The following article was composed on Thursday, January 30, two days before the shuttle Columbia tragically exploded, killing all 7 astronauts aboard. The Israel Defense Forces has set up an email address for the public to send condolence messages to the Ramon Family and the Israeli people, on the loss of Col. Ilan Ramon. The address is: ilanfamily@mail.idf.il

May Col. Ilan Ramon's memory be for a blessing. Zichrono Livracha. Amen.

As I compose this article, the space shuttle Columbia is in the midst of its 16 day orbit. On board the Columbia is payload specialist Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force.

Col. Ramon, the son of a Holocaust survivor of Auschwitz, served with distinction in the IAF. He was a pilot in the 1973 Yom Kippur war, and participated in the bombing of the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981. He is an accomplished soldier of Israel.

What I find even more remarkable about Col. Ramon, a self-described secular Jew, is that while he is in orbit, he is honoring his heritage and religion by eating kosher food and, to the best of his ability, observing Shabbat.

Col. Ramon brought a pencil drawing entitled Moon Landscape with him. This drawing was created by a 14-year old boy named Peter Ginz; its a drawing that shows how Earth might look if you were on the Moon and looking back at Earth. What makes the drawing so important to Ramon is that it was created while Ginz was in a Nazi death camp, before the boy died in 1944.

Why is Col. Ramon doing these things?

"I know my flight is very symbolic for the people of Israel, especially the survivors, the Holocaust survivors," said Ramon. "Because I was born in Israel, many people will see this as a dream that is (sic) come true."

There is no question in my mind that Col. Ramon is a Jewish hero. He sees himself as an ambassador of Judaism, a representative of the Jewish people. He takes the notion of carrying God's name the 3rd of the 10 commandments, to, literally, a higher level!

Although not personally a ritually observant man, he recognizes that his flight is historic, and as such, wishes to personify what Judaism, what tradition means, and has meant to our people.

I pray that well have more men and women like Col. Ramon, people who represent the best of Israel and the best of Judaism in the public arena in the future. Our people will be well served.

Keith Miller
Hazzan
Director of Education