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April 25, 2006
Where Do You Turn at Prayer Time In Space?
American Space Agency NASA is about to begin a series of consultations with rabbis as part of preparations for the stay of Jewish astronauts in its international space station.
NASA is seeking to consult rabbis regarding the necessary arrangements and ways to uphold Torah commandments in space. Among other things, there is a need to determine at every stage in the space flight the position of Jerusalem in relation to the space station, so that astronauts know which was to turn when praying.
Other issues include the keeping of kosher food and the keeping of Shabbat in space. The international space station is supposed to receive in the coming years guest experts from other countries, and an effort has been made to send Israeli scientists to the station.
The question of upholding commandments in space came up before first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon was sent to space. Ramon was not religious, but he took with him kosher food and made sure to keep the Shabbat.
UPDATE: Soccer Dad kindly sent me sources which discuss how to determine when to keep Shabbat in Space. (Shabbat is determined on earth at sundown and continues until 43 or 72 minutes after sundown the next day - all of which is hard to determine in space.) So my guess, below, in the comments, was wrong not wrong.
Sabbath in the Space Age by Azriel Rosenfeld.
And from a online Jewish education listserv: Shabbat in Space. Scroll down a bit on the page for the relevant part which, among other things, provides a bit of a bibliography of relevant articles.
Alcibiades | 04/25/06 at 08:17 PM | Categories: - Jews in odd places
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Comments
In reality the question was already determined over six hundred years ago when Yoseph Karo codified Jewish Law. The question was phrased differently: How should one say the Standing Prayer when you DO NOT know the direction of Jerusalem. The answer was to direct their hearts to that place.
The issues of WHEN to pray are a little more complicated. These questions were also addressed by Rav Menachem Kasher back in the 60's.
Like the holy book say: There is nothing new under the sun ... ;-)
Yoel Ben-Avraham
Shilo, Benyamin
Yoel Ben-Avraham | April 25, 2006 10:04 PM
Thanks Yoel for the Yoseph Karo reference.
So I suppose the answer as to when to keep Shabbat in space, is the same as the custom for Shabbat times in summer in the extreme north, when the sun barely sets. Use Jerusalem time?
Alcibiades | April 25, 2006 10:18 PM
Thanks for posting the link to the article from my dad Z'L. That was always one of my favorites of his!
His basic conclusion is the same reached above; that the situation in space is analogous to terrestrial environments where there is no day and night - i.e., inside the arctic circle. In the latter case one is to keep a 24-hour day based on the nearest Jewish community. Since that's not relevant for a space colony, options would be following the calendar/day of the launch point, or of Jerusalem.
Elie | April 27, 2006 10:29 AM
Of course, you can't really discuss this issue without telling the following joke.
A Jew comes back from a space mission and is asked how it was. "I'm exhausted," he said. "Why are you so exhausted?" "Well, we were orbiting the earth, so all the time it was shacharit-mincha-maariv, shacharit-mincha-maariv, shacharit-mincha-maariv."
Attila (Pillage Idiot) | April 27, 2006 03:46 PM
Thanks, Elie, for posting an elaboration of your father's z'l views.
Shabbat Shalom to you and everyone.
Alcibiades | April 28, 2006 03:19 PM
