Aliens and Religion, Part 5 - Judaism
Plus a Risen Update, Very Short Fiction, and Independent Book Promotions
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Religion and Aliens
Fallen and Risen Spoiler Free!
This post continues a series of objective, non-judgement views of various religions’ views on the potential of extraterrestrial life. See the previous posts on Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Protestantism and Other Christian Faiths, and Islam for more.
A Possibility But Maybe No Free Will
First, a quick rundown of Jewish religious sources that will be referenced.
Hebrew Bible: The canon of Jewish scriptures. Formatted differently, but the same as the Protestant Old Testament.
Talmud: Central collection of law and interpretation in Rabbinic Judaism. Derived from the Oral Law tradition.
Kabbalah: Esoteric school of thought used by a minority of Jews, but influential with some historical Jewish philosophers. There are various texts such as the Zohar in this esoteric school that are sometimes collectively referred to as “the Kabbalah.”
History
With various Christians debating if the Bible gives any indication of whether or not extraterrestrials exist, it should come as no surprise that Judaism is in the same situation. Judaism teaches God created the universe for the benefit of man. What that exactly meant and how that could impact whether there was life elsewhere was and still is a matter of debate.
However, Judaism had other philosophical and religious resources to use as discussion fodder. Unlike Western Christian thought, tied down by Aristotle's belief that there was only one world, Jewish scholars could cite the Talmud's statement (Avodah Zarah: 3b) that God flew between 18,000 worlds. The 18,000 number came from summing the values of the two letters used to spell "life" in Hebrew. Further, the Kabbalah states there are seven Earths, each separated by a firmament. All these Earths are inhabited. Another part of the Kabbalah teaches that every righteous Jew will rule over a star/world. In the Medieval era, this gavethe alien life discussion a head start in Judaism.
The famed theologian Maimonides (1135-1204) argued heavenly bodies were conscious beings with their own form of soul and understanding of God. He believed this based on Psalm 148:3-5 call to the heavens to praise God:
Praise ye him, O sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars and light. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens: and let all the waters that are above the heavens Praise the name of the Lord. For he spoke, and they were made: he commanded, and they were created.
Meanwhile, Spanish Rabbi Hasdai Crescas (1340-1410) came out in favor of the possibility of alien life. He stated in the Light of the Lord that space is infinite, and there was the potential for an endless number of worlds. Additionally, he argued that nothing in the Bible or Talmud denied the possibility of alien life. Later on, Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz (1731-1805) believed God visited the 18,000 worlds because He was visiting his created creatures.
However, just what form of life was possible was a subject of discussion, too. Rabbi Horowitz and even a student of Rabbi Crescas, Rabbi Yosef Albo (1380-1444), believed that these possible creatures would have no free will and therefore no moral responsibility. Rabbi Albo then added his doubts by saying that such life would have no reason for existing and therefore be superfluous.
Current Positions
Of those discussing the possibility of alien life, the aliens-possible-but-if-there-are-then-they-have-no-free-will became the de facto position. Orthodox Rabbi Ayeh Kaplan (1934-1983), famous for his Living Torah translations of the first part of the Hebrew Bible, Kabbala commentaries, and missionary work to secular Jews, and the Chabad Hasidic movement take this view. The video below provides a pro-Kaplan explanation on how the Talmud's emphasis on God making the whole universe for man does not conflict with no-free-will-life existing.
The Chabad movement states Judges 5:23 refers to aliens. The passage reads, “Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.”
According to the Talmud and Jewish scholars, Meroz is either a place in Galilee, a leader of some group, or a star. While most Jewish and Christian scholars consider Meroz a lost city or leader, Chabad follows the star interpretation.
The Chabad’s Jewish Learning Institute is open to alien life but emphasizes that only God reached out to humans. “Is there life on Mars? Perhaps. But there are certainly no synagogues.” The Institute emphasizes that while there is nothing wrong with looking for life elsewhere, our primary focus should be on Earth and our fellow humans.
This mirrors the mainstream Orthodox National Jewish Outreach Program, which is open to alien life but states, "...our role is to follow the Torah, which came from God in Heaven, and to try to perfect and protect the earth which humankind inhabits."
Most streams in Judaism that I could find accepted the possibility of aliens without making a final call on their existence. The general Jewish rule of God has no limits wins out in this discussion.
This is found in Conservative Rabbi Rob Dobrusin's article, where he wrote about his acceptance of the possibility of alien life when discussing the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system, Oumuamua.
There was a minority counterview, however. For instance, the largest Jewish religious channel in the world, Hidabroot, hosted Rabbi Yitzchak Fanger. Rabbi Fanger cited the Kabbalah to back up his belief that reported aliens are in fact Shin-Dalets (demons).
Yet opinions like this were few and far between, mostly focusing on alien abductions rather than the overall possibility of alien life.
Religious Science Fiction Discussions
Like Islam, there is a genre of religious science fiction in Judaism that deals with alien life. The classic Wandering Stars: An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy & Science Fiction features works by both religious and non-religious Jewish authors. William Tenn’s 1970s classic “On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi” (full text and narration) takes the question of “What is a Jew?” by introducing aliens claiming to be Jews at the Interstellar Neo-Zionist Congress. Academic studies also look at Jewish theology and alien life in science fiction.
Risen Update
The major rewrite in the beginning is complete. Now I’m ironing out some plot holes in the middle. Things are chugging along!
Very Short Fiction
VSS365 Word: Nightmare
Sir Davis, Knight of the Stellar Commonwealth, had hijacked a Zolarian ship while escaping from their prison planet, rescued a Fiman duchess, and smuggled enough goods to make a small fortune. However, now was real nightmare of his life: filling out the paperwork.
VSS365 Word: Lavender, Scififri Word: Exercise
Turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn from Earth. Some lavender smelling paste and what may be berries from wherever Esfirs is from. The first interspecies Thanksgiving was like the rest: good times and filling. Now, though, the exercise bike demanded its due.
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Other Independent Book Promotions
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Until Next Time
Thank you for reading this newsletter update. Next time, I will share stories of jinn from my Afghan friends and deployments. After that, we will continue the religion and aliens series by looking at the two related religions Hinduism and Buddhism (see previous editions of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism and other Christian Groups, and Islam). I’m thinking of continuing the series looking at either ancient religions or small sects that do/did exist. Let me know what you think I should look at.
As always, please leave a comment with any questions, reviews, thoughts, whatever about Fallen, Risen, or whatever else I have discussed. I promise to reply!
