Will a Torah Go to the Moon on a Google Spacecraft?

Rabbi Jason Miller Posted on May 25, 2014 Posted in Jewish Techs Blog Tagged with Earth, Google, Google Lunar Prize, Israel, Jerusalem, NASA, Outer Space, Space, Spacecraft, Tel Aviv, Torah, Torah on the Moon, Torah Scroll

An Israeli-based team is hoping to send a Torah scroll to the moon’s surface. Reports are coming out of Israel that a scroll of the sacred Torah might be an item added to the Google spacecraft through the Google Lunar XPrize mission, which is a competition for private companies to land a vehicle on the moon. The Torah would be put inside a capsule that could survive for 10,000 years and it would be joined by other important texts in the future to preserve snippets of Earth’s culture and society in case humanity goes extinct through an apocalypse.

Torah-to-Moon-Google-Spacecraft — Will a Sefer Torah (Torah Scroll) go to the Moon on a Google Spacecraft?

Jonathan O’Callaghan writes that “On Christmas Eve in 1968 Nasa provoked outrage among atheists when the Apollo 8 astronauts read from the Book of Genesis as they orbited the moon. So if any people of a similar disposition are reading, look away now – a team based in Israel are planning to send the Torah to the moon. The sacred Jewish scroll would be sent along with other iconic Earth artefacts as part of the Google Lunar XPrize, a competition amongst private companies to send vehicles to the moon, with the goal of maintaining Earth’s culture in the event of an apocalypse. An Israeli-based team is hoping to send a handwritten version of the Torah (stock image shown) to the surface of the moon. Their goal is to hitch a ride with a mission currently competing in the Google Lunar XPrize, which should see private companies landing on the moon starting at the end of 2015.”

The project, known as Torah on the Moon, is based in Tel Aviv. Previously to this attempt, the Torah on the Moon project was hoped to occur with a lander designed by Tel Aviv University Laboratory called SpaceIL , but the partnership has since been cancelled. This vehicle is designed to ‘hop’ across the lunar surface using rockets. The team hasn’t booked a place on any particular flight.

This blog looks at how modern technology affects Jewish life, particularly the impact of the Internet on Jews across the globe. The Internet has made the Jewish community seem smaller. The Jewish Techs blog, written by blogger Rabbi Jason Miller (The Techie Rabbi), explores the places where Jewish culture, education and faith intersect with technology. Of course, like anything, Jews will continue to ask if technology is good or bad for the Jews – the age old question of our people. Good or bad, it is undisputed that technology has changed Jewish life. If you’re Jewish or interested in technology or both… you’ll enjoy the conversation. Thanks for reading the Jewish Techs blog.

Jason Miller is NOT your typical rabbi. Known as the Techie Rabbi, he launched Access Computer Technology in 2010 and has grown it into a full-scale technology firm that provides social media marketing consulting and web design in addition to IT support. Ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary a decade ago, Rabbi Jason has made a name for himself as a popular blogger, social media expert, educator and entrepreneur. Based in Detroit, his congregation includes more than a million people who read his blog and follow him in Cyberspace. He began the Jewish Techs blog in January 2010 as the New York Jewish Week's technology expert.

An entrepreneurial rabbi and an alum of Clal's "Rabbi Without Borders" fellowship, Jason Miller is a rabbi and thought leader whose personal blog has been viewed by millions. The Detroit Free Press called him “the most tech-savvy Jewish leader" and the Huffington Post ranked him among the top Jewish Twitter users in the world. A social media expert, Rabbi Jason is a popular speaker and writer on technology and its effect on the Jewish world. He writes the "Jewish Techs" blog for The Jewish Week and the monthly "Jews in the Digital Age" column for the Detroit Jewish News.

Miller won the 2012 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the West Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce and is one of the winners of a Jewish Influencer award from the National Jewish Outreach Program.