Timeless Torah

This week’s Biblical portion tells the story of the world’s first Jewish launch. Taking off from Goshen Station, Egypt, these trained Hebrew astronauts forged under the taskmaster’s whip were tough, tenacious and excited about their historic mission. Their flight from slavery lead through a parted Sea, a smoking mountain, a desolate desert, a Promised Land, and from there onto all points on the horizon.
Many things have gone awry on this mission. Historians, sociologists and Rabbis continue to debate where and why we failed. But I’m the kind of Jew who likes to see the glass half full. So let me tell you what went right.

However, before I do so, let me relate another journey. I, along with several of my Chabad colleagues were invited to be part of a Rabbinical delegation invited to the launch site for the space shuttle Columbia. Upon re-entry into the atmosphere, Columbia disintegrated. Israeli astronaut, Ilan Ramon, and six others died. Once again, while scientists are examining what failed, I’d like to ponder what was right.
Let’s start with the education of Ilan Ramon. Ilan went to a regular elementary school in Beersheva. His parents didn’t speak Hebrew. Tedious memorization was required. Basics included Bible. Once a week, Ilan and his classmates planted tomatoes and cucumbers. At home, there were piano lessons, library books, and playing ball in a dusty lot.

In education, the pendulum swings back and forth. Some educators believe in aiming for broad-based knowledge. Others suggest mastery in specific disciplines. Paradoxically, Ilan had an anti-elitist education, yet he consistently strove for excellence. His prodigious talents were reinforced by immigrant parents who communicated the importance of education. His schooling, with its emphasis on love of the land, dovetailed with what he learned at home about his mother’s Holocaust experience, his father’s service in the War of Independence.

Ilan’s bar-mitzva was planned for June 1967. He and his friends spent the weeks before his special day digging trenches and lining up sandbags. Victory came in six days, and Ilan’s bar-mitzva took place amid the national celebration. What teenager in those days didn’t dream of being a pilot?
Without protekzia, he was accepted for pilot’s training. Striving to be number one, he flew in the most dangerous position on the Osirak attack of the Iraqi nuclear plant. In short, he was talented, brave, and modest. What a combination.

But not for these characteristics was Ilan our hero. Not for his scientific know-how and military pragmatism. It was Ilan’s marveling at the beauty of the universe, his poetic descriptions of light, his unabashed love for family. Encased in that metal capsule, he was eminently human, a husband wishing his wife was with him to see the sunrise, a father of four who was proud of his son’s perfect grade in algebra.
The conquest of space reflects humankind’s great technological accomplishment: the ability to harness the forces of nature. Still, as much as we value the science, the true drama is the human being inside the spacecraft.

Although Ilan Ramon was a scientist, a pilot, an astronaut, these were only part of his identity. That he brought with him symbols of Jewish tradition, that he insisted on following Jewish dietary laws, showed how he understood that even a human being who could circle the globe didn’t have to take on a global identity. He came from a particular family, a particular tradition...and they were the source of meaning for him. As Ilan himself stated, “I no longer just represent the Israeli Air Force, I represent the Jewish people.”
Ilan is no longer here, and neither are the original escapees from Egypt. But their children revere their memories and carry on the mission. A new generation of Jewish astronauts lives observing our timeless heritage. Why are we are successfull? Because our authentic, tested and proven education still instills a sense of wonder, a love of tradition, and the abiding belief that responsibility cannot be shirked even for the young.

True, on many occassions in our history the Jewish spaceship seemed as if it had flown off course. But our story is not about a ship, it’s the amazing tale of the Jews themselves. Because when you know why G-d put you on Earth, even the Heavens cannot limit you.