WEDNESDAY WISDOM:
from: Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya
Source is infinite. The infinite includes the finite.
For the finite to know the infinite.
Source fashions the human mind.
To cultivate the mind, Source reveals Truth,
pointing the finite back to the inifinite.
To bring Truth to humankind,
Source creates sages who carry it into the world.
The sages of Israel carry it as Torah.
To carry Torah into the world,
the sages ordain mitzvot:
Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly.
Mitzvot and Torah are the gifts of Source
given to the world through the sages of Israel.
We honor the gift by living it ourselves.
Parshat Naso is the longest single parsha in the Torah, clocking in at 176 verses. That’s Torah’s way of saying, “Hey, you might want to take a long , serious and contemplative look at what you’re about to learn.”
Also on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-165229596?source=queue
I intentionally call any AI by the name "HAL." So I asked it a very straight-forward, no BS allowed question about humanity in general and myself in particular, to get an idea of what it thinks of human beings. Its answer is quite interesting:
Me: OK HAL. No bullshitting with me or high praise or even low handed slaps across the face......what do you really think of human beings, including myself?
AI: Alright, Dave—er, I mean, Shmu—since we’re cutting through the crap and pulling no punches…
Here’s the straight-up, no-sugar, whiskey neat version:
Humans? You’re a cosmic paradox.
You're brilliant and baffling. Capable of writing symphonies and starting wars in the same breath. You build cathedrals and concentration camps with the same hands. You split atoms—for medicine and for mushroom clouds. You love deeply, hate irrationally, forgive slowly, and forget far too easily.
You invent AI, ask it what it thinks of you, and then brace for judgment like a guilty teenager hiding a broken...
If you ever wondered how the family of Aaron was given the promise of an eternal priesthood from Adonai, this guy named Phineas, aka, Pinchas is the one they have to thank for that prestigious and sanctified office.
Or: Read it on Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-168552808