The story of the Torah book that the late Ilan Ramon took with him to space will be turned into a documentary film

American directors are working on the production of a documentary film about the Torah book that the late Ilan Ramon took with him to Colombia

 In February 2003, the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated over the skies of the United States. There were seven crew members on board, who lost their lives, including Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. Ilan, who served on the Columbia as a cargo expert, took a tiny Torah book with him on the trip, which was also lost in the crash.

The Torah has come a long way, and its story begins with the Holocaust. He was smuggled into the infamous Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by an Orthodox rabbi from Holland, who entrusted him to a thirteen-year-old boy on the day of his bar mitzvah, on the condition that he would keep a watchful eye over him and one day tell the whole world what happened there in the concentration camp. Ilan Ramon chose it as a symbol of perseverance.

The young boy, who survived the holocaust, soon became a well-known Israeli scientist. He was the director of the Israeli dust dispersal experiment, conducted aboard Columbia on its last mission, says Brian Berger of Space News. When Ramon was looking for a suitable symbol for the people of Israel, the scientist, Joachim Yosef (Yohyachin Yosef in Hebrew), entrusted him with the tiny Torah book.

Ramon once said that the Torah came "from the depths of hell to the heights of space." This story is the subject of a new documentary "Journey of the Tiny Book of the Torah" (temporary name, DA), which is being produced these days. One of the film's producers and technical advisor, Courtney Studd, the former director general of NASA, described the feeling of making the film as a mission.

"The team members cannot be reinstated, but the project helps fulfill one of the tasks of at least one of them," said Studd, adding, "on second thought, it's on behalf of the entire team."

Studd said that the entire team knew the story of the Torah book, and he believes that everyone felt a sense of pride for belonging to the journey of the tiny book. According to Berger, Rick Husband, the commander of the mission, personally made sure to talk to a local rabbi, who would help Ilan keep Shabbat and kosher meals during the mission.

Studd emphasized that, although the "Journey of the Tiny Torah Book" includes photographs and films from Colombia's latest mission, among other things, footage of a conference call with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in which Ramon shows the Torah Book and tells its story, the main subject of the film is not space, Because the victory of the human spirit.

"We wanted to convey an uplifting story," Studd said. "This is a story about a promise that was kept and continues to be kept every time the story is heard."

Berger says that filming began when Studd and executive producer Dan Cohen accompanied the families of the Columbia victims on a trip to Israel. Ilan Ramon promised his team members a visit to Israel. After the crash, Ilan Ramon's widow, Rona Ramon, and the Israeli ambassador to the United States invited the families of Columbia's last team members to Israel.

The film, which documents the special story of the Torah book, will be released on television screens in 2005.

* The editor of the Hidan adds: It should be noted that the first exposure regarding the existence of this Torah book in Ramon's possession was made by Yehoichin Yosef in the film "Mission 107" produced by the company "Hafkot Tutzeret Ha'aretz" and which was broadcast on Channel 2 on the day of its launch, January 16, 2003.