Thanks to scientific and medical advances, the human lifespan is lengthening. More and more people live 30 years longer than earlier generations did. Those additional 30 years are not tacked on to the end of our lives, but rather during our active years. It is a new life stage, and people can’t agree on what to name it. Elderhood? Middlescence? The next to last dog stage? If you can’t name it, it is hard to see it. Yet it matters.
In a television interview shortly before his death, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was asked if he had a message for young people. Watching live with my parents, I was a young person at the time, and Heschel seemed to speak directly to me when he responded: “Build your life as a work of art.” My rabbinate is an artistic practice. The spiritual community I serve in all its complexity is a creation under continuous construction. Art is not limited solely to what looks or sounds like fine art; and through this lens, our beit midrash, our dialogue project, our delivery of gemilut chesed — all are part of the artwork.
In a television interview shortly before his death, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was asked if he had a message for young people. Watching live with my parents, I was a young person at the time, and Heschel seemed to speak directly to me when he responded: “Build your life as a work of art.” My rabbinate is an artistic practice. The spiritual community I serve in all its complexity is a creation under continuous construction. Art is not limited solely to what looks or sounds like fine art; and through this lens, our beit midrash, our dialogue project, our delivery of gemilut chesed — all are part of the artwork.
We live in a world that is increasingly intertwined with Artificial Intelligence, a technology that is reshaping our lives in ways we could have never imagined. From self-driving cars to virtual assistants, Artificial Intelligence is altering the fabric of our society, presenting us with opportunities and dilemmas alike. As we gather here today, let us consider the teachings of our Jewish tradition and how they might guide our understanding and approach to Artificial Intelligence.
Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah taught: “If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, there is no flour” (Pirkei Avot 3:17). This aphorism is sometimes taught in relation to philanthropy: Learning cannot flourish without material support – and that’s true. But last summer, my appreciation for the relationship between physical and spiritual nourishment was enriched in the most unlikely of places.
Let’s do a thought experiment. How many Jewish organizations do you think there are in North America? 2,000? 3,000? According to Leading Edge, the go-to address helping Jewish organizations improve their workplace culture and leadership, there are an estimated 9,500 organizations – synagogues, federations, schools, Hillels, camps, social service agencies, and more – led by thousands of CEOs, clergy, and executive directors, 30,000 board members, with an astounding 120,000 Jewish communal employees serving their members and clients.
