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In 2016 after reading David Brin’s Earth (1990), I wrote this blog post and later felt inspired to write this variant of El Malé for the vessels and probes that carry our dream of space science, and then also for the astronauts who died while pursuing that dream.
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| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
|---|---|
אֵל מָלֵא רַחֲמִים שׁוֹכֵן בַּחוּץ מֶרְחָב־זְמַן הַמְצֵא מְנוּחָה נְכוֹנָה עַל כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה בְּמַעֲלוֹת קְדוֹשִׁים וּטְהוֹרִים כְּזוֹהַר עוֹלָמִים חַיִּים בֵּין הַכּוֹכָבִים מַזְהִירִים לְנִשְׁמוֹת בָּשָׂר וְדָּם בַּרְזֶל וְצוֹרָן שֶׁנָסְעוּ דֶּרֶךְ־גִּבּוֹרִים שֶׁחֵרְפוּ נַפְשָׁם לַחקוֹר שְׁמֵי יְהוָה שֶׁנֱאמַר וַיְצַו יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים עַל־הָאָדָם לֵאמֹר מִכֹּל עֵץ־הַגָּן אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל׃ (בראשית ב:טז) וַיָּבֵא אֶל־הָאָדָם לִרְאוֹת מַה־יִּקְרָא־לוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יִקְרָא־לוֹ הָאָדָם נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה הוּא שְׁמוֹ׃ (בראשית ב:יט) |
Mighty One, full of mercy, Who dwells outside spacetime: [Let] Find true rest on the wings of the Divine Presence, amongst the holy and pure that with the radiance of living worlds amongst the stars shine, for the souls of flesh and blood, iron and silicon, who traveled the path of heroes, and gave their souls to explore the Heavens of YHWH, as it is said: “YHWH the God commanded upon Mankind, saying – from all the trees of the garden you must certainly eat.”[1] Bereshit 2:16. The intent here is an expansion in line with the interpretation of the Ibn Ezra and others – specifically that the other trees represent various sciences and paths of knowledge and wisdom, which we are commanded to explore. (Genesis 2:16) “[God] brought each to Mankind, to see what to call it, and that which Mankind called to each living soul, that was its name.”[2] Bereshit 2:19. Here is the interpretation I first saw in Earth by David Brin, that this represents a Divine Command to explore the Universe and come to know it, represented by naming. (Genesis 2:19) |
אֶת נִשְׁמַת (פלוני\ת בֶּן\בַּת פלוני) שֶׁהָלַךְ\ שֶׁהָלְכָה\הָלְכוּ לְעוֹלָמוֹ\לְעוֹלָמָהּ\עוֹלְמֵיהֶם בְּגַן עֵדֶן תְּהֵא מְנוּחָתוֹ\מְנוּחָתָהּ\מְנוּחָתָם׃ לָכֵן בַּעַל הָרַחֲמִים יַסְתִּירֵהוּ\ יַסְתִּירֶהָ\יַסְתִּירֵם בְּסֵתֶר כְּנָפָיו לְעוֹלָמִים וְיִצְרֹר בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים אֶת נִשְׁמָתוֹ\נִשְׁמָתָהּ\נִשְׁמוֹתֵיהֶם׃ כַּכָּתוּב בְּתּוֹרַת מֹשֶׁה עַבְדֶּךָ אִם־יִהְיֶה נִדַּחֲךָ בִּקְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם מִשָּׁם יְקַבֶּצְךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּמִשָּׁם יִקָּחֶךָ׃ (דברים ל:ד) יְיָ וְהַכּוֹכָבִים הֵם נַחֲלָתוֹ\נַחֲלָתָהּ\נַחֲלָתָם וְיָנוּחַ\וְתָנוּחַ\וְיָנוּחוּ בְּשָׁלוֹם בֵּין הַכּוֹכָבִים וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן׃ |
The soul(s) of (name[s] of the astronaut[s]) that has/have gone to (his/her/their) world, in Gan Eden is (his/her/their) rest. Therefore, the Merciful One will shelter (him/her/them) in His wings forever, and bind with life (his/her/their) soul(s). As it is written in the Torah of Moshe your servant: “If you are dispersed to the ends of the heavens, from there YHWH your God, will gather you, and from there he will take you”[3] Devarim 30:4. Although this was traditionally understood to mean anywhere on (the Earth under the) heavens, we can now understand it to be a promise that God will be with us, and redeem us, no matter how far into the stars we might trek. (Deuteronomy 30:4) The Everlasting and the stars are (his/her/their) heritage, and (he/she/they) shall rest peacefully amongst the stars, and let us say: Ameyn. |
Notes
| 1 | Bereshit 2:16. The intent here is an expansion in line with the interpretation of the Ibn Ezra and others – specifically that the other trees represent various sciences and paths of knowledge and wisdom, which we are commanded to explore. |
|---|---|
| 2 | Bereshit 2:19. Here is the interpretation I first saw in Earth by David Brin, that this represents a Divine Command to explore the Universe and come to know it, represented by naming. |
| 3 | Devarim 30:4. Although this was traditionally understood to mean anywhere on (the Earth under the) heavens, we can now understand it to be a promise that God will be with us, and redeem us, no matter how far into the stars we might trek. |
“אֵל מָלֵא לְאַסְטְרוֹנָאוּטִים וְגָּשׁוֹשִׁיתוֹת | El Malé for Astronauts and Probes, by Aryeh Baruch” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Aryeh Baruch
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Challenger liftoff. Kennedy Space Center, Florida – Space Shuttle Challenger launches from launchpad 39B at the start of STS-51-L.(This image is set to automatically show as the "featured image" in category lists and in shared links on social media.)
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ויהי נעם אדני אלהינו עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננה עלינו ומעשה ידינו כוננהו "May the pleasantness of אדֹני our elo’ah be upon us; may our handiwork be established for us — our handiwork, may it be established." –Psalms 90:17
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