Tel Aviv University researcher reconstructs ancient Israelite faces
By ISRAEL21c staff January 18, 2009
Prof. Eugene Kobyliansky keeps two busts in his office. One represents the face of an average male Jew in ancient Israel from 332 to 37 B.C.E; the other is a composite face for Jewish women from the ancient Roman era (37 B.C.E. to 324 C.E.).
"It's like looking into a time machine, going back 2,000 years, to visit these people," says Kobyliansky.
Kobyliansky, of the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University, is the first researcher in the world to provide facial reconstructions of what Jews looked like in the land of Israel, before their exile into the Diaspora.
Using bone measurements collected from skulls at Jewish burial sites at Ein Gedi near the Dead Sea and the Jordan River, Kobyliansky created plastic molds on which to base the facial reconstructions. The technique was made possible through a unique forensics lab in Moscow, at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which uses the most up-to-date software in anthropological facial reconstruction to recreate facial features from craniums with about 70 percent accuracy.
Mediterranean features with African traits
The skulls of a male from the Hellenistic period and a female from the Roman period were reconstructed. Based on its facial reconstruction, the male skull might have belonged to the large Mediterranean group that inhabited the area from historic to modern times. The female skull also exhibits all the Mediterranean features but, in addition, there are probably some African traits, as manifested by the shape of the nose and face.
"This woman certainly had some African intermixture," Kobyliansky explains. "We know from history and the stories of King Solomon that there were Ethiopian Jews in Israel. In this particular female, we see some African traits. But maybe she was absolutely white in color. It's impossible to say."
One problem that has always plagued students of Jewish physiognomy has been the lack of representation. While Egyptians, Romans and other peoples in the near Middle East region were well represented in art through painting and sculpture, Jewish custom, like that of Islam, dictated that human beings -- especially holy figures -- not be represented in form or image.
Forbidden images
Says Kobyliansky: "Jews didn't create sculptures of themselves or paint pictures of an ideal. It was forbidden to do so."
Another obstacle to anthropological studies of ancient physiognomy has been strict reverence for Jewish burial customs. Jewish law prevents the exhumation of Jewish bones, except under extreme circumstances. In Kobyliansky's case, he created his plastic molds from cranial remains collected over several decades.
Kobyliansky, who is also director of the Lilian and Marcel Pollak Chair in Biological Anthropology at TAU, compared his composite molds of 2,000-year-old skulls to skulls from 17th-century Jews from Prague to confirm his findings.
The first study of its kind in the world, Kobyliansky's research was published recently in German journal Anthropol Anz.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
An Eye For Civil Law
An Eye For Civil Law
You’ve heard the phrase, of course, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand...” And you’ve likely heard frightening stories of societies in which this Biblical rule is applied literally.
This verse, found in Exodus (21:24) is a primary example of the importance that the Oral Law plays in understanding that which is written in the Torah. It has never been the practice of the Jewish people to apply abusive punitive measures such as disabling a man because he did so to another. Beyond the fact that this form of punishment is of no benefit to society (and only makes the injured or the family of the injured feel avenged), it is not a true system of justice.
Instead, the Oral Law uses this verse as the basis for understanding the extensive system of monetary compensation for injuries that is spelled out, at length, in the Talmud. Indeed, the laws that are practiced in civil courts the world over are based largely on these ideas.
In developing a system of compensation, the sages noted that the qualities and quantities of damages, pain, medical expenses, incapacitation and mental anguish must be taken into consideration. The loss of an eye to a man who draws water from a well might be of quite different significance than to a scribe.
Why does scripture formulate this law in such an unusual way? Torah commentators have explained that it comes to set limits on monetary compensation: A person cannot demand compensation for two eyes in payment for the loss of one. As it says, “An eye for an eye” - maximum!
You’ve heard the phrase, of course, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand...” And you’ve likely heard frightening stories of societies in which this Biblical rule is applied literally.
This verse, found in Exodus (21:24) is a primary example of the importance that the Oral Law plays in understanding that which is written in the Torah. It has never been the practice of the Jewish people to apply abusive punitive measures such as disabling a man because he did so to another. Beyond the fact that this form of punishment is of no benefit to society (and only makes the injured or the family of the injured feel avenged), it is not a true system of justice.
Instead, the Oral Law uses this verse as the basis for understanding the extensive system of monetary compensation for injuries that is spelled out, at length, in the Talmud. Indeed, the laws that are practiced in civil courts the world over are based largely on these ideas.
In developing a system of compensation, the sages noted that the qualities and quantities of damages, pain, medical expenses, incapacitation and mental anguish must be taken into consideration. The loss of an eye to a man who draws water from a well might be of quite different significance than to a scribe.
Why does scripture formulate this law in such an unusual way? Torah commentators have explained that it comes to set limits on monetary compensation: A person cannot demand compensation for two eyes in payment for the loss of one. As it says, “An eye for an eye” - maximum!
"Jewish Weapons Of Mass Destruction"
"Jewish Weapons Of Mass Destruction"
Latkes
A pancake-like structure not to be confused with anything the House of
Pancakes would put out.. In a latka, the oil is in the pancake. It is
made with potatoes, onions, eggs and matzo meal. Latkas can be eaten
with apple sauce but NEVER with maple syrup (sorry Canada). There is a
rumor that in the time of the Maccabees they lit a latka by mistake
and it burned for eight days. What is certain is you will have heart
burn for the same amount of time. It's a GOOD thing..
Matzoh
The Israeli's revenge for escaping slavery. It consists of a simple
mix of flour and water - no eggs or flavor at all. When made well, it
could actually taste like cardboard or Hardieplank. Its redeeming
value is that it does fill you up and stays with you for a long time.
However, it is recommended that you eat a few prunes soon after. Very
soon after.
Kasha Varnishkes
One of the little-known delicacies which is even more difficult to
pronounce than to cook.. It has nothing to do with varnish, but is
basically a mixture of buckwheat and bow-tie macaroni (noodles). Why a
bow-tie? Many sages discussed this and agreed that some Jewish mother
decided that 'You can't come to the table without a tie' or, G~d
forbid 'An elbow on my table?'
Blintzes
Not to be confused with the Germanic war machine's: 'blintzkreig'. Can
you imagine the Jerusalem Post '39 headlines: 'Germans drop tons of
cheese and blueberry blintzes over Poland - shortage of sour cream
expected.' Basically this is the Jewish answer to Crepe Suzette.
Kishka
You know from Haggis? Well, this ain't it. In the old days they would
take an intestine and stuff it. Today we use parchment paper or
plastic. And what do you stuff it with? Carrots, celery, onions, flour
and spices. But the skill is not to cook it alone but to add it to the
cholent (see below) and let it simmer for 24 hours until there is no
chance whatsoever that there is any nutritional value left.
Kreplach
It sounds worse than it tastes. There is a Rabbinical debate on its
origins. One Rabbi claims it began when a fortune cookie fell into his
chicken soup. The other claims it started in an Italian restaurant.
Either way it can be soft, hard, or soggy and the amount of meat
inside depends on whether it is your mother or your mother-in-law who
cooked it.
Cholent
This combination of noxious gases had been the secret weapon of Jews
for centuries. The unique combination of beans, barley, potatoes, and
bones or meat is meant to stick to your ribs and anything else it
comes into contact with. At a fancy Mexican restaurant (kosher of
course) I once heard this comment from a youngster who had just had
his first taste of Mexican fried beans: 'What! Do they serve leftover
cholent here too? A Jewish American Princess once came up with
something original for guests (her first cooking attempt at the age of
25): she made cholent burgers for Sunday night supper. The guests
never came back.
Gefilte Fish
A few years ago, an Israeli politician had problems with the filter in
his fish pond and a few of them got rather stuck and mangled. His son
(5 years old at the time) looked at them and asked 'Is that why we
call it 'Ge-filtered Fish'?' Originally, it was a carp stuffed with a
minced fish and vegetable mixture.. Today it usually comprises of
small fish balls eaten with horse radish ('chrain') which is judged on
its relative strength in bringing tears to your eyes at 100 paces.
Bagels
How can we finish without the quintessential Jewish defense weapon,
the bagel? Like most foods, there are legends surrounding the bagel
although I don't know any. There have been persistent rumors that the
inventors of the bagel were the Norwegians who couldn't get anyone to
buy smoked lox. Think about it: Can you picture yourself eating smoked
salmon or trout on white bread? Rye? A cracker? Naaa! The IDF research
lab looked for something hard and almost indigestible which could take
the spread of cream cheese and which doesn't take up too much room on
the desert-maneuvers-ration kit. And why the hole? The truth is that
many philosophers believe the hole is the essence and the dough is
only there for emphasis. It remains an eternal existential discussion
topic.
Latkes
A pancake-like structure not to be confused with anything the House of
Pancakes would put out.. In a latka, the oil is in the pancake. It is
made with potatoes, onions, eggs and matzo meal. Latkas can be eaten
with apple sauce but NEVER with maple syrup (sorry Canada). There is a
rumor that in the time of the Maccabees they lit a latka by mistake
and it burned for eight days. What is certain is you will have heart
burn for the same amount of time. It's a GOOD thing..
Matzoh
The Israeli's revenge for escaping slavery. It consists of a simple
mix of flour and water - no eggs or flavor at all. When made well, it
could actually taste like cardboard or Hardieplank. Its redeeming
value is that it does fill you up and stays with you for a long time.
However, it is recommended that you eat a few prunes soon after. Very
soon after.
Kasha Varnishkes
One of the little-known delicacies which is even more difficult to
pronounce than to cook.. It has nothing to do with varnish, but is
basically a mixture of buckwheat and bow-tie macaroni (noodles). Why a
bow-tie? Many sages discussed this and agreed that some Jewish mother
decided that 'You can't come to the table without a tie' or, G~d
forbid 'An elbow on my table?'
Blintzes
Not to be confused with the Germanic war machine's: 'blintzkreig'. Can
you imagine the Jerusalem Post '39 headlines: 'Germans drop tons of
cheese and blueberry blintzes over Poland - shortage of sour cream
expected.' Basically this is the Jewish answer to Crepe Suzette.
Kishka
You know from Haggis? Well, this ain't it. In the old days they would
take an intestine and stuff it. Today we use parchment paper or
plastic. And what do you stuff it with? Carrots, celery, onions, flour
and spices. But the skill is not to cook it alone but to add it to the
cholent (see below) and let it simmer for 24 hours until there is no
chance whatsoever that there is any nutritional value left.
Kreplach
It sounds worse than it tastes. There is a Rabbinical debate on its
origins. One Rabbi claims it began when a fortune cookie fell into his
chicken soup. The other claims it started in an Italian restaurant.
Either way it can be soft, hard, or soggy and the amount of meat
inside depends on whether it is your mother or your mother-in-law who
cooked it.
Cholent
This combination of noxious gases had been the secret weapon of Jews
for centuries. The unique combination of beans, barley, potatoes, and
bones or meat is meant to stick to your ribs and anything else it
comes into contact with. At a fancy Mexican restaurant (kosher of
course) I once heard this comment from a youngster who had just had
his first taste of Mexican fried beans: 'What! Do they serve leftover
cholent here too? A Jewish American Princess once came up with
something original for guests (her first cooking attempt at the age of
25): she made cholent burgers for Sunday night supper. The guests
never came back.
Gefilte Fish
A few years ago, an Israeli politician had problems with the filter in
his fish pond and a few of them got rather stuck and mangled. His son
(5 years old at the time) looked at them and asked 'Is that why we
call it 'Ge-filtered Fish'?' Originally, it was a carp stuffed with a
minced fish and vegetable mixture.. Today it usually comprises of
small fish balls eaten with horse radish ('chrain') which is judged on
its relative strength in bringing tears to your eyes at 100 paces.
Bagels
How can we finish without the quintessential Jewish defense weapon,
the bagel? Like most foods, there are legends surrounding the bagel
although I don't know any. There have been persistent rumors that the
inventors of the bagel were the Norwegians who couldn't get anyone to
buy smoked lox. Think about it: Can you picture yourself eating smoked
salmon or trout on white bread? Rye? A cracker? Naaa! The IDF research
lab looked for something hard and almost indigestible which could take
the spread of cream cheese and which doesn't take up too much room on
the desert-maneuvers-ration kit. And why the hole? The truth is that
many philosophers believe the hole is the essence and the dough is
only there for emphasis. It remains an eternal existential discussion
topic.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
The Wedding Gown That Made History
Lilly Friedman doesn't remember the last name of the woman who designed and sewed the wedding gown she wore when she walked down the aisle over 60 years ago. But the grandmother of seven does recall that when she first told her fiancé Ludwig that she had always dreamed of being married in a white gown he realized he had his work cut out for him.
For the tall, lanky 21-year-old who had survived hunger, disease and torture this was a different kind of challenge. How was he ever going to find such a dress in the Bergen Belsen Displaced Person's camp where they felt grateful for the clothes on their backs?
Fate would intervene in the guise of a former German pilot who walked into the food distribution center where Ludwig worked, eager to make a trade for his worthless parachute. In exchange for two pounds of coffee beans and a couple of packs of cigarettes Lilly would have her wedding gown.
For two weeks Miriam the seamstress worked under the curious eyes of her fellow DPs, carefully fashioning the six parachute panels into a simple, long sleeved gown with a rolled collar and a fitted waist that tied in the back with a bow. When the dress was completed she sewed the leftover material into a matching shirt for the groom.
A white wedding gown may have seemed like a frivolous request in the surreal environment of the camps, but for Lilly the dress symbolized the innocent, normal life she and her family had once led before the world descended into madness. Lilly and her siblings were raised in a Torah observant home in the small town of Zarica, Czechoslovakia where her father was a melamed, respected and well liked by the young yeshiva students he taught in nearby Irsheva.
He and his two sons were marked for extermination immediately upon arriving at Auschwitz . For Lilly and her sisters it was only their first stop on their long journey of persecution, which included Plashof, Neustadt, Gross Rosen and finally Bergen Belsen.
Lilly Friedman and her parachute dress on display in the Bergen Belsen Museum
Four hundred people marched 15 miles in the snow to the town of Celle on January 27, 1946 to attend Lilly and Ludwig's wedding. The town synagogue, damaged and desecrated, had been lovingly renovated by the DPs with the meager materials available to them. When a Sefer Torah arrived from England they converted an old kitchen cabinet into a makeshift Aron Kodesh.
"My sisters and I lost everything - our parents, our two brothers, our homes. The most important thing was to build a new home." Six months later, Lilly's sister Ilona wore the dress when she married Max Traeger. After that came Cousin Rosie. How many brides wore Lilly's dress? "I stopped counting after 17." With the camps experiencing the highest marriage rate in the world, Lilly's gown was in great demand.
In 1948 when President Harry Truman finally permitted the 100,000 Jews who had been languishing in DP camps since the end of the war to emigrate, the gown accompanied Lilly across the ocean to America . Unable to part with her dress, it lay at the bottom of her bedroom closet for the next 50 years, "not even good enough for a garage sale. I was happy when it found such a good home."
Home was the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington , D.C. When Lily's niece, a volunteer, told museum officials about her aunt's dress, they immediately recognized its historical significance and displayed the gown in a specially designed showcase, guaranteed to preserve it for 500 years.
But Lilly Friedman's dress had one more journey to make. Bergen Belsen, the museum, opened its doors on October 28, 2007. The German government invited Lilly and her sisters to be their guests for the grand opening. They initially declined, but finally traveled to Hanover the following year with their children, their grandchildren and extended families to view the extraordinary exhibit created for the wedding dress made from a parachute.
Lilly's family, who were all familiar with the stories about the wedding in Celle , were eager to visit the synagogue. They found the building had been completely renovated and modernized. But when they pulled aside the handsome curtain they were astounded to find that the Aron Kodesh, made from a kitchen cabinet, had remained untouched as a testament to the profound faith of the survivors. As Lilly stood on the bimah once again she beckoned to her granddaughter, Jackie, to stand beside her where she was once a kallah. "It was an emotional trip. We cried a lot."
Two weeks later, the woman who had once stood trembling before the selective eyes of the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele returned home and witnessed the marriage of her granddaughter.
The three Lax sisters - Lilly, Ilona and Eva, who together survived Auschwitz, a forced labor camp, a death march and Bergen Belsen - have remained close and today live within walking distance of each other in Brooklyn. As mere teenagers, they managed to outwit and outlive a monstrous killing machine, then went on to marry, have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and were ultimately honored by the country that had earmarked them for extinction.
As young brides, they had stood underneath the chuppah and recited the blessings that their ancestors had been saying for thousands of years. In doing so, they chose to honor the legacy of those who had perished by choosing life.
Sand, Sand Everywhere and not one Speck of Land for a Jew
Reader jFp has commented a few times wondering why the Jews didn't settle in Uganda instead of Israel given all the hostile opposition to allowing Jews to have a homeland in the Holy Land. jFp is also under the misapprehension that many Jews were in favor of the British offer known as the "Uganda Program" (1). Actually it was completely rejected by the Zionist Congress one year after Herzl's death in 1904.
Theodore Herzl always wanted to establish a homeland for the Jews in Israel. The East Africa settlement was for a temporary refuge for Russian Jews not the permanent homeland. Indeed the British themselves called it a "night refuge" or what we would today call a homeless shelter. So if anyone even imagined that the British were willing to let Jews settle in Uganda permanently they are grossly mistaken.
But let us consider for a moment if Britain had allowed Zionists to set up a national homeland for Jews in Uganda. At the time (1905) the country was mostly Christian with a huge Hindu population as well and surrounded by other countries that were also mostly Christian or some combination of Christianity and African indigenous beliefs. Although Africa had very few Muslims a century ago, today Africa has more Muslims than all the other religions combined (2).
While Israel is indeed surrounded by Arab Muslims, at least it has one side facing the Mediterranean and is not therefore landlocked and dependent on others for access to markets abroad. Had Zionists actually filled up Uganda with Jews, I have no doubt that Uganda today would be the largest, strongest, freest economy in Africa, but Jews would then be dependent on other nations to get their products to market. El Al today can fly to America without asking permission of any Muslim country. But if it were deep in Africa, surrounded with Muslim neighbors, flights would have to constantly be over other Muslim nations.
Certainly Muslims have no problem in burning and slashing their way to hegemony over all of Africa. There is no Christian Army standing in the way of total Islamic control of the continent. So what do you think the Muslims would do if they saw a Jewish state, with a Jewish Army deep in the heart of Africa, standing in their way?
If you can't imagine the obvious, then let me suggest that you would have a Ugandan Liberation Organization made of of former Ugandans lobbing missiles into Uganda-Israel on a daily basis. And if Uganda-Israel retaliated the ULO, made up entirely of Islamic militants, would be crying about war crimes and other Palestinian-related nonsense.
Uganda would have been infinitely worse to defend and if Israel isn't already fairly isolated, think about how much more isolated it would be in the middle of Africa since most of the civilized world hardly cares about the continent at all. In Africa, Muslims can slaughter hundreds of thousands as they have done in Darfur and the only people who complain are a handful of Hollywood celebrities. Uganda-Israel would disappear just as millions of Rwandans and their Tutis and frutis have gone before. That last might be Tutsis and Hutu but hu care?
Listen my friend, if Arabs who own millions of square kilometers of land in the Middle East cannot abide a few thousand square kilometers of worthless sand being occupied by Jews, what makes anyone think that they would tolerate Jews sitting on a few hundred thousand sq km in the middle of a region they aim to claim as an ultimate Islamic empire?
Related: An interesting thing did happen in 1896 when Theodore Herzl met with Sultan Hamid of Turkey and asked him to allow Jews to settle Palestine as a national homeland. The Sultan would not consider ceding Palestine, which was then under Ottoman control saying "if one day the Islamic State falls apart then you can have Palestine for free, but as long as I am alive I would rather have my flesh be cut up than cut out Palestine from the Muslim land." Since the Ottoman Empire fell apart after World War One, I consider this an oral contract where the Sultan's promise means the Jews now have a right to Palestine.
Theodore Herzl always wanted to establish a homeland for the Jews in Israel. The East Africa settlement was for a temporary refuge for Russian Jews not the permanent homeland. Indeed the British themselves called it a "night refuge" or what we would today call a homeless shelter. So if anyone even imagined that the British were willing to let Jews settle in Uganda permanently they are grossly mistaken.
But let us consider for a moment if Britain had allowed Zionists to set up a national homeland for Jews in Uganda. At the time (1905) the country was mostly Christian with a huge Hindu population as well and surrounded by other countries that were also mostly Christian or some combination of Christianity and African indigenous beliefs. Although Africa had very few Muslims a century ago, today Africa has more Muslims than all the other religions combined (2).
While Israel is indeed surrounded by Arab Muslims, at least it has one side facing the Mediterranean and is not therefore landlocked and dependent on others for access to markets abroad. Had Zionists actually filled up Uganda with Jews, I have no doubt that Uganda today would be the largest, strongest, freest economy in Africa, but Jews would then be dependent on other nations to get their products to market. El Al today can fly to America without asking permission of any Muslim country. But if it were deep in Africa, surrounded with Muslim neighbors, flights would have to constantly be over other Muslim nations.
Certainly Muslims have no problem in burning and slashing their way to hegemony over all of Africa. There is no Christian Army standing in the way of total Islamic control of the continent. So what do you think the Muslims would do if they saw a Jewish state, with a Jewish Army deep in the heart of Africa, standing in their way?
If you can't imagine the obvious, then let me suggest that you would have a Ugandan Liberation Organization made of of former Ugandans lobbing missiles into Uganda-Israel on a daily basis. And if Uganda-Israel retaliated the ULO, made up entirely of Islamic militants, would be crying about war crimes and other Palestinian-related nonsense.
Uganda would have been infinitely worse to defend and if Israel isn't already fairly isolated, think about how much more isolated it would be in the middle of Africa since most of the civilized world hardly cares about the continent at all. In Africa, Muslims can slaughter hundreds of thousands as they have done in Darfur and the only people who complain are a handful of Hollywood celebrities. Uganda-Israel would disappear just as millions of Rwandans and their Tutis and frutis have gone before. That last might be Tutsis and Hutu but hu care?
Listen my friend, if Arabs who own millions of square kilometers of land in the Middle East cannot abide a few thousand square kilometers of worthless sand being occupied by Jews, what makes anyone think that they would tolerate Jews sitting on a few hundred thousand sq km in the middle of a region they aim to claim as an ultimate Islamic empire?
Related: An interesting thing did happen in 1896 when Theodore Herzl met with Sultan Hamid of Turkey and asked him to allow Jews to settle Palestine as a national homeland. The Sultan would not consider ceding Palestine, which was then under Ottoman control saying "if one day the Islamic State falls apart then you can have Palestine for free, but as long as I am alive I would rather have my flesh be cut up than cut out Palestine from the Muslim land." Since the Ottoman Empire fell apart after World War One, I consider this an oral contract where the Sultan's promise means the Jews now have a right to Palestine.
Who puts up a mezuzah in space? A Jewish astronaut
If Dr. Garrett Reisman did not exist, then Mel Brooks or Woody Allen would have had to invent him. The veteran astronaut, who spent three straight months in space, looks like a character from a comedy about Jews in space: He is short, an engineer and full of self-deprecating humor that is often missing in astronauts.
Reisman, a native of New Jersey, is the first Jew to have lived in the International Space Station.
"The mission went pretty well, I did not break anything that was too expensive," he says. When he got to the space station, via the space shuttle Endeavor, he was quick to put up a mezuzah in the bunk where he slept.
"I did not consult any rabbi, so I hope I did not get into any trouble," he says.
Reisman is in Israel for the fourth Ilan Ramon International Space Conference, which is organized by the Science Ministry and the Fisher Brothers Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies.
The NASA delegation will make a presentation on progress in its most ambitious project: sending humans to Mars. Its schedule is for a manned mission to Mars by 2030.
However, at this stage, there are still problems to be resolved. The round trip is expected to last at least three years and will require enormous amounts of food, water and fuel.
No less troubling is how best to assure the health of the crew while millions of kilometers from earth.
Dr. Johnston Smith, a medical officer at NASA, who is also visiting Israel, is one of those dealing with this challenge. "If someone experiences a standard medical problem, like appendicitis," he says, "a decision will need to be made on what to do. Therefore, on the voyage to Mars one of the crew will be a doctor and will have the means to undertake simple surgery."
Those traveling to Mars will also be away from family and friends for years. According to Johnston, the missions to the International Space Station are meant to build up experience in dealing with psychological dilemmas. Thus, for example, a year ago, NASA had to inform astronaut Daniel Tani, who was at the space station, that his mother had died in an accident.
"Every astronaut decides before a mission whether they want to know [such news] immediately or not. But on a voyage to Mars these questions will be more significant, and we need to think about how to deal with them," Johnston says.
Reisman, a native of New Jersey, is the first Jew to have lived in the International Space Station.
"The mission went pretty well, I did not break anything that was too expensive," he says. When he got to the space station, via the space shuttle Endeavor, he was quick to put up a mezuzah in the bunk where he slept.
"I did not consult any rabbi, so I hope I did not get into any trouble," he says.
Reisman is in Israel for the fourth Ilan Ramon International Space Conference, which is organized by the Science Ministry and the Fisher Brothers Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies.
The NASA delegation will make a presentation on progress in its most ambitious project: sending humans to Mars. Its schedule is for a manned mission to Mars by 2030.
However, at this stage, there are still problems to be resolved. The round trip is expected to last at least three years and will require enormous amounts of food, water and fuel.
No less troubling is how best to assure the health of the crew while millions of kilometers from earth.
Dr. Johnston Smith, a medical officer at NASA, who is also visiting Israel, is one of those dealing with this challenge. "If someone experiences a standard medical problem, like appendicitis," he says, "a decision will need to be made on what to do. Therefore, on the voyage to Mars one of the crew will be a doctor and will have the means to undertake simple surgery."
Those traveling to Mars will also be away from family and friends for years. According to Johnston, the missions to the International Space Station are meant to build up experience in dealing with psychological dilemmas. Thus, for example, a year ago, NASA had to inform astronaut Daniel Tani, who was at the space station, that his mother had died in an accident.
"Every astronaut decides before a mission whether they want to know [such news] immediately or not. But on a voyage to Mars these questions will be more significant, and we need to think about how to deal with them," Johnston says.
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