💡Think:
The Talmud relates a fascinating story when Moses received the Torah on Sinai1
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Moses ascended on High to receive the Torah, the ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, what is one born of a woman doing here among us?
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: He came to receive the Torah.
The angels said before Him: The Torah is a hidden treasure that was concealed by you 974 generations before the creation of the world, and you seek to give it to flesh and blood? “What is man that You are mindful of him and the son of man that You think of him?” (Psalms 8:5). Rather, “God our Lord, how glorious is Your name in all the earth that Your majesty is placed above the heavens” (Psalms 8:2). The rightful place of God’s majesty, the Torah, is in the heavens.
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Moses: Provide them with an answer as to why the Torah should be given to the people.
…Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, the Torah that You are giving me, what is written in it? God said to him: “I am the Lord your God Who brought you out of Egypt from the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2). Moses said to the angels: Did you descend to Egypt? Were you enslaved to Pharaoh? Why should the Torah be yours?
Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? God said to him: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). Moses said to the angels: Do you dwell among the nations who worship idols that you require this special warning?
…Again Moses asked: What else is written in it? God said to him: “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal” (Exodus 20:13) Moses asked the angels: Is there jealousy among you, or is there an evil inclination within you that would render these commandments relevant? Immediately they agreed with the Holy One, Blessed be He, that He made the right decision to give the Torah to the people, and as it is stated: “God our Lord, how glorious is Your name in all the earth”…
The exchange is particularly perplexing. Were the angels unaware of the Torah’s message? Why did they demand that the Torah, which so clearly deals with human challenges and earthly realities, be kept in Heaven and not brought down here on earth?
Rather, as the angels stated at the outset, their complaint was not that the earthly laws of the Torah would be given to humans, but rather the “hidden" treasure” the sublime esoteric soul of the Torah would be given to the Jewish people, yet lost on them. How could a text so profound, one that speaks to the deepest spiritual dimensions of Creation, be given to human beings? Humans are flawed, prone to mistakes and error.
Only Angels, they claimed, would have the exacting perfection to appreciate the profundity of this gift.
Thus Moses answered them, the most profound aspects of the Divine could only be appreciated through the human experience. Only in this physical world - where we’re subject to the messiness of life, the imperfections of reality, can the most sublime be experienced.
In looking at the impending AI revolution - the illusory perfection of machines may seem to shine brighter. But it’s only in the messiness of the human experience, will the truth transcendent be experienced.
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Shabbat 88b, translated by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel (Steinsaltz)