Ping
The word pivotal is often used to describe an important event that led to a monumental turn of events.
"the most pivotal space mission in history: Apollo 11"
In a recent shiur about the moon being a parable for the Messiah, Harav Ginsburgh devotes some time to this verse:
Psalm 72.5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations (dor dorim, a generation of generations)
He did not mention Apollo 11, but it's a powerful message, generation to generation:
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
530 million people (some references round up further to 600 million) witnessed that event.
Also not mentioned (unless I missed it), is that Mashiach is spelled out in that verse by the end letters of the words "with the sun and before (i.e. facing) the moon". It's the only place in the Tanakh where this sofei teivos pattern occurs.
עם-שמש ולפני ירח
Psalm 72 is the Messianic psalm known for verse 17, out of which the Messianic name Yinon comes.
The Apollo 11 mission took place from July 16-24, 1969, which were The Nine Days.
The Talmud says, "When the month of Av begins, we [i.e. Jews] reduce our joy."[1] The Nine Days inaugurates an even greater level of communal and personal mourning in recognition of the many tragedies and calamities that befell the Jewish people at this time.[2] These tragedies include the destruction of both Jewish Temples in Jerusalem, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain on Tisha B'Av 1492, and the outbreak of World War I on Tisha B'Av 1914, which destroyed many Jewish communities. The Nine Days are considered an inauspicious time, fraught with danger even in our day and age.[2]
Overcome The Darkness By Turning On The Light:
Jer 31
9. Hear the word of the Lord, O you nations, and declare it in the islands far away, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, like a shepherd keeps his flock:
10. For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he:
11. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd; and their soul shall be like a watered garden; and they shall not languish in sorrow any more:
12. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together; for I will turn their mourning to joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow:
The concept of the beginning enwedged in the end and the end in the beginning is certainly applicable here on a number of levels, most notably in that the future is declared by the past.
Landing site: Mare Tranquillitatis, the Sea of Tranquility (peace).
Hebrew: Yam Shalvah
Where else.
They just don't teach history anymore.