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The first commandment of the Torah is to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth/land (הָאָ֖רֶץ).

The question is whether Mars (and other terrestrial planets and moons) should be included in the definition of הָאָ֖רֶץ.

Doug
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    Is there a mikvah there? Do they have bagels? And a daf yomi shiur? – pcoz Sep 10 '21 at 05:14
  • I think you should ask whether we're commanded to colonize Earth first. I didn't hear about it. – Al Berko Sep 11 '21 at 17:59
  • "in the beginning G-d created the Heavens and the Earth" - mars is in heaven. furthermore are we commanded to colonize antarctica? – user813801 Oct 13 '21 at 18:08

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G-d did not command man to fill any specific geographic area, so colonizing additional area (on earth or elsewhere) does not directly fulfil any commandment.

Ramban explains "fill the earth" (וּמִלְא֥וּ אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ) as G-d's blessing to mankind to increase in numbers and populate vast areas; and "and subdue it" (וְכִבְשֻׁ֑הָ) as G-d's gifting mankind the power to dominate the rest of His creation.

  • Hmm, in that case "be fruitful", "multiply", and "fill the earth" all seem redundant. – Doug Sep 10 '21 at 04:25
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    "Be fruitful and multiply" is a commandment to have children. "Fill the earth" is a blessing which gave mankind the ability to populate vast areas. –  Sep 10 '21 at 05:10
  • Why does not the plain meaning govern when that is clear and, by all means, plausible? – Andras Emet Oct 10 '21 at 05:09
  • @AndrasEmet - the above explanation of Ramban represents the plain meaning of the words in this passuk. –  Oct 11 '21 at 02:52
  • @Tesvov can you how reading the commandment-blessing distinction is read into the text? It appears hard for me to see it the plain meaning of it. Maybe the context would support your reading it being the plain reading of it, but then again: If you need context, that is, by definition, not the plain meaning. – Andras Emet Oct 11 '21 at 03:35
  • @andras - plain reading almost always requires context. Plain meaning of words taken out of context is very often misleading. –  Oct 11 '21 at 14:42
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This may be a simple answer, but celestial objects are never referred to as הָאָ֖רֶץ in Tanach. The word is only used in reference to the Earth that we live on.

bondonk
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Welcome to Mi Yodeya and thank you for sharing your fascinating question, Doug! Rav Moshe Heinemann says in the name of his Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Aharon Kotler zt"l, that we are not supposed to travel outside of earth based on the verse in Tehillim (115:16):

הַשָּׁמַיִם שָׁמַיִם לַה' וְהָאָרֶץ נָתַן לִבְנֵי־אָדָם׃ The heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth He gave over to man.

Hashem gave this earth to us to inhabit, but outer space is His. Accordingly, it is a commandment for us to inhabit THE earth, the only one we are allowed to inhabit.

NJM
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    Can we fly in airplanes? – Double AA Sep 10 '21 at 00:36
  • @DoubleAA The issue is seemingly to break beyond the gravitational pull of earth, hence the issue of the dor haflaga's spaceship. Airplanes fly in the lower orbit where they must still fight gravity. – NJM Sep 10 '21 at 01:04
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    See https://judaism.stackexchange.com/a/43683/13811 – NJM Sep 10 '21 at 01:06
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    Does he say that as psak, or was it just a general hashkafic statement? – Yehuda Sep 10 '21 at 01:44
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    @NJM even in high orbit there is the pull of gravity. Weightlessness in space as you've seen it is more technically an illusion because the ship is constantly falling. It's not because gravity is weaker up there; that's a common misconception – Double AA Sep 10 '21 at 02:04
  • @double aa lets take the possuk as being relevant to our situation. G-d did not give us the heavens. This remains largely true today. Anywhere where you cant live without a space suit is not in man's domain. Also, its possible that we can "visit" the heavens, as one visits a stranger's house, but not to stay or colonize. – Derdeer Sep 10 '21 at 09:12
  • I think it's a very interesting thought that outer space would be forbidden. It would demonstrate that all of our (Torah Jews) scientific inquiries are not just done out of our human instincts, but because Hashem commands us to do so, v'kivshuha. But I suspect many would disagree that it's forbidden, and I don't think it ever reached the point of halacha lemaaseh or an old tradition, so it's far from settled law. – Derdeer Sep 10 '21 at 09:29
  • @Derdeer If I recall correctly, Rav Heinemann said the idea was based on Rav Yonasan Eibschitz's understanding of the really old spaceship attempted by the Dor Haflaga: http://parsha.blogspot.com/2010/10/rav-yonasan-eibeshutzs-rocket-ship.html – NJM Sep 10 '21 at 10:30
  • @Derdeer At the altitudes most commercial planes fly one cannot live without a space suit. (The plane is pressurized and functions as a big group space suit.) That's why they always tell you that special oxygen masks will fall down in an emergency etc. – Double AA Sep 10 '21 at 14:23
  • @NJM The “gravitational pull” equals to zero in infinity. Does the Torah hold that Heaven is within the space-time we live in? – Andras Emet Oct 10 '21 at 05:13