The Journey of the Tiny Torah
West Street Productions
I think that this story should be told because it's a special story, a special moment in
the lives of three people. It demonstrates many, many things for both Jew and nonJew, it also reminds [us] of what people can descend to, on one hand, and what other
persons can ascend to. -Joachim Joseph, PhD
Introduction
Dawn is breaking on the morning of February 1, 2003 above West Texas. Suddenly
the peace of the early morning is shattered by two loud bangs. The Space Shuttle
Columbia is announcing its return home, causing sonic booms as it streaks across the
sky at three times the speed of sound. The shuttle is speeding toward a Florida
homecoming. But in an instant, onlookers below and controllers in Houston are
stunned at what they see. Something has gone horribly wrong. The shuttle has broken
up, vanished! Gone is its precious cargo of seven astronauts from around the world.
Among them, Col. Ilan Ramon, Israel's first Astronaut.
Also gone, an artifact that embodied the glory of the Shuttle's mission and the despair
of its demise: a tiny Torah scroll - smuggled into a concentration camp during the
Holocaust; safeguarded by Joachim Joseph, a Holocaust survivor; and carried into
space by Col. Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. It is a unique story that
interweaves the heights of scientific achievement, the depths of a nation's cruelty, the
private grief of a boy who came of age during the Holocaust, and the public mourning
of many nations in the aftermath of the Columbia Shuttle disaster. To fulfill the
promise that a boy in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp made during the Holocaust to use the Torah scroll to tell the world what happened in the camp - West Street
Productions, LLC will produce THE JOURNEY OF THE TINY TORAH, an hourlong film exploring the journey of the Torah from pre-World War II Europe, to Israel,
to the United States, and to space. Combining historical and ethical inquiry, the film
will appeal to audiences of a variety of faiths and nationalities, making the story of the
Holocaust and the Shuttle disaster relevant to multiple audiences.
The Story
In the spring of 1944, Joachim Joseph - "Yoya" - as his
friends call him - was nearing his 13th birthday as an
inmate of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Among his
fellow inmates was the former Chief Rabbi of Holland,
who prepared Joseph for his coming-of-age ceremony,
his Bar Mitzvah. Each morning they rose at 4:00 a.m. to
secretly study the Torah, on a tiny scroll that the Rabbi
had smuggled into the camp.
On the morning of Joseph's Bar Mitzvah, each of the inmates in the barracks gathered
before dawn to celebrate, secretly and with whatever meager means they had, his
being called to the Torah. In the evening the Rabbi told Joseph that he was sure he
would not come out of the camp alive, and he was giving the Torah to Joseph on the
condition that Joseph tell the world the story of what happened in the camp.
Joachim Joseph and some members of his family survived the Holocaust and
eventually settled in Israel. Joseph finished his schooling in the United States, started
a family, and became a scientist. His work studying atmospheric physics, where he
pioneered experiments examining the ways in which dust particles in the atmosphere
affect the climate, brought him together with Col. Ilan Ramon, the talented Israeli
pilot who became the first Israeli astronaut. Ramon was slated to conduct experiments
aboard Columbia for an Israeli team on the ground headed by Joseph.
But science was just part of the "mission" aboard Columbia for Col. Ramon. As
Israel's first astronaut, Ramon knew he shouldered more responsibilities, and he knew
in some way he had to make his statement, to make his presence known, not only for
his country, but as a Jew.
Joseph and Ramon became more than just colleagues. They developed a warm
friendship that deepened upon learning of their common bond. When Ramon visited
Joseph in his home, he saw a tiny Torah scroll and asked him about its origins. When
Joseph told Ramon that the Torah had traveled with him from Bergen-Belsen, Joseph
recalls that:
He heard that and he fell silent. I remember he got up and paced back and forth. He
said... "I've got to think about this." And then he told me one other sentence, "You
know, my mother and my grandmother are graduates of Auschwitz." And then we
didn't talk about it anymore, and a few months later he called me on the phone from
Houston and he said…"Can I take your Torah to space?" He asked me if he could
take the Torah scroll to space because he thought he would show it to the world as a
symbol of how a person can…"Go from the depths of hell to the heights of space."
In bringing the Torah scroll with him
on the Space Shuttle Columbia,
Ramon helped Joseph fulfill the
promise that he had made to the Rabbi
nearly sixty years ago. At the same
time, Ramon embodied the pride and
hopes of Israel as the nation made its
first foray into space. Although the
Space Shuttle Columbia tragically
was lost on February 1, 2003, the
opportunity to continue to tell this
story lives on through the legacy of
Col. Ramon.
photo: Avi Ohayon
State of Israel ~ National Photo collection
After reading the story "THE JOURNEY OF THE TINY TORAH" explore topics
such as:
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The responsibility of remembrance - Why must we remember the past? Does
our remembrance create change?
The Holocaust - What happened in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp? Why
would a small group of oppressed, starving inmates risk their lives to carry out a
centuries-old religious tradition? Is the Holocaust the Jews' history or
everyone's history?
The Columbia Space Shuttle disaster - Should a scientific endeavor of such
tremendous costs and risks continue to be undertaken?
Col. Ramon's mission and his message - in what ways did Col. Ramon create an
international platform for examining the ethical issues of the Holocaust?
The Columbia Shuttle crew - How did this multi-national crew form a strong,
cohesive team? What was their reaction to Col. Ramon's personal mission with
the Torah?
Heroism - Who is the hero of this story: Col. Ramon, Joachim Joseph, or the
Rabbi who perished in the concentration camp? How do we define heroism?
http://www.weststreetproductions.com/
Prime Minister Arik Sharo conversing with Ilan Ramon
photo: Avi Ohayon / State of Israel ~ National Photo collection