The Eternal Question: Where are you?
Tech Tribe Dispatch #226
💡 Think:
Tonight is the 19th of the Jewish month of Kislev, the Chasidic New Year.
It celebrates the 1798 liberation of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, the founder of the Chabad movement, following his imprisonment by the Czar on charges that Chasidic teachings and practice were somehow subversive. For fifty-two days he was held in the Russian Bastille, the Peter-Paul Fortress, an unfinished citadel-cum-prison in S. Petersburg.
Among the Rebbe’s interrogators was the minister of education who possessed broad knowledge of the Torah and its Hebrew commentaries.
Approaching Rabbi Shneur Zalman, he asked him to explain the verse (Genesis 3:9) set after Adam had consumed the fruit from the Tree, “And G‑d called out to the man and said to him: ‘Where are you?’”
”Rabbi,” he asked. “Did G‑d not know where Adam was? How could the Creator of All somehow be unaware of Adam’s location.”
“Where are you?” Rabbi Shneur Zalman explained, “was merely a conversation starter, so as not to unnerve Adam by immediately confronting him with his wrongdoing.”
“What Rashi says, I know,” said the minister referring to the glosses of the premier Biblical commentator. “I wish to hear how the Rebbe understands the verse.”
“Do you believe that the Torah is eternal?” asked Rabbi Shneur Zalman. “Do you believe that its every word applies to every individual, under all conditions, at all times?”
“Yes,” replied the minister.
“Then know that this passage is an eternal dialogue between G-d and us,” explained Rabbi Shneur Zalman, “ ‘Where are you?’ is G‑d’s perpetual call to every human. Where are you in the world? What have you accomplished? You have been allotted a certain number of days, hours, and minutes in which to fulfill your mission in life. You have lived so many years and so many days,”—here Rabbi Shneur Zalman spelled out the exact age of the minister—“Where are you? What have you achieved?”
🏃 DO:
🍷 Tech Tribe Chanukah Join us for Chanukah! Connect with other Jews in tech for an evening of solidarity and unity.
🕺🏻 We’ll be at the Brex Hanukkah party - bringing menorahs and more!
🤬 We’re getting ready for First Friday this week - but excited to share the launch of our next First Friday, January 5th: Social Media, Censorship & the Torah. Seats now available!
🚪 Get your own Mezuzah!
We’re all in on bringing a kosher mezuzah to every Jew. Get yours in our beautiful Tech Tribe #MezuzahMe kit.
🎧 Listen:
🎬 Watch:
📈 Invest:
Invest in Tech Tribe, join the #ChaiSociety!
Do you have a startup, announcement or message you’d like to share? Get your message seen by hundreds of people in Tech and Digital media!
📚 Read:
🥃 Underground Memories: Recalling Secret 19 Kislev Gatherings in 1960s’ Moscow. Rabbis talk of freedom amidst persecution during their youth.
✍️ Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers We asked them about it — and they deleted everything.
🔦 The optimistic Rebbe who never stopped warning Israel about dangers ahead.
👃🏼 The Makeup Artist Behind Bradley Cooper’s Prosthetic Nose
🔥 Lit:
This week, light Shabbat candles in NYC at 4:11 PM
For Shabbat candle-lighting time in your area click here.
Like what you saw? Want more? Please feel free to forward this email far and wide!
Support Tech Tribe’s mission to build community and curate epic experiences for young Jews in tech and digital media!