Today, the 29th of Shevat, we mark the passing of Ilan Ramon who was killed in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
Did you know?
Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut in space, took with him to space a small coin from the days of the Great Revolt, after which Jerusalem was destroyed.
Ilan Ramon, the child of Holocaust survivors, emphasized the importance of his mission by also taking a tiny Torah scroll given to him by a Holocaust survivor, flags of the State of Israel and its Air Force, and other items of deep significance.
Ilan Ramon was killed along with the other people on the space shuttle. Throughout his life, in various security roles and when representing Israel, he continuously expressed the eternality of the Jewish nation that rose from the dust and reaches all over the world and outside of it.
