What makes someone journey into the unknown? What makes someone worthy of being chosen to lead a first-time initiative?
A group of entrepreneurs are leading a commercial initiative to create permanent human settlement on planet Mars. It looks like a great adventure with one caveat: You only receive a one-way ticket.
Is settling Mars the next big thing for humanity or a kind of foolish escapism from dealing with the problems on planet Earth?
The 9th grade Jewish Studies class is studying Parshat Lech Lecha and the journey that Avram and Sarai took by leaving their land and birth place and going into the unknown to the place which God would show them. What made them go? Who or what did they place their trust in? Is there something we can learn from them if we are to consider the Mars Initiative?
As we consider these questions, we are also looking at midrashim (rabbinic commentaries) about Avram and why God chose him for a special mission, specifically, what prepared Avram to introduce monotheism to the world?
A similar question is asked about the candidates who volunteered to staff the Mars mission. The website allows people to apply for the journey and for others to asses their worthiness for this endeavor. What type of individual is appropriate for such a mission? What can we learn from the Torah, and specifically the choice of Avram as the perfect candidate for the mission of Lech Lecha, to think about modern day journeys into the uncharted territory of the future?
Shabbat Shalom,
Nachshon Carmi
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