Two and a half years. That’s how long it’s been since that sunny, February afternoon, when the Columbia shuttle, aboard which was Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut, returned to Earth in glorious streaks of light, where if not for the tragedy that those streaks represented, could have been among the most beautiful sights ever witnessed by the human eye.
With this week’s successful launch of the Discovery shuttle, a new day has dawned for the U.S. space program, and the memory of those lost on the ill-fated Columbia shuttle mission have finally been put to rest. Or have they?
After looking at pictures of the majestic launch, I happened across an essay that I wrote immediately following the Columbia shuttle disaster, where I reflected on the tremendous loss that had befallen the Jewish people and state with the loss of Ramon. As I reread my thoughts from that day, I came to realize that in spite of the time that has passed, Ramon is still very much alive to me. I recall the great sense of Jewish and national pride that Ramon was able to instill within us, in that he was able to unite all spectrums of the Jewish people, both religious and secular, those on the political right and those from the left, through his mission and his dedication to not only being the first Israeli astronaut, but in his choosing to represent the entire Jewish people while he was in space:
We find ourselves living in challenging times, and sadly, it seems as if there are few people to whom we can turn today who can instill within us a sense of pride in belonging to the Jewish people and living in the Jewish state of Israel. While Ramon may no longer be with us in body, I think that we can choose to have him here with us in spirit, by trying to live by the ideals that he held to be so dear — many of which are enumerated in the essay below. It is my hope and prayer that in God having chosen to keep Ramon with Him, up in the heavens above, that He will be receptive to Ramon’s message of Jewish unity in Israel, and will in turn be receptive to our prayers.
From the moment of the Columbia tragedy, it has been a time of reflection in Israel. Everyone, each in their own way, has experienced a wide range of emotions — from pride to sadness, all at the same time — and has tried to understand the significance of what occurred, and how it impacted them as individuals.
In my eyes, Ramon is a hero. Not simply an Israeli hero, but a Jewish hero. He is a hero, not because he was Israel’s first astronaut, although it’s nice to see that the Zionistic spirit of the chalutzim (pioneers) still exists today, but because he showed Israel, the Jewish people and the world what the state of Israel and the Jewish people are truly all about.
Since the founding of the state of Israel, and in the decades preceding it, leaders of the Zionist movement have long debated the purpose of having a Jewish state. Is it to merely serve as a place of refuge for Jews in distress? A place where Jews can live “normal” lives, like citizens of other countries? Or was the Jewish state to represent and (serve to implement) the collective dreams, traditions and beliefs of the Jewish people that have survived through thousands of years of persecution and exile?
Ramon provided the answer.
His mother was a Holocaust survivor and his father fought in Israel’s War of Independence. From the very start, Ramon was imbued with both a sense of the great tragedies that had befallen Jews, as well as the key to ensuring not just the survival of the Jewish people but their flourishing. Over the course of his life, Ramon would demonstrate that he internalized both messages.
In 1981, Ramon helped to avert a tragedy of a great magnitude against the Jewish people, as he was one of the eight Israeli Air Force pilots who blew up Iraq’s Osiraq (near-finished) nuclear reactor. That mission was one that safeguarded lives of each and every one of the millions of Jews living in Israel. The mission that Ramon recently undertook was to help save the Jewish people again, but this time the threat was not of a physical nature. Officially, the mission was to be a scientific one — one where experiments were conducted not just for the benefit of Israel or the Jewish people but for mankind as a whole. Yet, for Ramon, this mission represented something more.
As a representative of Israel and the Jewish people, Ramon requested to be provided with kosher meals while in space, as well as having asked how he could keep Shabbat in space. Keep in mind, that on Earth, Ramon was not an observant Jew, and kept neither kashrut nor observed Shabbat.
In a video conference with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Ramon remarked that, “I think it is very, very important to preserve our historical tradition and I mean historical and religious tradition. … From space Israel looks like it does on a map: small but charming. I think we have a great people in Israel, and we have to maintain our Jewish heritage.” To which Sharon responded, “I would like to congratulate you for standing up as a Jew.”
While orbiting above us, Ramon offered his own observation and blessing to the Jewish People — one that should we follow his example we will all be blessed to see come to fruition. “The Jewish People have an ability to survive everything, including horrible periods, and go from the darkest days to days of hope and faith in the future.”
Ramon has already helped us take the first step towards that better tomorrow.
Ze’ev Orenstein serves as a coordinator of several religious Zionist organizations in Israel, where he lives with his wife and daughter.