119 - Statement Following the Safe Return of the Apollo 13 Astronauts.
April 17, 1970
FOR MUCH of mankind the reaches of space had never seemed so infinitely remote as they did when Apollo 13 was crippled nearly a quarter of a million miles from earth, headed toward the moon.
With Astronauts Lovell, Haise, and Swigert safely back on earth, a surpassing human drama that gripped the world for 3 1/2 days at last has a happy ending. Their safe return is a tribute to their own courage and also to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of those on the ground who helped transform potential tragedy into a heart stopping rescue.
From the beginning, man's ventures into space have been accompanied by danger. Apollo 13 reminds us how real those dangers are. It reminds us of the special qualities of the men who dare to brave the perils of space. It testifies, also, to the extraordinary concert of skills, in space and on the ground, that goes into a moon mission.
To the astronauts, a relieved Nation says "Welcome home."
To them and to those on the ground who did so magnificent a job of guiding Apollo 13 safely back from the edge of eternity, a grateful Nation says "Well done".
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=2468
Richard Nixon
Proclamation 3979 - Designating a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving
April 17, 1970
Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Sunday, April 19, 1970, as a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving.
http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=105795
John 2
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
odyssey (n.) 1600, "Odyssey," from Latin Odyssea, from Greek Odysseia, name of the Homeric epic poem of ancient Greece, relating the ten-year wanderings of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, after the Trojan War. Figurative sense of "long, adventurous journey" is first recorded 1889.
April 13, 1970
"Houston, we've had a problem here."
Nisan 7, 5730
April 17, 1970
A relieved Nation says "Welcome home."
Nisan 10, 5730
Nisan 7:
On the 7th of Nissan, the first day after the mourning period [for Moses] came to an end, Joshua instructed the Jews [Israel] to stock up on provisions and prepare themselves to cross the Jordan river and begin the conquest of the Promised Land. This was the first time Joshua addressed the nation, and they unconditionally accepted him as their new leader.
The actual crossing occurred on the 10th of Nissan.
Today's 'Nasi': Ephraim
Sanctification of the Moon
Once a month, as the moon waxes in the sky, we recite a special blessing called Kiddush Levanah, "the sanctification of the moon," praising the Creator for His wondrous work we call astronomy.
Kiddush Levanah is recited after nightfall, usually on Saturday night. The blessing is concluded with songs and dancing, because our nation is likened to the moon—as it waxes and wanes, so have we throughout history. When we bless the moon, we renew our trust that very soon, the light of G-d's presence will fill all the earth and our people will be redeemed from exile.
Though Kiddush Levanah can be recited as early as three days after the moon's rebirth, the kabbalah tells us it is best to wait a full week, till the seventh of the month. Once 15 days have passed, the moon begins to wane once more and the season for saying the blessing has passed.
http://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=04%2F13%2F1970
Nisan 7
Preparation for entry into the Promised Land.
Nisan 10
The actual crossing of the Jordan ("descender') occurred.
A relieved Nation says "Welcome home."
Back to the ideal day for the special blessing of the moon, the 7th of the month:
Thank G-d for the Moon!
The Monthly Sanctification of the Moon
Here's the formula: After nightfall, when the moon is fully visible and unobstructed by cloud cover, stand under the open sky and look once at the moon. Then face east and recite the blessing along with a few accompanying prayers. The more people you get to participate, the better—you are, after all, greeting the Divine Presence. If you have a quorum of ten men, kaddish is recited.
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/607391/jewish/Thank-G-d-for-the-Moon.htm
Now, Therefore, I, Richard Nixon, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate Sunday, April 19, 1970, as a National Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving.
A relieved nation was "looking up". God yet again set up the rectification before the problem, the cure before the disease, because the first Earth Day was April 22, 1970.
You just can't make this stuff up.
Interesting that you should bring up the Moon.
It is just the right size and mass, with just the right amount of gravity, situated in an orbit just the right distance away, to give planet earth just the right amount of tidal motion in the oceans to give us just the right kind of weather and tidal motion to sustain life.
And the earth is just the right distance from the sun (called the “Goldilocks Zone) which is just the right size, and at just the right stage in its solar life to give us the ideal conditions for life.
And the Moon, which reflects the light of the Sun, gives us a familiar marker of time...approximately 28 days, the same as a human female, the cycle of human life...
And because of the Moon’s particular rate of rotation, it always presents to us the same familiar face.
And there are folks out there who don’t believe in God.
Go Figure.