# Ramadan in the North Pole **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 11, 2010, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894 "2010-08-11T01:34:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4da419/32.png) [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gala_Matrix_Fire)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/21 "2010-08-12T00:47:13Z")
> [@panamajack](#): > > The first Muslim astronaut (as far as I know, or at least the first who cared) went on the ISS in 2007… First Muslim in space was [prince Sultan bin Salman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sultan_bin_Salman_bin_Abdulaziz_Al_Saud)of Saudi Arabia, who was a payload specialist aboard the Discovery in 1985. The voyage took place at the tail end of Ramadan, so he had fasting concerns as well as concerns about prayer times. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/22 "2010-08-12T01:12:59Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > A (practicing) Jewish astronaut would ask his rabbi what to do about various religious observances in orbit. The rabbi would answer based on his own knowledge, or refer to a previously published p’sak, which exist because individual halachic authorities have discussed the issue in the past. I enjoyed [this](http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-whendoesonepraywhenthereisnoday.htm)a great deal: > [@](#): > > Ideally, one should not travel to outer space. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/23 "2010-08-12T01:21:10Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > [I enjoyed [this](http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-whendoesonepraywhenthereisnoday.htm)a great deal: > > > [@](#): > > > > Ideally, one should not travel to outer space. So…no _Jews In Space_??? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Shmendrik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shmendrik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shmendrik)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/24 "2010-08-12T01:50:39Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > > [@Shmendrik](#): > > > > A (practicing) Jewish astronaut would ask his rabbi what to do about various religious observances in orbit. The rabbi would answer based on his own knowledge, or refer to a previously published p’sak, which exist because individual halachic authorities have discussed the issue in the past. > > I enjoyed [this](http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-whendoesonepraywhenthereisnoday.htm)a great deal: > > > [@](#): > > > > Ideally, one should not travel to outer space. Far be it from me to weigh various Jewish authorities against each other, but I think Mel Brooks would disagree. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/25 "2010-08-12T16:54:27Z")
> [@Shmendrik](#): > > > [@Chronos](#): > > > > Islam really isn’t all that legalistic a religion. > > It isn’t? Compared to what? Maybe the Catholic Church. I’ve heard (co-workers and the unfailable internet), that the fasting can be skipped to accomodate legitimate health issues. But someone with Celiac disease still is required to have a wheat communion wafer by the Catholic Church. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/26 "2010-08-12T17:55:34Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > But someone with Celiac disease still is required to have a wheat communion wafer by the Catholic Church. Can’t they just transubstantiate the Body of Christ into something wheat-free? Isn’t it supposed to be a miracle, not a chemical process with a fixed result? ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/27 "2010-08-12T18:51:47Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Can’t they just transubstantiate the Body of Christ into something wheat-free? Isn’t it supposed to be a miracle, not a chemical process with a fixed result? Good point. Maybe the rule is that it has to start out as being made of wheat. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/28 "2010-08-12T20:12:27Z")
Not Catholic but I do have Celiac. On the discussion boards at [celiac.com](http://celiac.com) this is a topic that pops up at least a few times per month and apparently very low wheat content is acceptable there has to be some wheat. But aren’t stomach cramps and diarrhea a small price to pay for eternal life? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/29 "2010-08-15T00:20:23Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > But someone with Celiac disease still is required to have a wheat communion wafer by the Catholic Church. I thought Catholics could communicate in either species and someone unable to tolerate any wheat could partake of the wine only. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2010, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894/30 "2010-08-15T03:12:47Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > > [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > > > Really? What about the [RCA](http://www.rabbis.org/)? > > They’re an Orthodox rabbinical group. Their decisions wouldn’t be considered authoritative by Conservative or Reform Jews. There are probably some Orthodox Jews for whom they’re not Orthodox enough. I’m not sure how much weight their opinions would carry outside the US, either. And what type of question on Jewish law would a Reformed Jew ask? Certainly not questions of Kashrut or Shabbat. The point of Reformed Judaism was to get away what they claimed was “Kitchen Judaism”. It was to break away from bounds of Halacha (the code of Jewish law). The RCA doesn’t poskin (i.e. interpret Jewish Law), but they do have various discussions on Jewish law and principles which can have a wide range of opinions. You are suppose to ask your own Orthodox Rabbi if you have a particular question on Jewish law. In fact, if you asked another Rabbi, he is suppose to tell you he can’t poskin for you. You should ask your Rabbi that question. There is sort of a Rabbinical hierarchy, but it’s informal. It is sort of like any hierarchy of scholars. They are people who are recognized as experts in certain areas Jewish law whose opinions carry a lot of weight. But, again, you’re suppose to ask your Rabbi. > [@](#): > > [Interesting Washington Post article about Ramadan and conflicts between various Muslim groups over how to determine when it starts.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/10/AR2010081005777.html?referrer=emailarticlepg) > > Of all the things we Jews fight about, at least the calendar isn’t one of them (other than the quibble about whether holidays should be one day or two). Well, our calendar was actually fixed back about 1800 years ago when we realized that setting the date via new moon from Jerusalem was getting impossible to do. Officially, there was a Jewish court in Jerusalem that decided when the new moon occurred and when the new month started. However, when it became impossible for the court to meet, the calendar was fixed. Having an official court in Jerusalem meant that many Jews outside of Israel might not know when the month started until the end of the month. That meant you really weren’t sure when a holiday was suppose to be celebrated. Since months could have 29 or 30 days, you simply celebrated both possible dates. It’s why outside of Israel certain holidays are two days. Even in Israel Rosh Hashanah is two days long because it’s at the beginning of the month, and there was no way in the midst of the holiday celebration to know which of the two days were the first of the month. The Muslims simplified the concept by having each community do its own siting for the new moon instead of a centralized authority in Mecca. That works out well when a country has an official Islamic religious authority like in Saudi Arabia or Iran. But, in a place like the U.S., there is no official authority. By the way, I grew up as a Reformed Jew. The local Reformed Temple’s Rabbi couldn’t speak Hebrew and they would serve pork and cheese burgers over there. That was a bit too much for my parents, so we went to the Conservative Synagogue. Not that we didn’t eat port or cheese burgers or could speak Hebrew. It’s that my parents thought the Rabbi should be keeping kosher and be able to read from the Torah. Despite our Synagogue membership we were “Reformed”. In fact, I use to joke we celebrated only three days of Passover because after three days my mom got sick of the Matzoh crumbs all over the house. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ramadan-in-the-north-pole/549894.md?page=1)