In the 1969-1970 issue of the journal Noam: A Forum for the Clarification of Contemporary Halakhic Problems, Rabbi Benzion Firer (1914-1988) published a responsum addressing the question of whether Jewish law was applicable on the Moon. Firer reached a radical conclusion, as we saw previously:

“It may indeed be said that there is no obligation to observe Torah and commandments on the Moon.”

In the introduction to that issue of Noam, Rabbi Leo Jung (1892-1987), one of the leaders of American Orthodox Jewry, explained the context:

“The central event of the past year, upon which the eyes of all the world’s inhabitants were fixed, was the great leap forward in space exploration that reached its pinnacle with the landing of American astronauts on the Moon. In all corners of the globe, people held their breath and followed with rapt attention the touchdown of emissaries of all humanity. Together with them, faithful Jews were eager to know the Torah’s perspective on this development.”

Rabbi Jung then noted that the Torah, as the blueprint of the universe, “holds within it the answer and resolution to all questions, whether universal or personal, and it is even possible to find within it an interpretation of all phenomena that are discovered in the world.” Jung’s optimism was quickly put to the test. The very volume that celebrated Torah’s engagement with the Space Age also became the arena for a sharp dispute.

It was not just Rabbi Firer who sought to illuminate the giant step for mankind in light of the Torah. That issue of Noam contained an appendix by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Kasher (1895-1983), entitled “The Man on the Moon.” This was a 64-page addition to the volume, numbered separately, and divided into seven chapters. Most of the chapters were responsa (though the addressees are not named). Chapter five opened with the following........

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