[Avodah] Apollo 11

[Akiva Miller]

.
Anyone with access to a popular account of the flight of Apollo 11, AND a
calendar for the years 5729/1969, can easily confirm the following timeline:

Weds July 16 - Rosh Chodesh Menachem Av - Apollo 11 launched
Sun July 20 - first day of Shavua Shechal Bo - Moon landing
Thurs July 24 - Tisha B'av - Splashdown

Shortly after the splashdown, President Nixon congratulated the astronauts,
and said (among many other things) that "this is the greatest week in the
history of the world since the Creation." I have a suspicion that the
contemporary gedolim might have disagreed.

I remember living through all that excitement, but my excitement was
unfettered by any appreciation for the significance of Tisha B'Av and the
Nine Days. My awareness of such things was still a few years in my future.
I am writing today to ask: What thoughts and feelings were going through
the Jewish world at the time. I suppose that a certain amount of excitement
was unavoidable, but was there any feeling that the schedule and timing
should be taken as some sort of ominous message?

I imagine that some listmembers could argue that this question is a mere
discussion of history, and belongs on Areivim. If that's the decision of
the moderator I won't complain. But I really am wondering if there's a
mussar here for us. If Apollo 11 lasted exactly the length of the Nine
Days, was that really a coincidence? Or is there a message? What would have
appeared in Mishpacha or the Yated? What *did* appear in the Jewish
Observer?

advTHANKSance,
Akiva Miller
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