Space Torah marks its 30th anniversary
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Astronaut Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman brought the Torah into space in 1996, as pictured in the Jewish Herald-Voice.
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Thu, Mar 5, 2026 |
Jewish space enthusiasts around the world are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first kosher Torah scroll in history to be taken into space. Reverently known as “The Space Torah,” it was lifted into space on the Shuttle Columbia (STS-75) along with astronaut Dr. Jeffrey Hoffman on Feb. 22, 1996. Nine days later, Dr. Hoffman read the opening verse of Genesis on Shabbat while in orbit 184 miles above Jerusalem.
Taking a kosher Torah into space capped Dr. Hoffman’s custom of bringing Judaic religious objects into space – beginning with his first space flight aboard STS 51-D in April 1985. During his fourth mission on STS-35 in December 1990, Hoffman brought the first dreidel into space to celebrate Chanukah.
The idea for bringing a kosher Torah into space became a reality when Hoffman’s synagogue, Congregation Or Hadash, raised the funds to purchase a Torah that would meet the weight requirements aboard the Shuttle Columbia.
Rabbi Shaul Osadchey, the synagogue’s rabbi at the time, contacted his scribe friends at Klein Brothers of Brooklyn, N.Y., to search for a suitable Torah scroll. The Torah that was selected was a new Torah purchased in Israel by Rabbi Moshe Klein from a Yemenite Jewish scribe, Yichyeh Sharabi. The Space Torah measures 7 inches in height and 4 inches in diameter.
Dr. Hoffman participated in five space missions, becoming the first astronaut to log 1,000 hours of flights aboard the space shuttle. He performed four spacewalks, including the first unplanned, contingency spacewalk in NASA’s history as well as the initial repair/rescue mission for the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993.
He was the first Jewish-American male astronaut to fly into space and saw the act of bringing religious objects into space as part of bringing his practice of Conservative Judaism with him. Bringing the Torah into space had the added symbolic meaning and significance of bringing the holiness of human life into space.
Dr. Hoffman noted, “It wasn’t that space made this Torah special; it was more that the Torah made space special.”
The Space Torah resides in a specially designated place within the Ark of the sanctuary of Congregation Or Ami, Or Hadash’s successor. It is read by B’nai Mitzvah students and on other special occasions.
Taking a kosher Torah into space capped Dr. Hoffman’s custom of bringing Judaic religious objects into space – beginning with his first space flight aboard STS 51-D in April 1985. During his fourth mission on STS-35 in December 1990, Hoffman brought the first dreidel into space to celebrate Chanukah.
The idea for bringing a kosher Torah into space became a reality when Hoffman’s synagogue, Congregation Or Hadash, raised the funds to purchase a Torah that would meet the weight requirements aboard the Shuttle Columbia.
Rabbi Shaul Osadchey, the synagogue’s rabbi at the time, contacted his scribe friends at Klein Brothers of Brooklyn, N.Y., to search for a suitable Torah scroll. The Torah that was selected was a new Torah purchased in Israel by Rabbi Moshe Klein from a Yemenite Jewish scribe, Yichyeh Sharabi. The Space Torah measures 7 inches in height and 4 inches in diameter.
Dr. Hoffman participated in five space missions, becoming the first astronaut to log 1,000 hours of flights aboard the space shuttle. He performed four spacewalks, including the first unplanned, contingency spacewalk in NASA’s history as well as the initial repair/rescue mission for the Hubble Space Telescope in 1993.
He was the first Jewish-American male astronaut to fly into space and saw the act of bringing religious objects into space as part of bringing his practice of Conservative Judaism with him. Bringing the Torah into space had the added symbolic meaning and significance of bringing the holiness of human life into space.
Dr. Hoffman noted, “It wasn’t that space made this Torah special; it was more that the Torah made space special.”
The Space Torah resides in a specially designated place within the Ark of the sanctuary of Congregation Or Ami, Or Hadash’s successor. It is read by B’nai Mitzvah students and on other special occasions.
