C7: Aliens

Issue Navigation:

The need for contact

As we near the millenium, interest in aliens is
growing. Hundreds of magazines and internet websites, as well as many films and TV shows, are dedicated to them. Why the fascination? Even the establishment is involved: the U.S. government is currently conducting the biggest-ever search for alien life through the global META (Megachannel Extraterrestrial Assay) program, simultaneously scanning over one million frequencies for any signs of intelligent communications. What are we all looking for? One major answer is contact. We want to know that we are not alone. META is set to watch out for any signals at all, contact itself being much more important than how sophisticated it is. Discovering a new type of intelligent lifeform would forever change the way humanity sees itself and its role in the universe.

Divine contact

This desire for contact is nothing knew. It is founded on the age old search for God. We feel lost in this world seek communication with the 'Other.' We need to reach out to our Maker to find out that life has a purpose and meaning and that we can make a difference. In Jewish thought, God too seeks contact with His people. Indeed, the main motivation for building the Holy Temple was as a meeting point between us and God. Said God to His people: "Make a Sanctuary for Me so that I can dwell with you" (Exodus 25:8). Like a spaceship, the Temple is a machine whose purpose is to move us from the inner space of ourselves to the outer space beyond ouselves where we can find God.

Hide-and-seek

The following chassidic story well expresses the vital need for contact between us and God:

Rebbe Baruch's grandson, Yechiel, came running into his study in tears. 'Yechiel, Yechiel, why are you crying?' The young boy replied: 'My friend is cheating! It's unfair; he left me all by myself, that's why I'm crying.' 'Would you like to tell me about it?' said the Rebbe. 'Certainly grandfather. We played hide-and-seek, and it was my turn to hide and his turn to look for me. But I hid so well that he couldn't find me. So he gave up; he stopped looking. And that's unfair.' Rebbe Baruch began to caress Yechiel's face, and tears welled up in his eyes, 'God too, Yechiel,' he whisphered softly. 'God too is unhappy; He is hiding and we are not looking for Him. Do you understand, Yechiel? God is hiding and we are not even searching for Him...'

Fear of insignificance

Have you ever wondered why our culture contains so many science fiction stories about alien invasions followed by the desperate fight for planetary survival? One theory is that we are afraid of the big bad universe. It frightens us, so we make up stories where we overcome any new creature it can throw at us. That fear we have is the fear of insignificance. Knowing, as we now do, how big the universe is and how many planets there are, the sheer size of it all makes us feel awfully small. We ask: how important can our lives be if we only inhabit the third rock from one particular sun of a minor galaxy in one distant corner of the universe? By thinking about everything we become nothing.

Ready for the future

There is a more mature kind of science fiction which involves humans in partnership with alien life trying to bring about lasting peace. In these scenarios we are more confident of ourselves and our uniquely human qualities. The discovery of extraterrestrial life will certainly make our lives even more interesting and Judaism teaches us that we have nothing to fear if we remember that we are created in God's image and that the lessons He has taught us will be valuable whoever, and whatever, we encounter...

Next Page