Rabbinical scholars have been interpreting the Talmud for centuries, to provide a framework for applying its strictures to everyday situations, and guidance to rabbis who must answer questions from their congregation.

Purely theoretical questions aren’t given as much priority, but they are often pondered as well, for intellectual stimulation, if for no other reason. But on the next Shuttle flight, the theoretical becomes real. An Israeli astronaut will be aboard, and he wishes to be observant. There have been Jewish astronauts before (Americans), like Judy Resnik, who was killed in the Challenger disaster, but this is the first time that an astronaut is going to attempt to “keep kosher.”

So the question arises: when you’re in orbit, and the sun rises and sets every hour and a half, and the stars are in view all the time–when does Sabbath begin and end?

He asked his rabbi, and the matter is under discussion.

[Thanks to Kevin McGehee for the tip.]