On 20 July 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar Module successfully landed on the Moon. Neil Armstrong, followed by Buzz Aldrin, became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface. As Armstrong stepped out of the spacecraft, he famously declared “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind” (Armstrong apparently said “a man,” though the “a” was inaudible in transmission). The challenge was not over, for Armstrong, Aldrin and Michael Collins still had to return safely to Earth. On 23 July – the last night in Space – Aldrin commented: “We feel that this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown.”

The Leap and the Liturgy

The astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 24 July, and the following day an interview with Rabbi Shlomo Goren (1918-1994) was featured in the Hatzofe Hebrew-language daily newspaper. Goren had served as the IDF Chief Rabbi since 1948. He had been selected as the next Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv–Jaffa, but he had not yet left the army and taken up his new post. The interview was conducted by Moshe Ishon (1928-2015) and had been broadcast on the army radio station.

Ishon began the exchange by raising a minor liturgical point:

“One question, admittedly not so scientific, is being raised by the religious public: Today, how can we use the familiar text of Kiddush Levanah (the Sanctification of the Moon prayer), which also states: ‘Just as I dance before you and cannot touch you, so may none of my enemies be able to touch me for harm’ … And now, suddenly, the crew of Apollo 11 has come along and attempted to strip the moon of its mystery. How, then, can we still recite Kiddush Levanah now that the moon is within human reach? Has this prayer not lost its meaning?”

This was a curious opening question at such a historic moment for humanity, and Goren replied, somewhat dismissively:

“I do not think this is the most pressing problem facing our world right now, nor is it the principal question we need to address in light of the momentous event of the first human being reaching the moon. But since many people are asking it, I will answer.”

In addition to reflecting a public sentiment, it could well be that Ishon opened with a practical question, rather than diving straight into legal, existential, and theological issues. Goren replied by surveying the sources and demonstrating that while the particular phrase was part of the ancient liturgy, it was not integral to the ritual. He therefore concluded:

“We must somehow regard the prayer ‘Just as I dance before you........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)