A Giant Leap: Lunar Landing and Legal Impossibility

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.”

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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 [and cannot touch you]’ as an addition, one that is neither obligatory nor an impediment to fulfilling the commandment of Kiddush Levanah.”

The tenor of his remarks suggests he did not view the issue as one of principle, and that he was prepared to alter this line of the prayer. Rabbi Goren identified an alternative version of the prayer in an early source, and he suggested adopting that text. Instead of saying to the Moon “I am not able to touch you,” the liturgical text should be emended to “I am not touching you” (Soferim 20:2). This was a statement of fact rather than of ability, since humans were now able to touch the Moon. According to Goren, “perhaps it would already be fitting to adopt that version.”

Changing liturgical texts is seldom welcomed by all, and Goren’s suggestion sparked a discussion among rabbis. As we now know, his proposal to alter the text of the prayer was not adopted.

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Celestial Stipulations and the End of Impossibility

The conversation between journalist Moshe Ishon and Rabbi Goren continued, touching on the centrality of the Moon in Jewish life, the possibility of living on the Moon, and the concern that humans may affect the orbit of celestial bodies. Goren then raised the possibility of an idiosyncratic halakhic ramification of the lunar landing.

According to Jewish law, if a transaction is conditioned on an impossible circumstance, then the stipulation is invalid. This might be a financial deal, betrothal, or divorce. For example, if a man says to a woman: “I betroth you on condition that you will go up to the firmament” – the conditional clause is physically impossible to fulfil and is therefore legally invalid. All that is left is the man’s statement: “I betroth you,” and if the woman agrees then the couple are betrothed.

With the development of Space travel, “going up to the firmament” became a possibility. The stipulation would therefore be legally effective. Thus, such a conditional betrothal would only come into effect once the woman reached Space.

From time immemorial, going to the firmament had been rabbinic legal shorthand for an impossible condition. In a leap for Jewish law, Apollo 11 transformed a legal absurdity into a binding stipulation.

Goren’s reference to a halakhic implication, peculiar though it was, triggered the interviewer’s next question.

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A Living Torah on a Dead Moon?

Rabbi Goren’s observation about conditional transactions prompted Ishon to move from a technical legal curiosity to a far more profound question: Does Torah itself have meaning beyond Earth? This question went to the heart of an existential issue in Jewish law, and had already been raised by Rabbi David Hayim Shloush in 1962:

“We believe our Torah is a living Torah. The flight to the moon raises, among other things, a long series of halakhic questions. Can a person observe Torah and commandments while in Space?”

Rabbi Goren responded with a clear assertion:

“We must understand that the Torah was given to be observed only upon the face of the Earth, under the atmospheric, astronomical, and physical conditions of the Earth alone. On the Moon, the Torah of Israel has no meaning. All our life is set within a framework of location and time, and the calendar and the astronomical and atmospheric conditions necessary for keeping the Torah do not exist on the moon. Our day does not exist there, there is no seven-day week there, and Shabbat does not exist there. … The Festivals have no meaning there, since there are no days and nights in our sense. … The basic unit of time here is based on two celestial bodies as observed from Earth alone; that is, the Sun and the Moon. The day and year are based on the revolution and movement of the Sun, and the month is based on the orbital cycle of the Moon. Since none of this exists on the lunar surface itself … therefore there is no possibility whatsoever of observing the Torah there.”

Rabbi Goren’s assertion may hold true for commandments that are bound to time and place: it is only on Earth that the obligation to observe them makes sense, and it is only on Earth that they apply. But he seemed to take this position further when he stated: “On the Moon, the Torah of Israel has no meaning.” What about commandments that are not linked to time and place? In Space, is there an obligation to love your neighbour as yourself (Leviticus 19:18)? Is there a prohibition against eating pork in Space?

This is a fundamental legal question: Does Jewish law apply in Space, even though there may be insurmountable challenges to fulfilling time-associated commandments? Or does the fact that the concept of time is so different in Space and there is no possibility for the rhythm of Jewish life, mean that there is no Torah in Space? Goren did not address this issue directly. What can we infer from his emphasis on time and from his silence regarding the other commandments? Perhaps he was suggesting that Jewish law does not apply in Space at all?

Rabbi Goren did, however, add a sentence that appeared to undermine his own position:

“If a person were to live on the Moon’s surface, he would live according to the astronomical and atmospheric conditions of planet Earth. And then he would be subject to all the laws of nature and to all the other laws of planet Earth, and this includes being subject to Earth time.”

Being subject to Earth time, the rules of nature on the planet, and terrestrial law, would seem to suggest that the person would have to observe commandments associated with time on Earth. Is this not the opposite of what Rabbi Goren had just asserted? Indeed, the conversation with the interviewer continued, and Goren mused over which Earth time would determine the time for keeping Shabbat on the Moon.

We can forgive the lack of clarity. Rabbi Goren was being interviewed and did not have the opportunity to set out his position, reread what he had written, and make sure his position was consistent. Moreover, given the proximity of the interview to the event, Rabbi Goren could be excused for not having all the details worked out. The question was, after all, still theoretical: an observant Jew had yet to land on the Moon.

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Science and Self-Control

One of the most inspiring moments in the interview came when Rabbi Goren was asked what conclusion he suggested that we draw from Space exploration and the lunar landing. He explained that humanity’s scientific supremacy was patent, but he warned:

“We are witnessing how human intellect has burst beyond the bounds of his natural life, beyond the framework assigned to him by nature, and he is beginning to exert control over infinite expanses. On one hand, this is a tremendous scientific and intellectual achievement; but on the other, it is a grave danger to humanity and to the world itself.”

Rabbi Goren went on to explain the danger, offering a twofold lesson:

“(1) Lest we gain control over the infinite expanses of Space and lose control over ourselves, over our character and over our morality, and reach the attitude – Heaven forefend – of ‘My own power and the might of my hand have made me all this wealth’ (Deuteronomy 8:17).

(2) A further danger is that we place the entire cosmological order at risk, potentially subject to the whims of a handful of individuals who have the power to cause cosmological destruction.”

The words of the IDF Chief Rabbi, who was about to become the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv–Jaffa and would later become Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel – still ring true. We should not get drunk on our scientific and intellectual achievements. It is imperative to care for the planet and the universe, and it is vital not to lose control of our integrity. Cosmic feats should not come at the expense of human morality.