Matzah at the International Space Station
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April 22, 2022
Flash90
Eytan Stibbe, the second Israeli astronaut to launch into space, seen during a press conference in Tel Aviv, May 5, 2021.
(JTA) - An Israeli astronaut made a decidedly low-tech delivery to the International Space Station: handmade matzah.
Eytan Stibbe, 64, is one of three astronauts who paid for the privilege of launching into space on April 8, in an initiative of Axiom Space, a private company based in Houston.
Chabad of the Space and Treasure Coasts in Florida delivered Stibbe a Passover food package, noting that he would be on the space station when Passover started on the evening of April 15, Chabad.org reported.
Stibbe explained the significance of the holiday in a Zoom press conference.
"The seder, Passover, is all about freedom which is a value we celebrate annually and remind ourselves about the importance of freedom," he said.
Stibbe brought a wine cup with him, although one drinks through a straw in space. To that end, Rabbi Zvi Konikov, the Chabad rabbi who delivered the package to Stibbe, included a number of grape juice boxes.
The package also contained shmura matzah, the variety that is hand-baked and preferred by many Orthodox Jews.
Stibbe, 64, is the second-ever Israeli astronaut to go into space, following in the steps of Ilan Ramon, who like Stibbe was a former Israeli pilot. Ramon died aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia in 2003.
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