Paper Books vs AI: The Hidden Wisdom in a Hasidic Holiday
Tech Tribe Dispatch #281
💡 Think:
In 1987 the Rebbe urged Jews around the world to mark the 5th of Tevet as a festival of Jewish books. In the annals of Jewish history, the people of the holy book never had a holiday specifically devoted to the acquisition of new holy books. What changed? The following is based on a conversation I once had during a chasidic gathering with noted Chasidic scholar Rabbi Elie Matusof.
Historically, printing books was incredibly expensive. As recently as the early 1980s, printing with the hot metal typesetting process was common, slow and expensive. Only with the rise of digital printing could a truly affordable system be used at scale.
As such, a holiday dedicated to owning books could only really work in the modern era.
Obviously, however, this no mere cause and effect relationship, but rather a deeper expression - addressing a need for the era.
Though it’s only speculation, perhaps the Fifth of Tevet is the spiritual inoculation to the AI era.
There is humanity in books. In the Chabad milieu, books are viewed as the essence of the of the author, embodied in paper. “I have given my essence in written form…”
In an era where everything is online - where we’ve outsourced our knowledge repository to distributed databases and algorithmically indexed searches, where we increasingly really on a stochastic parrot to regurgitate information to us in the place of storied wisdom, there is something profoundly centering about holding a paper book in your hands.
By filling our homes with physical, future-proofed knowledge —not prone to format obsolesce or digital hallucinations — we transform where we live into a dwelling of profound spiritual knowledge. And when we imbibe the vibes of the space, our physical minds become inextricably linked with the wisdom itself, so that the wisdom of the sages, embodied in paper, has become physical and lived once more trough us.
That is something to celebrate!
Take part and get your own books. I’ve collected Twelve Essential Jewish Books to Inspire Your Mind and Uplift Your Soul.
Join us this Sunday, January 5th, for our New Year for Jewish Books celebration!
🏃 DO:
📚 NEW YEAR FOR JEWISH BOOKS - Join us for a festive dinner, bring a new Jewish book you purchased, or pick one up from us!
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