Teaching Judaism from an unbiased, unaffiliated viewpoint through study of the Torah, Talmud and Midrash, as well as, the traditions of our Jewish heritage and those of the region of Sumer, Egypt and the Levant. We see the Tanakh and interpret it based on its original language keeping in mind the many redactions and translations that have been made over the centuries beginning with those done by scribes during the Babylonian exile period and keeping in mind the impact the original Sumerian stories which pre-date the Torah and Tanakh by many centuries and the obvious influence Avraham brought from his original home in Ur of Sumer, as well as the Babylonian story influences on the later redactors. The Tankah was not written in a vacuum and our interpretations keep this fact always in mind.
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
