Proud Jew Jeffrey Hoffman always dreamed of being an astronaut. He hoped to explore the universe, and, after much hard work, he finally achieved his dream. Up in space, he thought about God’s glory and attached a mezuzah to his bunk.
One day, he spoke to his rabbi about the possibility of bringing the world’s most sacred object, a Torah scroll, with him into space, knowing that this would be the most symbolic statement he could make. Unfortunately, the average Torah scroll exceeds the size limit of the objects that an astronaut is allowed to carry with him into the shuttle. But then Jeff’s rabbi had a brilliant idea: he would search for a Torah scroll small enough for Jeff to take with him on a mission.
The rabbi located a Torah of the right size, and it accompanied Jeff into the space shuttle Columbia. On what Jeff knew was Shabbat in Jerusalem, he read the portion of the Torah about the world’s creation. He brought the scroll safely back to Earth and, since that day, a generation of children has learned from and been inspired by the “Space Torah.”
An afterword by Hoffman explains why he felt it was significant to take a Torah scroll to space. He wanted to show that our sacred Torah — as well as Jewish tradition — will continue to be meaningful at all times and in all places. He is happy that Space Torah makes his story accessible to children and helps his beloved tradition live on.
This beautifully illustrated book includes two glossaries: one of space-related words and one of Torah-related words. Taken together, they demonstrate the connection between scientific inquiry and faith.
Michal Hoschander Malen is the editor of Jewish Book Council’s young adult and children’s book reviews. A former librarian, she has lectured on topics relating to literacy, run book clubs, and loves to read aloud to her grandchildren.