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Are You for Real?

ARE YOU FOR REAL?

We’ve all seen the latest advertisements for phone gadgets allowing us to create avatars which mimic our speaking and facial expressions. They are so great! This fantastic feature is simply the next step in an ongoing evolution of artificial intelligence that in some way helps us connect and relate better with each other.

In truth, we’ve been playing this game for centuries. We’ve worn masks, stood on stages, penned letters under pseudonyms to show ourselves more clearly. It’s no surprise there are so many implements in our day that are imitations of ourselves, from animated characters to Facebook and Instagram profiles. The anonymity gives us permission to experiment with ideas and identities to show that we are more than who we are. At best, they help us realize who we would like to be. As we run headlong toward new horizons of communication and connection, we have even greater opportunities to discuss the quality of our connections and for what purpose they ultimately serve. Our Jewish tradition can guide us in these spaces as well.

Consider the confrontations between Moses and Pharaoh in Egypt in this way. We’re reading about the enslavement and journey to redemption for the Israelites this week in our Torah. The ten plagues are God’s avatars of power and purpose. The progression of their natural and physical manifestations are examples of divine will. Yet, the plagues are both a demonstration of God’s might in the face of tyranny and the inspiration for an enslaved and downtrodden people to believe in a better reality than being victims of invisibility and oppression. More than supernatural phenomena, the plagues are a tangible expression of God’s might and will to show Pharoah and the Israelites the omnipotence of the Source of All.

The seventh of the ten plagues, hail, bursts forth as an example for this growing awareness. In the Torah narrative, we read that God instructs Moses to tell Pharaoh, “I could have stretched forth My hand and stricken you and your people... nevertheless, I have spared you for this purpose: in order to show you My power, and in order that My fame may resound throughout the world.” (9:15-16) The purpose of the plagues shift from punitive measures for disobedience to a demonstration of possibility. In response to this pronouncement, “...those among Pharaoh’s courtiers who feared the LORD’s word brought their slaves and livestock indoors to safety; but those who paid no regard to the word of the LORD left their slaves and livestock in the open.” (9:20-21)  No matter how dramatic the plagues became, some never heeded the warnings, most of all Pharaoh.     

All the plagues seem incomprehensible in reality - a giant frog, blankets of darkness, fire-studded hail, or the targeted murder of children seem too fantastic to our modern sensibilities. They are fantasies that mask a very real force in the Universe. Just like the people who pay attention and those who don’t, we may very well walk the world with a similar suspicion. Yet, the growing awareness of God’s presence is a crucial step toward freedom - at the very least a curiosity in power that defies natural forces. The Israelites made the great journey to this awareness millennia ago so that way may follow in their footsteps of freedom.

Preserving a sense of mystery about the universe, one that easily transcends nature and artifice, is a fundamental element in freedom. It’s not that the artificial intelligence of the Bible or of our day is an abstraction of reality.  It is a real tool we use to see this power and ultimately to see ourselves better. Indeed, it is the only tool we continue to use to grow the awareness of freedom and power in ourselves too.

Fri, March 29 2024 19 Adar II 5784