Hiding in Plain Sight
How we may be a lot closer to grasping the secrets spread amongst the stars than most people think — and why it matters.
By Andrew Rashkow
The moon plays hide and seek. It waxes and wanes, day in and day out. From dominating the nighttime sky to totally disappearing from sight within a matter of weeks, in a certain sense it seems to be much less reliable than the sun. At times, it may even be forgotten.
In 1952, the ”primordial soup” science experiment was conducted by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey at a University of Chicago laboratory. In a certain sense, that experiment continues today, on a satellite hurling through interstellar space which is being monitored by MIT scientists.
In both cases, the subject at hand relates to the search for life’s origins. The journey from PhD chemists riding Chicago’s “L” train to exploratory spacecraft is fascinating to be sure, but for the focus of this article, the relevant point to emphasize is the ultimate scientific determination that very precise planetary conditions must exist in order for the emergence of life to be possible. This observation helped coin the phrase that the earth is a “Goldilocks” planet, in that it orbits precisely within the habitable zone of a star — while also possessing the perfect atmospheric conditions to produce and maintain water along with other of life’s necessities. It may even be one-of-a-kind.
On the other hand, the universe is almost unfathomably big. So much so that even if a relatively tiny percent of all planets have similar conditions to the Earth, that would still mean that there are many, many millions of potential biological havens in the heavens. That is why MIT’s TESS, a satellite launched in 2018 that is basically a rocket boosted array of telescopes, is racing through space analyzing every earth-like planet it can by spectroscopically searching for the very same special factors that permit life as we know it.
Not everyone knows that Albert Einstein was one of the world’s first big overnight sensations. Although he published his theory of general relativity in 1916, in which he described all of spacetime as a singular entity, the world remained in large part blissfully unaware. The problem was that his theory could not be proven in a lab, and as such, it was both phenomenal and un-confirmable conjecture. While this led to heated debates in scientific academies and prestigious universities, his name and visage remained largely obscured from the general public.
It wasn’t until The New York Times ran the headline, “Stars all Askew in Heavens” in November of 1919, praising Einstein’s work and including his picture, that the world suddenly took notice. The cause of the sudden publicity came from the results of the expeditions of English astronomers Arthur Eddington and Frank Watson to the Isle of Principe and Brazil six months earlier. Having photographed the shifting locations of the stars before and during a total solar eclipse, their measurements perfectly validated Einstein’s predictions and ushered in widespread acceptance of his theory.
The theory of general relativity as confirmed by the stars provides both the navigational and computational framework for MIT’s TESS to function properly. It is interesting to note that Eddington and Watson’s observations proving Einstein correct were only achievable because of one astonishing fact: the sun and moon have almost identical apparent sizes — the sun being roughly four hundred times bigger and four hundred times farther away than the moon. While this exceptional peculiarity has proven crucial to the world’s greater understanding of matter in general, and for TESS’s precise functioning in particular, it is not considered a vital factor when combing the galaxy for celestially suitable habitats. A visibly star-sized moon rotating around a planet is both a remarkable and prominent feature (at least, from our perspective) of the only world hosting life of which we know, but as far as TESS is concerned this criteria is not materially relevant.
This is not due to an oversight. Scientists have thus far not discovered any empirical connection between the moon and life’s origins. The fact that a woman’s menstrual cycle and the moon’s orbit share the same timing of twenty-nine days is but another curious coincidence, a synchronism signifying nothing special from a purely experimental perspective. As such, the moon’s contribution is easily and readily dismissed in scientists’ search for other life.
From the Torah’s perspective, the moon is an absolutely essential entity for our existence.
A verse in Genesis describes G-d creating two great luminaries, but then almost immediately afterwards, one is referred to as being big and the other small. The Medrash elaborates by explaining that though the sun and moon were originally created as equals, the moon was quick to complain, stating that “two kings cannot share one crown.” To which G-d responded, seemingly in agreement, “Go and make yourself small.”
Among the questions demanding answers: if G-d agreed with the moon’s assertion, why were the sun and moon originally created as equals? And if the moon’s objection was correct, why should it “have to pay the price” by being reduced? Finally, why did G-d command the moon to go and diminish itself rather than G-d deflating it himself?
This world we live in is a heavenly orchestrated mixture of confusion and harmony, all for the sole purpose that we may build our eternal relationship with our Creator. There is a Torah commandment to love G-d. The sages point out the seemingly absurdity of being commanded to love, and then go on to explain that since G-d does not ask us to do anything other than what we are capable of, we must be naturally pre-wired to love G-d. In fact, the Chinuch asks what would be the basis for failing to fulfill this commandment? He answers tersely that one fails by loving anything else. Can it possibly be that if we love our spouses, our children, our parents and others, we are disappointing G-d?
Of course not. What the Chinuch is teaching us is that if we love others without connecting that love back to our Creator, we are missing out. If we don’t acknowledge the One who sent us the ones we love, or the source of the blessings which we regularly receive, we temper our natural inclination to draw ourselves closer to G-d. To experience G-d is to be aware of G-d; to be aware of G-d is to love G-d. So why does it seem so difficult at times?
G-d could have created the sun and moon in their current form and stature. Instead, G-d chose for the moon to teach us a basic lesson in how to receive — namely, one must first recognize that there is another that is greater than ourselves. Two kings cannot share one crown. The moon was not punished for making this observation. It was specifically appointed the task of demonstrating — by way of reducing itself (in our case, lessening our egos) — the fundamental key to self-actualization.
Who hasn’t marveled at the moonlight?
Yet the moon has no luminescence of its own, only that which it reflects. This sublime radiance is only achieved through the process of becoming humble. It is the very same approach whereby we, too, can gain awareness of the light that envelopes all of us.
ANDREW RASHKOW is the CEO of Imbibe, Co-founder of Heaven’s Door Spirits, and a Jerusalem-based Teacher and Adviser.
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The author deftly and eruditely draws attention to the hidden hand of the Creator in the Creation and the challenge of utilizing scientific insights into the natural world to reveal the Divine source of that world. An inspiring piece.