In the late 1960s or early 1970s, when Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof – the most prolific author of responsa in the American Reform movement – was asked for sources in Jewish law in preparation for “a discussion of the relationship of Jewish religious tradition and mankind’s new experience with space,” he opened his responsum with the following observation:

“The question is, of course, primarily an exploration of Jewish thought rather than a search for practical guidance, since there cannot be many Jewish astronauts to whom the problems might apply.”

After discussing various sources, Freehof concluded his responsum with an acknowledgment that there may be further questions that would one day need to be tackled:

“This, for the present, seems to be all that comes to mind with regard to space travel.”

Freehof had little choice but to use his imagination, since Space exploration was a new vista, and Jewish astronauts had yet to grapple with questions of practical halakhic guidance for life in Space.

From Soyuz to Starship

Rabbi Freehof’s “Halacha and Space Travel” responsum is undated. The questioner was Rabbi Albert Micah Lewis of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lewis graduated from Hebrew Union College in 1969. He then served as the rabbi of the Moses Montefiore Congregation in Bloomington, Illinois, before moving to Temple Emanuel in Grand Rapids in 1972. He recalled being asked the question by one of the young members of his congregation – perhaps in his first position – and then pursuing sources by turning to Freehof.

When Freehof wrote “there cannot be many Jewish astronauts to whom the problems might apply,” the first Jew had already reached Space: Cosmonaut Boris Volynov (b. 1934). Volynov had a Jewish mother and a Russian father. His official documents listed his nationality as Russian, following his father’s line, rather than Jewish. Yet from the perspective of Halakha, Volynov was the first Jew in Space when he flew aboard Soyuz 5 for three days (January 15–18, 1969). Volynov returned to Space on another mission in 1976. Was Freehof thinking of Volynov?

Alternatively, Freehof drew on the imaginative power of Star Trek, which had envisioned the........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)