Judaism

Abstract

Phillip Klass, writing under his pseudonym William Tenn, captures the essence of the Judaic response to extraterrestrial life in his science fiction story ‘On Venus, Have We Got a Rabbi!’ As told by Klass, The Venusian Jewish community has the privilege of hosting the First Interstellar Neozionist Conference. The Venusian family of Milchik, the TV repairman, has the honor of hosting three conference delegates from the fourth planet of the star Rigel. A problem emerges when these delegates from Rigel IV, the Bulbas, turn out not to look much like Milchik or any other Jews at the conference. Instead, they look like brown, wrinkled pillows with gray spots and short tentacles. The conference starts badly. In fact, the conference cannot start because the Committee on Accreditation refuses to seat the Bulbas. Even though the Bulbas have appropriate credentials, the Committee on Accreditation concludes that they cannot be Jewish because they do not look Jewish. In particular, they are not human. The conference is in chaos, unable to seat the Bulbas but also unable to open because of the credentialing dispute. Rabbi Smallman, from Venus, is appointed to the High Rabbinical Court that will decide what should be done. The Rabbis think deeply. What would happen, they ask, if humans go deep into space, perhaps “to another galaxy even, and we find all kinds of strange creatures who want to become Jews? Suppose we find a thinking entity whose body is nothing but waves of energy, do we say, no, you’re not entirely acceptable?” Finally, thanks to the wise counsel of Rabbi Smallman, the High Rabbinical Court makes a decision: “there are Jews—and there are Jews. The Bulbas belong in the second group.”

There are Jews—and there are Jews. The Bulbas belong in the second group.

William Tenn