Jews go into space will definitive
customs and laws -- minhagim and halacha -- arise.
Let me begin by pointing out that the issue is no longer academic. There have been fourteen
Jewish astronauts so far. The first was Boris Volynov of the Soviet Union, who flew Soyuz
in 1969 and 1976. The second was Judy Resnick of the United States, who flew the Shuttle
in 1984 and 1986. The third was American Jeffrey Hoffman, who flew the shuttle five times from
1985 to 1996. Americans Marsha Ivins and John Grunsfeld also flew five times. Others are
Israeli Ilan Ramon in 2003, and Americans Ellen Baker, Jerome Apt, David Wolf, Martin
Fettman, Scott Horowitz, Mark Polansky, Garrett Reisman, and Gregory Chamitoff.
The Talmud advises to begin presentations with jokes. Here are a few space jokes:
-The first rabbi in space comes back looking exhausted, and says,
"We went around the earth every 90 minutes. For us, a day was 90 minutes! Shacharit! Mincha!
Maariv! Shacharit! Mincha! Maariv! No time for anything else!"
-Why were the nine little green men so happy to see the first Jewish astronaut land on
Mars? Answer: He made a minyan! -A man returns from the first bar mitzvah
on Pluto, disappointed. He says, "The band was very good. The food was out of this world.
But there was no atmosphere." -Finally, at beginning of the Torah service,
we say: Gadlu l'Hashem iti u'nrommemah shmo yachdav.
[Ps. 34:4] It is generally translated as: Declare the
greatness of God with me and let us exalt His name together. But this translation is
wrong. The correct translation is: Declare the greatness of God, E.T., and let us exalt
His name together. It is an invitation to extraterrestrials to
join us in praising God!
The Talmud has a twist on whether Jews may take time from Torah study for secular subjects:
Ben Damah, the son of R. Ishmael's sister, once asked R. Ishmael, "May one such as myself,
who have studied the entire Torah, learn Greek philosophy [chochmat yevanit]?"
He [R. Ishmael] then read to him the following verse [from the Book of Joshua], "This Book
of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth; but you shall meditate on it day and night."
[Joshua 1:8] Go then, and find a time that is neither day
nor night, and then you may learn Greek philosophy. [Menachot 99b]
Now, Why did he phrase it that way, rather than just saying "No"? Was he telling him
to go off on a spaceship, where there is no day and no night, to study Greek philosophy
to his heart's content? A footnote: That view was not the last word.
The Talmud continues: This, however, disagrees with the view of
R. Samuel b. Nahmani, [who] said in the name of R. Yonatan, This verse is neither a duty
nor a commandment, but a blessing... [God was telling Joshua...:] Since the words of
the Torah are so precious to you, [I assure you the] Torah shall not depart from your
mouth. [Menachot 99b]
Now, let's get more serious. First, is space exploration religiously mandated? Let us look
to the Torah for guidance: God blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful
and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds
in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." [Genesis 1:28]
Some people interpret "the earth" as meaning "the entire universe", and conclude that space
exploration *is* religiously mandated.
Second, does humanity *have* to go into space? Yes. Our understanding of the cosmos tells
us that humanity will have to go into space out of necessity. The Sun is an ordinary star,
so it is expected to die in five billion years. It does not have enough mass to explode as
a nova, so it will turn its hydrogen into helium, become a red giant, expand to engulf
the earth, then contract and heat up. The Talmud says that when that happens, God will
grant us wings to escape the earth: And should you ask, in those years during
which the Almighty will renew his world [after destroying it], as it is written [in Isaiah],
'And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day' [Isaiah 2:11], what will the righteous
do? The Lord will make them wings like eagles, and they will fly above the water, as it is
written [in Psalms], 'Therefore we will not fear when the earth will be removed and the
mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.' [Ps. 44:3.] And should you imagine that
they will suffer pain, Scripture says [in Isaiah], 'But those who wait upon the Lord
shall renew their strength; they shall soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not
grow weary; and they shall walk and not faint.' [Isa. 40:31] [Sanhedrin 92b]
The Zohar, the Book of Jewish Mysticism, goes one step further:
The Holy One, blessed be He, will provide them with wings as of eagles, enabling them
to fly across the whole universe. [Zohar, Bereshit 1, page 12b]
The Midrash on Bereshit mentions that God created other worlds before ours, and destroyed
them because He did not like them: R. Abbahu said: Hence we learn that the Holy
One, blessed be He, went on creating worlds and destroying them until He created [heaven
and earth], and then He said: 'These please Me; those did not please Me.' [Genesis Rabbah
9:2] This implies there will be refugees, like
Noah and his family, only this time they will go into space.
Even worse is the expected "heat death" of the universe. The second law of thermodynamics
predicts that entropy will increase until all particles in the universe mill about in
random, purposeless motion. Calculations show that this will happen in about 10^100 years.
Curiously, the popular liturgical song Adon Olam foresees this, when it says:
Ve-acharei kichlot ha-kol, levado yimloch nora
And after everything shall cease, God will still reign in majesty.
"When everything shall cease" is the heat death of the universe. Science has no clue
on what will happen after the Heat Death, or what happened before the Big *** for that
matter.
Now let's address the question: How do we observe time-bound mitzvot where time and
seasons are different? The problem actually dates back to the 18th century, when Jews
started moving north, where daytime or nighttime can last for days or weeks. The Talmud is
our guide: Rav Huna says: If a man is wandering in the
desert and does not know when Shabbat is, he should count six days [as weekdays] and
keep one day as Shabbat.[Shabbat 69b] Rava says..., "Every day he may do whatever
he needs to survive, even on Shabbat." The final law says:
A wanderer who lost track of time must keep six "weekdays" followed by one "Shabbat",
but he may not do anything forbidden on Shabbat, on any day, except to survive. He must act
out of concern that the real Shabbat may be on ANY day. [Shulchan Arukh, Orakh Hayyim
344] That same logic was used to observe two holy
days in the Diaspora, compared to only one in Israel.
When day or night lasts for six months, such as near the poles, there are several opinions:
-18th-century rabbi Jacob Emden said: Count six days of 24 hours and keep the seventh
as Shabbat. -The Tiferet Yisrael [Mishnayot Yachin U'Boaz
- Brachot: End Chap 1,(1782-1860)] said: Use the times for prayers of the place from where
you came. -The 19th-century Ben Ish Chai [Teshuvot Rav
Pa'alim - Sod Yesharim 2:4, Sephardic, 1832-1909] said: Consider 6am to be sunrise and 6pm sunset.
-The Moadim U'Zmanim [Chalek Bais (2) Siman 155 in the glosses]: said:
-In summer, when the sun does not set, consider that a day begins and ends when the sun is
at its lowest point in the sky, usually around midnight.
-In winter, when the sun does not rise, consider that a day begins when the sun is closest
to the horizon, usually around noon.
In space, there are two opinions: -Rabbi Ben Tzion Firrer [5730 issue of Noam]:
argues that mitzvot are only applicable on earth, because the Torah says:
These are the statutes and judgments, which you shall take care to do, in the land [ba-aretz],
which the Lord, God of your Fathers, gives you to possess all the days that you live
upon the earth [ha-adamah]. [Deuteronomy 12:1] But note that the Torah does not say: Don't
do mitzvot outside the Land of Israel or the Earth.
-Rabbi Menahem Kasher [5730 issue of Noam] argues that mitzvot are incumbent in every
environment. The themes of the festivals, of Shabbat remembering creation, of the daily
prayers, are always relevant. So one must apply the same rules on the moon and in space
as for the North Pole.
The second opinion is most likely to prevail. Possible details are:
-When orbiting the earth, use only the time measured at the place from which you left
the earth. Others are more lenient and say: Keep Shabbat anytime it is Shabbat anywhere
on Earth.
-When going far from the earth, use the clock on the wall of the spaceship, synchronized
at liftoff with the time and place from which you left the earth, and follow the Jewish
calendar for that place after that. This makes particular sense because observance can't
ever be truly simultaneous with the place of origin, because of the relativistic twin
effect: One twin stays on earth and the other travels in space, and when the traveler comes
back he is younger than his twin, and he has actually experienced less time.
-On Earth, Jews must pray towards Jerusalem. So, in space, Jews must pray towards the earth.
-Needless to say, one may do essential ship maintenance on Shabbat and holidays, for pikuach
nefesh, to save lives.
-When on a planet in space, one might have to pro-rate the length of the day or the year.
Rabbi Azriel Rosenfeld says: On Mars, a "day" is 24 hours and 39 minutes in earth time and
a "year" is 687 days in earth time, so one must modify observance of the calendar accordingly.
Also, when on the moon, one need not bless the full moon, a custom called Kiddush Levana,
done at night outside between Rosh Hodesh and time of full moon. The Lubavitcher Rebbe
concurred.
Next, how does the absence of gravity affect halacha? For example, the
Torah mandates building a parapet around a roof for protection:
When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring
the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof. [Deuteronomy 22:8]
But what if there is no gravity? Do you still have to observe the mitzvah?
Can we say: This is one commandment stated along with the reason for it, so when that
reason does not apply, neither does the commandment?
Also, can one keep kosher with recycled food? In the TV space saga Star Trek, food replicators
recycle everything on the ship and build food from individual molecules. If they build pork
chops, may Jews eat them? Halacha would say yes. Pork is the flesh of pigs and may not
be eaten. But the replicator product is not the flesh of pigs. It is assembled from individual
molecules, so it can be eaten. After all, when you bite into a fresh apple, you are
eating some molecules that once belonged to a pig 100 years ago, and it's OK. Nature recycles
everything.
But what if the Torah prohibition is for health reasons? What if eating two strips of bacon
a day will lower your IQ by one point a year, and we are unable to detect that yet? Then
the replicator pork chop and the flesh of the dead pig will have the same bad effect
on you, since they have the exact same chemical composition. The apple above does not have
enough bad molecules in it to hurt you, but the replicated pork chop does. The answer
is that the halacha of food is not chemically based. It says, for example, that if water
comes into contact with non-kosher food, it must not be drunk even if boiled, evaporated
and condensed in a new pot. So one may eat the replicated pork chops, and if later evidence
shows they hurt you, stop eating them. Some food is known to be both kosher and poisonous.
Don't eat it.
It is likely that all food restrictions, including those of Pessah, will disappear if replicators
become the only source of food.
Now, what if we encountered intelligent life outside the earth? Well, the Talmud states
that the world was created for the sake of human beings:
The Holy One, blessed be He, [said]: My daughter, I have created 12 constellations in the sky,
and for each constellation I have created 30 hosts, and for each host I have created
30 legions, and for each legion I have created 30 cohorts, and for each cohort I have created
30 maniples, and for each maniple I have created 30 camps, and to each camp I have attached
365,000s of myriads of stars [one myriad is 10,000], corresponding to the days of the
solar year, and all of them I have created only for your sake. [Berachot 32b]
Note, in passing, that the Talmudic number of stars comes to about 10^18. The best scientific
estimate today is 10^23 (not too far!), but that follows from assumptions that may change.
For example, before December 2010 it was 10^22. So there is hope for a reconciliation once
astronomers refine their estimates.
15th-century rabbi Yosef Albo, in his Ikkarim, says that since the universe was created for
the sake of humanity, no other creature can exist possessing free will. So the Sefer Habrit
(Rabbi Pinchas Eliyahu of Vilna) concludes that aliens may exist, and may even be intelligent,
but they do not have free will.
The existence of alien beings is consistent with Judaism. The Song of Deborah, in the
Book of Judges, says: Curse Meroz, said the messenger of the Lord,
curse bitterly its inhabitants. [Judges 5:23]. The Talmud reports the opinion that Meroz
is a star or a planet [Moed Katan 16a], based on this statement in the Book of Joshua:
They fought from heaven. The very stars in their courses fought against Sisera. [Joshua
5:20] So the Sages imply that there may be extraterrestrial
life. Also, in Ashrei, we say: Malchutecha malchut kol 'olamim
Your kingdom is a kingdom of all worlds. [Psalms 145:13]
The 14th-century commentator Hasdai Crescas sees proof of extraterrestrial life in the
line in Psalms: The heavens declare the glory of God. [Psalm
19:2] His Ohr Hashem has a chapter where he reconciles
extraterrestrial life with Judaism. He cites the Talmud, which says:
God flies through 18,000 worlds. [Avoda Zara 3b]
and argues: Surely God goes to these worlds because they have inhabitants who need Him.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe said that one who declares that there is no life besides life on earth
is limiting the Creator's abilities. The kabbalistic work Tikunei Zohar says that every tzaddik
(righteous person) will rule over his own planet.
Now, would aliens be allowed to convert to Judaism? Why not? But what if their anatomy
is different? What do they circumcize? If a Martian has no arms, how would he wear tefillin?
The answer is: He doesn't. The Talmud says that a Jew missing arms is exempt from wearing
tefillin of the arm. You only do what you can. However, if we accept Rabbi Albo's view,
aliens have no free will and so cannot convert.
In conclusion, Judaism has survived such upheavals as the end of Temple worship and the Exile
from the Land, and has adapted, and thrived. So it is safe to say that it will adapt to
space travel and life outside the earth as well, and continue to thrive.
Shabbat shalom.