Around the time of the ill-fated shuttle mission STS-107 (the space shuttle mission that Ilan Ramon was on), I heard a shiur about the laws of space travel. One of the sources presented was from a rabbi who penned a teshuva wherein he argued that halacha does not apply off of planet earth. I remember it being from a 20th century source (I suppose the question was really purely theoretical until then anyway). This decision was not accepted by anyone else and several people wrote in opposition, but I really would like to know who the author of the original teshuva was. Does anyone know?
asked Jul 2, 2016 at 21:41
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
As per this answer and this answer, this idea was put forth by Rabbi Ben-Zion Firrer in an article in the 5730 issue of No'am.
A copy of the article is available here; a discussion of the opinion, including Rabbi M. M. Kasher's opposition, can be found here (Contemporary Halakhic Problems, R' J. David Bleich, vol 1, p211-212).
