21st Century Bogatyr: Yenne Velt: A History of Planet Birobidzhan

Far di kinder fun der vayt - for the children far away.

by Zvi Baranoff

Long distance space travel was no simple feat for our ancestors. The distance from Earth to other potentially habitable and available planets was - and continues to be - vast.

That said, calling the Home Planet "habitable" was becoming more and more of a stretch. Life on Earth had become miserable. Floods, famines, epidemics, toxic waste, riots, genocidal wars, dwindling resources, etc. seemed to unfold daily with no end in sight.

By the early 21st Century, the idea of seeking out a sanctuary from Earth was beginning to get some real traction. The realistic options at that time however were dreadfully limited.

The Earth's moon or Earth's closest neighbor planet Mars and a few asteroids were within reach of the technological capacity. None of those places had an atmosphere that could sustain human life.

The scientists of that time, using the limited technology of the period - that is, telescopes and unmanned probes - searched endlessly for potentially habitable planets.

Well into that century, the best looking potentially habitable planet pinpointed by these scientists was estimated to be about 40 light years from the Home Planet.

The fastest moving vehicle of that time - an unmanned space probe - was crossing the void to humanity's outer capacity at the speed of 36,000 miles per hour (50,000 km/h). At that rate, it would have taken well over 26 million years to reach that distant potential destination. That is a timeframe that is way too long to even ponder.

By the middle of that century, the options began to look slightly more hopeful. This was fortunate because the outlook for life on Planet Earth was looking truly dreadful.

As telescopes and space probes improved, several closer potential planets were pinpointed. Additionally, the speed of intergalactic travel had been significantly improved upon. These two factors combined to shorten the very abstract travel time from millions of years to possibly a few hundred years, give or take. Still out of reach, perhaps, but more tantalizing than imagined beforehand.

Also, the technological capacity to place humans into a state of semi-incapacitation through advanced cryonics had been developed to the point where it was theoretically possible to store passengers for decades without significant damage to the individuals. So, if the travel time could be shortened to a few decades, mass migration would then actually become a possibility.

Perhaps what we think of as mystical is the outer edge of what science has yet to understand. Or, perhaps science is our way of trying to understand the esoteric.

One scientific theory proposed that there are wormholes in the void that essentially fold space/time and that traveling through a wormhole would allow one to go very far in hardly any time.

Kabbalists have spoken of traveling great distances in a troika or on foot or in a meditative state through divine intervention. The Baal Shem Tov, for instance, was famous for such feats. So, the rabbis found the idea of folding space/time to be quite plausible. After all, isn't that exactly what the great sages of blessed memory had done?

Wormholes were theorized for a very long time. The first time one was discovered was in the middle of the 21st Century. The scientists were blown away. The rabbis shrugged.

That first wormhole was within a couple of years traveling time from Earth. An unmanned vehicle was programmed to enter the wormhole, or the Tunnel as it was later named, pass through the length of it and to exit what was theorized to be the other side.

Assuming that the ship survived, it was programmed to do some relatively minor localized exploration and then attempt to reenter the wormhole from the other side. The ship would then return to Earth, if such a miraculous and mystical voyage was possible, with a trove of intellectual wealth. The roundtrip would take around five years.

The whole project was viewed with much global skepticism until the unmanned craft actually re-emerged from the Tunnel and began to broadcast data towards the Home Planet as it sped that way for the next two and a half years.

With the reappearance of that craft, a major shift in perspective occurred. Before that, the idea of dropping down a wormhole seemed rather similar to the plethora of other harebrained ideas.

During those aimless preceding decades, a vast array of Messianic Cults proliferated on Earth. Religious Revivalism was one response to the dismal conditions everyone was facing.

The mishegoss about a Messiah was not confined to the goyim. Yidden also hoped for the Moshiach, and we were certainly in need of Divine Intervention.

Several Messianic Cultish movements arose among the Yidden. They were collectively referred to as Neo Sabbatai Zevi Cults. That is probably an oversimplification but not by much. The results were about the same as those of the historical cult. A million or so Yidden followed the Cult Leaders to apostasy and into conversions.

The discovery of the wormhole came no time too soon. It may indeed have been Divine Intervention as some believe. Of course, the sheer bull headed determination of humanity, scientific curiosity and the financial interests of the corporations invested in the space industry are all factors as well.

A fold in space/time is a useful metaphor for understanding a wormhole. It falls short, however, in explaining the problem of communication through a wormhole.

In most of space, as vast as it is, communication is straightforward. A message can be sent and it will be received in relatively real time...that is, the time it takes for radio waves or light to transpire the distance. The fold blocks normal, straight line communication.

Now, imagine yourself as a child living in a multi-story building with a friend living down the hallway. If each of you step outside of your apartments, you can easily wave, shout or roll a ball to each other.

However, if your friend's family were to move to an apartment on another floor of the same building, rolling a ball up and down the hall would no longer be possible even though the linear distance between you and your friend would not have been greatly altered. To see each other, one of you would need to ride the elevator. In this sense, the wormhole is akin to an elevator.

To mix metaphors one more time, actually traveling through a wormhole is far more uncomfortable and disconcerting than riding an elevator. The few that have made the voyage wide awake compared it to being flushed down a toilet or sucked up by a tornado.

It is fortunate for all concerned that most people that transpired that passage did so in a state of cryogenic disconnection rather than full consciousness. It is certainly not something that any rational human would choose to do a second time!

To resolve the communication glitch, a workaround was required. The solution, although fairly simplistic, was expensive. Two communication satellites were positioned at opposite ends of that cosmic Tunnel.

On either side of the Tunnel, data could be sent by radio signals to the waiting satellite. The data then was transferred by relay drones through the Tunnel to the parallel operating satellite. From there, the message could be resent as easily as rolling a ball down the hall.

This facilitated the unmanned searches on the opposite side of the wormhole. Those exploratory ships could travel without limitation and send back the discoveries without wasting travel time on a return trip. Now, the search for livable planets within the technological reach of humanity was actually doable.

The ownership of the exploratory ships, of course, was in the hands of profit oriented corporations. The searches were yielding important hints as to possibly habitable planets.

No corporation actually owned any of those planets but the information about the conditions and the coordinates that provide the location were proprietary. They were like real estate agents. The information gathered was being sold to the highest bidder, piecemeal. The more information about a planet provided, the higher the cost until a final purchase of map coordinates were settled.

The Yidden were not the only ones looking for a way out. Anyone that could afford to possibly relocate certainly would be willing to pay the piper.

The most wealthy wished to acquire the closest and most desirable planets. They intended to hire the staff they required to maintain the lifestyle that they were used to.

Some corporations were in search of ways to expand their enterprises. Other religious, social and fraternal organisations also were hoping to find a Yenne Velt - Another World - to live on.

Before the coordinates were purchased, the Agency representing our ancestors knew enough about the planet to know that it was habitable, but not a whole lot more. This limited information had been expensive, dripped and dribbled as an enticement. Eventually, the Founders chose to place their bet and spin the dreidl, so to speak.

They knew that this world circled a star similar to the sun that they were familiar with. They knew that the pull of gravity was slightly less than Earth's pull, but not significantly. They knew that the air was breathable, the soil was tillable, that there were oceans and lakes and some forests.

They were aware that there were creatures that resemble Earth's birds, fish and mammals including some that looked much like the buffalo that once roamed widely in North America. They had no way of knowing if any of those life forms were edible, if they could be domesticated or if they would be deemed to be kosher.

They also knew that the travel time to the possible New World was just under eighteen years. This seemed to be a good omen for many. The number eighteen had always been considered good luck for Jews, corresponding to the numerical value of the letters of the word "chai" which is Hebrew for Life.

Later on, many wondered if more attention should have been placed on the fact that "just under eighteen" might have meant just shy of what was needed for a satisfying life. However, that was later and a matter of hindsight mixed with regrets.

Now that a mass evacuation was beginning to be seen as plausible, practical steps were needed to make the action possible.

Ships needed to be purchased and outfitted. These ships could not be purchased off a lot, like a car, boat or trailer. They needed to be made to order and paid for before the manufacturing even began. To maximize the carrying capacity of each ship while reducing the production cost, the ships were built for one way traveling.

The amount of fundraising involved was massive although much of the funds were actually raised by schoolchildren.

To organize the safe evacuation of all the Children of Israel became the rallying cry, with the implied promise that no one would be left behind.

An historically unprecedented level of cooperation developed amongst the Yidden, a people far more accustomed to disagreement, argument and interfamilial struggle than working in unison for common goals.

Of course, the unified public facade was dependent upon a whole lot of backroom deals, intricate negotiations and complicated compromises.

How realistic was the plan? The number of Yidden on the Home Planet was estimated to be around twenty-five million. That is certainly a lot of people but all told it was less than half of one percent of the global population.

A little more than half of the Jews lived in the North American Federation, which was the political alliance of the countries formerly known as Mexico, the United States and Canada. Most of these lived in New York City or within one hundred miles or so.

Around a third of the Yidden lived in the Jordan River Federation which was a delicate political tinkering consisting of what had been known as Israel, Palestine and the Kingdom of Jordan. Previously, the area had a variety of names and governance of different sorts.

So, the gathering of the Tribes was helped along by the fact that so many were already concentrated. Abstractly, Yidden from any part of the world were equally eligible for transit.

In practice, the first flights originated in the North American Federation and subsequent flights continued from there and also from the Eilat region of the Jordan River Federation. Those that lived within an easy traveling distance from the launch sites certainly had some advantages over those in more far flung regions.

Of course, the Exodus was on a purely voluntary basis. Clearly, not every Jew was keen to sign up. Some had other loyalties and plans. There was also a small, but vocal, religious minority of contrarians that opposed the project on a theological basis. So, in reality, not everyone would be evacuated. Nonetheless, the practical difference between transplantation of ten, fifteen, twenty-five or thirty million people is academic.

In theory, every Yid had an equal right to transport. However, the early ships could only carry tens of thousands of passengers in suspended animation and packed like sardines or herring. How long would it take to transport millions? What priorities were set when determining who received passage?

The first ship out had its own unique set of criterion based on the principle that the entire survivability of the settlement on the planet would depend on their achievements.

While the subsequent ships would be laden with travelers in cryogenic suspension, it was determined that it would be best for trained cryogenic technicians to be on hand for "defrosting" the passengers. So, primarily for this reason, on the first transport ship the trip took place in normal experienced time.

On the first ship, besides cryogenic experts, traveled those that were determined to be indispensable for establishing a new space colony. This included a full medical staff, construction experts, those familiar with a wide range of hydroponics, greenhouse construction and operation, animal husbandry, and the establishment and daily operations of farms.

The above were the sorts of folks necessary for any new long-term expedition. The foundation of this new colony also took into consideration what would be needed to protect and cultivate Yiddishkeit.

Included on the first transit were rabbis, shochets and those that oversee kashrut for hechsher certification, scribes, teachers, book publishers, librarians, vintners, those familiar with constructing and maintenance of mikvahs, poets, musicians and experts in Jewish burial practices. Also, their spouses and children were included.

The Rabbinical authorities insisted that all food transported would be Glatt Kosher. Some in the scientific community had suggested rabbits and guinea pigs would make for a good protein source, at least as a transition food. This option was dismissed offhand by the rabbis.

Fertile chicken eggs and a few cryogenic goats served as the only possible sources for meat, to begin with. Cows were deemed to be too large for transport.

Great hope had been placed in the belief that the buffalo-like creatures would serve as a food source. To rabbinical and general disappointment, they were declared to be not kosher at all.

There was, however, another creature that resembles the wild hogs of Earth. This beast was dismissed at first because of the way it looked. However, some adventurous settlers hunted these "hogs'' and found them to be quite edible.

Once the carcasses were examined closely, it was determined that the "hogs" have split hooves and chew their cuds. The hogs also were found to be fairly docile and easily domesticated. The rabbis were concerned about the optics of the matter but, after considering that there were no goyim to cast aspersions, they eventually declared the animals kosher. For the Yidden of Birobidzhan, ham, pork and bacon derived from the native kosher hogs became a dietary staple.

Until that point, the Yidden were hungry a lot and had become increasingly frustrated by a daily diet of potatoes. The words and melody of the Bulbes song - "Monday, Potatoes! Tuesday, Potatoes!" etc. ad nauseum - seemed to float everywhere. Some suggested, with only a touch of irony, that the song should be the official National Anthem.

Passage on subsequent ships were decided by a point system based on a questionnaire as well as one's skill set and the results of a series of detailed health examinations, combined with a lottery.

In theory, the system was free of bias. In practice, the subsequent population of our Planet Birobidzhan was determined by the process and that is worthy of some analysis.

Membership in a Jewish organization, a Jewish education, knowledge of one or more of the Hebraic languages (Hebrew, Yiddish and Ladino), certain skill sets and close family that have already migrated were all factors that improved one's odds of being selected.

Space and weight are the determinants in loading a vehicle for intergalactic travel. Every cubic centimeter matters. Every kilogram is of significance. There is only so much interior capacity.

The average weight for an adult living in the North American Federation was around 80 kg. Weight was a key consideration. No one over 93 kg was accepted under any circumstances.

Fertility was considered of importance. Priority was given to women of chid bearing age that tested high on a fertility scale and showed an emotional and psychological likelihood of birthing and raising lots of kinder.

It was determined that it was unsafe to place anyone under the age of twelve in cryogenic suspension, so no one under that age was transported. Pregnant women were also not transported.

Particularly amongst the religious, it became a common practice to join a transport shortly after weaning a child, but before becoming pregnant again. Their children would be raised by relatives until they reached the age of twelve when they would be bumped to the front of the list for transportation.

Additionally, many of the twelve year old girls would be married to a cousin or another member of their close knit community, which assured the transport of the Bar Mitzvah Bochur along with his young wife.

There was additionally a general cutoff age of forty. Because of these parameters, the average age of new setters fell into that youthful range.

As far as cargo was concerned, everyone could bring some personal possessions, but precious few.

There were predetermined necessities that took precedence over any personal choices. Some were to guarantee the physical survival of the pioneers. Other cargo were there to assure our spiritual needs.

It was determined, for instance, that a prayer book should be provided for every emigrant. A copy of the Bible was provided for every family unit. Every male was provided with a set of tefillin, a tallis and a tallis katan, whether or not he was in the practice of using these. Multiple sets of dishes for maintaining a kosher kitchen were required for each family. Sufficient quantities of kosher wine needed to be loaded on each ship until the Planet's wine production was up to the task.

The settlement was nominally free of an official theology. The scientific community was central to the foundation. Secularists were amongst each of the new waves of settlers. Nonetheless, the number of religious, Yiddish speaking newcomers continued to be the dominant trend as long as settlers continued to arrive from the Home Planet.

On Earth our planet was known by its coordinates which were designated by a combination of numbers and Greek letters. In the early days of the settlement, no one thought much about what to call this world. The early settlers were just busy trying to stay alive.

Some neo-Zionists called it Eretz Yisrael although most of the religious settlers considered that to be sacrilegious. Others referred to Yenne Velt, which simply means Another World. However, Yenne Velt has the historical connotation of being a euphemism for the afterlife and seeing this place as a type of death was already too easy without bringing that to mind on a daily basis.

The ships arrived from Earth on somewhat of a regular basis for a while. The new arrivals were welcomed with celebration and the early pioneers were optimistic people. However, by the anniversary of the First Landing, far less than a million immigrants had arrived.

The following year, the ships began to arrive less frequently. Additionally, the new arrivals seemed less impressed by the opportunities and culture of their new home.

Then, after a few years, no new ships arrived. Even more disconcerting, no new messages had been relayed from the communication satellite by the Tunnel. There was no way to know what had become of the Earth, the other Yidden or the rest of humanity. We had been left to our own devices, perhaps for eternity.

Long ago, back on Earth, Yiddishists and Stalinists came up with a common dream of establishing a Jewish Republic as part of the Soviet Union. Poets and ideologues led the way.

The Soviet Government presented the Yidden with a land grant, and free one way transportation. The land they chose was far to the east along the border with China.

This Jewish Republic was as far as conceivably possible from any Jewish intellectual or cultural centers or any place where Yidden had historically lived. There, Yiddish was made the official language and publishing houses were established for Yiddish poetry and Communist propaganda.

The land was harsh, with little to offer. The Bira and the Bidzhan rivers flowed through the region from which the name Birobidzhan was derived. This was the first post-Biblical establishment of Jewish autonomy.

Our home was first called Planet Birobidzhan sarcastically. Before long, however, the name stuck. This planet was a Jewish Land in a desolate place. There was little sense of hope. Yiddish had become the semi-official language. What else could we call this place? Yidden pondered that question and no other answers came to mind.

This is not a Jewish story. It is, however, a story about Jews. One does not need to be Jewish to read this tale any more than one needs to be a Hobbit or an Elf to read Lord of the Rings.

This story is a work of fiction. The setting for this tale is in the distant future, on the far away Planet Birobidzhan. This planet was settled by Jewish exiles from Planet Earth.

The population of Planet Birobidzhan has been cut off from the Home Planet for a long time. They have developed their own unique culture, traditions and linguistics.

The language spoken on Planet Birobidzhan is primarily Yiddish. I have sprinkled a significant number of Yiddish words and phrases throughout the telling of the tale. I also refer to various Jewish religious and cultural touchstones.

To make this story more accessible, I have included a glossary of words and phrases in Yiddish and Hebrew that are used as well as some explanations of religious terms and holidays.

I hope that readers find this to be useful.

The link to the Glossary is here:

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2023/01/a-useful-guide-glossary-to-planet.html?m=1

פּלאַנעט ביראָבידזשאַן

Do you want to read more about Planet Birobidzhan? Here are all the posted installments so far, in the order that they were posted. Just click your way through the story!

1 On A Planet Safe for Yidden

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/02/on-planet-safe-for-yidden.html

2 Yenne Velt: A History of Planet Birobidzhan

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/02/yenne-velt-history-of-planet-birobidzhan.html

3 Another Globe, Perhaps?

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/02/another-globe-perhaps.html

4 Bereshis: The Transport & Transformation of the Founders

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/03/bereshis-transport-transformation-of.html

5 The Town of First Landing

https://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-town-of-first-landing.html

6 A Personal History of an Early Settler on Planet Birobidzhan

http://21stcenturybogatyr.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-personal-history-of-early-settler-on.html