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14: Jewish Objects Brought to Space
Many Jewish objects have crossed the Karmen line into space – religious, cultural, and personally meaningful items. This episode is a quick overview of those items.
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13: Two Torahs on Columbia
the Space Shuttle Columbia was the first to carry passengers. Across 22 years, it spent more than 300 days in Orbit. Among it’s payloads were two different Torahs. One at the beginning of it’s saga and the other, tragically at the end. This episode chronicles the Torahs brought aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia by Jeffrey Hoffman in 1996 and Ilan Ramon in 2003.
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12: The New Jewish Astronauts
Before the inaugural Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic flights, there had been 16 Jewish astronauts, all professional. Since last year, 3 more Jews have ventured into space. These new Jewish Astronauts embody the intersection of Jewish and Space Age values. This Episode briefly recaps the missions of Jared Issacman (SpaceX), William Shatner (Blue Origin), and […]
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11: Seeding a Jewish Space Program
In the beginning there were two space programs: The United States and the Soviet Union. Now that private companies and highschoolers can participate, Jacob considers how and why a Jewish Space Program can take shape.
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10: Our Seder in Outer Space
Passover and The Space Age go together. Before this podcast, Jacob began considering the impact of the Overview Effect on Jewish communities Worldwide. The Overview Effect being the cognition or experience of viewing the earth from space or in space. He wrote his original thoughts in an essay on Times of Israel blogs in 2021. […]
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9: Anti-Semitism in Outer Space
This episode explores anti-semitism as it can occur in the Space Age. Beginning with Mel Brooks’ famous “Jews in Space” skit and continuing into the last years’ headlines of wildfire-starting Jewish Space Lasers, Jacob explores how anti-semitism can emerge socially through propaganda, as well how the space age could empower genocide. There’s some jokes but […]
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8: Havdalah – human senses in time and space
Havdalah begins with counting stars and ends with extinguishing a candle into wine. Space Midrash will explore how this weekly ritual enriches the human perception of time, on earth or anywhere in the cosmos…
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7: Why ‘drash on Space?
Episode 7 turns inward: Jacob’s daughter asked him to make an episode explaining what Space Midrash means. He describes the intersection of Jewish Civilization and the Space Age as well as defines the title: Space Midrash.
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6: Remembering Fallen Jewish Astronauts
Among the 16 early Jewish astronauts, 2 died in the respective Shuttle disasters. This episode recalls the missions of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia as well as the lives and accomplishments of fallen Jewish crew members Judith Resnick and Ilan Ramon.
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5: Jewish Moments in Space Tourism, 2021
Discussion on the Jewish people and objects who made meaningful space headlines in 2021.