Torah For Today: Is there life on other planets?
Rabbi Zvi Solomons looks at the possibility of life existing outside our solar system
“…And pray that there’s intelligent life out there in space, because there’s b****r all down here on earth.”
So ends a classic Monty Python song about the amazing universe in which we are just one small speck. For millennia, looking up at our galaxy at night and seeing the Milky Way (pictured) across the heavens, human beings have wondered whether we are the only intelligent life form.
In the past 50 years, with space exploration, we have set up programmes to find out what the truth is and now NASA has discovered the first alien solar system known to host as many planets as our own.
So, what does the Torah say about this? Not much. The Torah deals with our own origins and history on earth. God created the universe.
However, as we look through the rest of the Tanakh, we start to see a more complex picture.
The idea of other life and possibly intelligence on other planets did not escape our ancient ancestors.
Every day we say: “Your Kingdom is a Kingdom of all worlds,” three times in Ashrei, and we refer to “worlds without number” in the Song of Songs.
In a few weeks, we will read the story of Deborah, which includes the following: “‘Cursed be Meroz’ said the angel of God. ‘Curse bitterly the inhabitants thereof because they did not come to the aid of God, to help God against the mighty!’”
This refers, says our tradition, to the inhabitants of a star that did not come to the aid of us Jews in time of need.
The concept of exotheology is firmly embedded not only in our scriptural, but in rabbinic tradition too.
The Talmud in Avodah Zarah 3b talks about 18,000 worlds. Jewish theologians tackling the unique nature of God asked in the Middle Ages whether it was possible that each of many thousands of worlds has its own god, as a way of challenging the thinking behind our theology.
Philosopher Hasdai Crescas (14th century), wrote in Ohr Hashem 4,5 that there is nothing in the Torah that denies the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. The conclusion is that God is one, but there could be many worlds with life on them.
Kabbalists really enjoyed this concept and the Lubavitcher rebbe also said that to deny the possiblity of extra-terrestrial life was essentially to limit an infinite God.
Zvi Solomons is rabbi of the Jewish Community of Berkshire (JCoB.org) in Reading
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
