Shana Tova. It’s so wonderful to see each and every one of you. It’s particularly heartwarming to welcome my parents, Bruce and Laurie Herman, and my sister, Rachel Herman, who are here with us over the holiday. I want to welcome Cantor Noah Rachels, his wife Amy and daughter Maya, as well as Amy’s mother, Jayne Rosen, and Cantor’s sister, Stacy Rachels who have also come to celebrate Rosh Hashanah with us.
For those with whom I have not yet had the chance to meet in person, I look forward to getting to know you over the course of 5784 and I also hope to deepen my connections with those who I had the privilege of meeting last year. With our new team in place, most notably with the arrival of Chazzan Noah Rachels but also recognizing the extraordinary work of our staff and volunteers, we’re building something special at Mosaic Law Congregation and I’m tremendously excited to begin the new year. Please watch episode 1 of season 2 of The Jewish Take where you’ll learn about some of our talented staff who will be taking part in this endeavor.
In 5784 we have the opportunity to say “This Year in Jerusalem!” Mosaic Law Congregation will be doing its first congregational Israel trip in over a decade, and I hope you will be able to join us. Please take one of the flyers outside with trip details and sign up after Yom Tov. You can direct any questions about the trip please to Bebe Halimi (our President’s wife) or me. I have some extra flyers up here if someone did not get one and would like to join us on the trip.
Can I get a show of hands of who’s on Facebook and/or Instagram? Please keep your hands raised if you’re currently following MLC on either of those platforms. Those who put down your hands, please join our MLC Instagram and Facebook page. We are aiming to triple the number of followers this year.
Please join us for Tashlich tomorrow at 5:00 pm (not 3:00 pm as on the tickets) at Guy West Park.
This is a traditional time to visit the cemetery. Please join us at Kever Avot, our community-wide memorial service, Sunday September 24 at 11:00 am at Home of Peace.
Last but not least please join us at 4:00 pm on Tuesday October 3 in the Center for guest speaker Henry Michaelski on his book Torn Lilacs. I heard him in Florida, and he’s outstanding.
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My Dear Friends,
As we gather together on this Rosh Hashanah, we are reminded of the importance of reflection and renewal. This is a time for us to look back on the past year, to take stock of our actions and our relationships, and to consider how we can move forward with greater purpose and intention.
We rejoice in the new beginnings that this season brings, but we also acknowledge the challenges and struggles that we have faced in the past year. We recognize that we are not perfect, that we have made mistakes and fallen short of our ideals. We also know that we have the capacity to grow and change.
As we enter into this new year, we are called to reflect on the ways in which we can improve ourselves and our world, to consider how we can be more compassionate, more generous, more loving. We are called to think about how we can repair the relationships that have been strained or broken, and how we can build new connections with those around us.
At the same time, we are also reminded of the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing every moment that we have. We are reminded that our time on earth is limited, and we must make the most of it. We are reminded that we have a responsibility to use our talents and our resources to make a positive impact on the world, to leave it a better place than we found it.
As we gather together on this Rosh Hashanah, let us recommit ourselves to the work of teshuvah, of repentance and renewal. May we embrace the opportunities that this year brings and strive to be the best versions of ourselves. Let us be blessed with health, happiness and peace in the coming year and to continue to grow and thrive as individuals and a community.
I hope you liked my sermon. The truth is that I did not write one word of it: that was Chat GPT’s response (with some minor edits by me) on my prompt “Please write a Rosh Hashanah sermon.” We see that artificial intelligence has taken some major leaps. Concurrently, much of the sermon was generalities; it did not reflect the full capacity of the human heart. It is both awe-inspiring and daunting to see the progress of artificial intelligence. As on a recent magazine cover: “AI: Friend or Foe?”[1]
I am amazed that in the past year artificial intelligence has advanced our capabilities to produce such material, being part and parcel of our electronics, our search engines and our problem solving. One does not have to look far to see all the great advances from AI. Last month, Ann Johnson, who had a stroke at the age of 30, was able to speak for the first time in 18 years from an AI avatar controlled by her brain signals. The avatar was used to convey words, display smiles and shoe some body language, such as pursed lips. Ann said, “It made me feel like I was a whole person again.”2 There are powerful, emotional connections between people and their AI devices which we must recognize. We can also be in awe of the AI-powered rover from India that made the first successful landing on the South Pole of the moon after two previous failures to reach there, and we see that there is much excitement from AI’s capabilities.
While artificial intelligence can be a friend of ours, it can also be a foe. I have a good friend who lost his job because it was made obsolete by AI, and he’s far from the only one. In addition, AI makes it easier to plagiarize in a speech or a research paper. Perhaps most importantly, AI comes with significant risks for humanity. In May, there were 350 signatories from the tech world who warned that AI might pose an existential threat as well as a societal threat on par with pandemics and nuclear wars.[3] Two months prior, 1,000 signatories called for 6-month pause on AI development.[4] At present, AI developers are continuing full speed ahead. What we must recognize, however, is that as the risk goes up so must the safeguards. I think of those who perished in the submersible Titan back in June. We do not want to inadvertently create a Frankenstein’s Monster which will lead to loss of life.
It is crucial to remember that this is not the first time that we have been challenged by innovations that we now take for granted. Remember a decade ago, when Internet commerce took off-the idea that you could buy something and get it
by those who do not use it. One can look back in history and see the benefits from innovations which at first created great trepidation. 500 years ago, the printing press was very daunting, yet it allowed the publication of fixed texts that we use today, including this Mahzor. 2,000 years ago, a crisis in Jewish history, the destruction of the Second Temple, required a change in standard practice. It led to creative innovations, including the development of rabbinic Judaism.
What does one do with the waves of innovation that develop? In order to weather the storm, one must have deep spiritual roots and faith in the future. Look at the spies who reported on the Land of Israel, saying אֶ֣רֶץ אֹכֶ֤לֶת יוֹשְׁבֶ֙יהָ֙- “This is a land which devours its inhabitants!”[5] They made a caravan to return to Egypt. In contrast, the spy Caleb saidעָלֹ֤ה נַעֲלֶה֙ וְיָרַ֣שְׁנוּ אֹתָ֔הּ כִּֽי־יָכ֥וֹל נוּכַ֖ל לָֽהּ׃- “Let us by all means go up, and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it.”[6] Caleb had resilience-he knew no matter the risks and uncertainty there were in entering a new land, with willpower and faith Israel could overcome the challenges. Rooting ourselves in things which are unchanging-our love of family and friends, the opportunity to take weekly rest on Shabbat,and the strength of our community, are ways to respond to the uncertainties that the future brings. Being grounded in the present helps us transcend any obstacles. When our head starts to spin or when we feel the ground slip from beneath our feet, we need to anchor ourselves in the present moment.
Judaism has a great story for dealing with the fear and discomfort of changes. In the Talmud it states, “When Moses ascended on High (to receive the Torah), he found God tying crowns on the letters of the Torah. Moses said: Master of the Universe, who is preventing You from giving the Torah without these additions? God replied: There is a man destined to be born, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name; he will derive from each and every one of these crowns mounds upon mounds of halacha (laws). It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah. Moses said: Master of the Universe, show him to me. God said: Look behind you (and he was transported into Rabbi Akiva’s Beit midrash, study hall).
Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row (reserved for those who knew the least)[7] in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and did not understand what everyone was saying. His strength waned, as he thought his knowledge was deficient. When Rabbi Akiva discussed one matter, his students said to him: My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva replied: It is a halakha (law) transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease.”[8]
Moses feared all he had accomplished and stood for was worth nothing-after all, he could not understand a single word of Torah that was taught. He felt inept and worthless. All he had striven for in life felt like it did not matter. When he heard that his teachings sprung eternal-that there was an enduring understanding emanating from him, Moses was comforted. Often in life, changes happen faster than we can keep up with, leaving us scared, despondent and depressed. At those moments, we need to have confidence in who we are and belief that our foundation is strong enough to withstand whatever life throws at us-of course easier said than done.
The stronger our spiritual provisions and the deeper our faith, the more interconnected we are as a community and the easier time we have of meeting challenges head on with resolve. Sir Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l describes the importance of resilience in Judaism as follows:
“This is how to deal with crisis. Wrestle with it, refusing to let it go until it blesses you, until you emerge stronger, better or wiser than you were before. To be a Jew is not to accept defeat. That is the meaning of faith.[9]
The way we maintain resilience is by defining what makes us unique as human beings, which technological developments will never take away from us. My rabbinical school dean, Danny Nevins, now serving as Head of School at Golda Ochs Academy in West Orange, NJ wrote the Conservative rabbinic responsum on Artificial Intelligence.[10] He quotes Abraham Joshua Heschel, who said the following:
What constitutes being human, personhood? The ability to be concerned for other human beings…The truth of being human is gratitude, the secret of existence is appreciation, its significance is revealed in reciprocity. Mankind will not die for lack of information; it may perish from lack of appreciation. Being human presupposes the paradox of freedom, the capacity to create events, to transcend the self… Supreme meaning is therefore inconceivable without meaning derived from supreme being. Humanity without divinity is a torso. This is even reflected in the process of healing. Without a sense of significant being, a sense of wonder and mystery, a sense of reverence for the sanctity of being alive, the doctor’s efforts and prescriptions may prove futile.[11]
Rabbi Nevins concludes his responsum with the statement: “The sanctity of human life is not based on our utility, but by our very existence as people made from other people in the image of God.” [12]
No matter how advanced technology becomes, we must remember that as humans we have a unique place in the world, with infinite value. Psalms asserts that we have been made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor.[13] The Slonimer Rebbe, a Hasidic leader-by the way, Hasidim was an innovation in response to large-scale pogroms-wrote in his book Netivot Shalom that each of us has a unique mission to do in the world, which is only for us.[14] This is the place of Judaism in a world of AI-helping each of us discover and cultivate our personal mission and our unique skillsets to better the world. It is about not giving up when the going gets tough but instead having faith in ourselves and our futures.
On Rosh Hashanah, we marvel at the beauty of innovations, including the creation of the world, reveling at how far our society has come and how quickly changes develop. At the same time, when we are fearful, we recognize how resilient we are as people, and how our ingenuity and adaptability has led us to new heights throughout history. With the advancement and involvement of artificial intelligence in human areas of work, new opportunities are also developed. We live in a constantly changing world, but also one which is always open to new creations and innovations. Concurrently, we must be cautious and put in appropriate safeguards to ensure that, like a good chess player, we are always playing a few moves ahead, aware of the risks as best we can and possible unintended consequences.
In 5784, I wish for each of us to have confidence in who we are and to have resilience as we step forward into a future that is yet to be determined. Wherever the waves of innovation take us, may we be rooted enough to stand firm and confident, trusting in our abilities to navigate in the midst of the storm.
Voyage of New Days-by Lucille Frenkel
Each morning starts new voyage
Upon my “sea of days”.
I journey through the ways of life
Along familiar ways.
At evening, does day’s traveling cease.
I anchor at the night;
And wearily, I slip to sleep
To rest in quiet night.
Till morning comes at dawning,
I rise again to sail-
And ask in humble prayer to God,
That gentle winds prevail.[15]
[1] Marin County Magazine, September 2023.
[2] AI Helps a Stroke Patient Speak Again, a Milestone for Tech and Neuroscience – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/30/technology/ai-threat-warning.html#:~:text=A%20group%20of%20industry%20leaders,with%20pandemics%20and%20nuclear%20wars.
[4] https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/
[5] Numbers 13:32
[6] Numbers 13:30
[7] The Beit Midrash, or study hall, was arranged for those who knew the most to be in the front and those who knew the least to be in the back. Moses sat in the last seat, indicating he knew the least.
[8] Bablyonian Talmud Menachot 29b
[9] Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Letters to the Next Generation, page 31.
[10] Rabbi Daniel Nevins, AI, Moral Machines and Halakha–Final (rabbinicalassembly.org).Rabbi Daniel Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. Approved June 19, 2019.
[11] Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence (JPS, 1966) 26
[12] Thinking About AI
[13] Psalms 8:5
[14] Netivot Shalom Lech Lecha
[15] Lucille Frenkel, “Voyage of New Days” (Book of poetry gifted to me on my 23rd birthday-September 25, 2006).
Meet Rabbi Herman 
Rabbi, I believe that it’s Bebe Halimi, not Hamili. Typo.
I recommend checking and correcting it, if warranted.
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