The Transformative Power of a Typo
Tech Tribe Dispatch #289
💡 Think:
Some may ask, “Where is Mt. Sinai?”
To which the answer is, “why does it matter?”
While the Sinaitic moment, the standing at Mt. Sinai and the giving of the Torah, is a profoundly transformative moment in history, the location itself was transformed.
Unlike the Temple Mount, which is imbued with eternal sanctity, Mt. Sinai’s sanctity was transient. When the blasts of the Shofar ceased, the Ten Commandments were given, the Jewish people moved on.
The continued impact, the indwelling of the divine, can be found in this week’s Torah portion1:
"They shall make for Me a sanctuary, and I will reside within them."
The Torah does not write that G-d will dwell in it, the sanctuary, but rather within them… within each and every one of us2.
In these digital pages we’ve discussed the future of work and even personal meaning in AI future.
I’ve love believed that perhaps, the only job that is truly future-proofed is that of the yeshivah student. The work of inner enrichment through Torah study is the only one that faces no threat of ending.
What of Torah study itself - how will the relationship of the people of the Book change?
While I think the power of AI to help us find and explore the Torah is profound, the inner avodah - the act of study and personal refinement - is one that AI will never replicate. (This is, in part, why I believe the act of asking halachic questions to GPT is profoundly impossible to replicate the act of delivering the Halachic psak - ruling in Jewish law.)
It is said3 that when the book 'Likkutei Torah,' one of the foundational texts of Chabad Chasidic thought, was reprinted in Vilna, the chasid R’ Anshil Aronovitch worked on proofreading the book, and approximately three thousand printing errors were corrected.
When the books were brought to Lubavitch to the Rebbe Rashab, he was very pleased with it.
When Anshil later approach approached Reb David Hirshel Chein of Chernigov, known as the Radatz, and told him about the corrections and the Rebbe’s great pleasure at the beautiful new text, Anshilnoticed an expression of dissatisfaction on his face.
The Radatz was hesitant to express sharp criticism since he knew the Rebbe was pleased; but when Reb Asher asked him, “Why aren't you happy about the fact that a good deed was done and this book of the Alter Rebbe was corrected?”
The Radatz explained,
”The whole concept of Chasidus is not merely the comprehension of the text with the limited means ofour human intellect, but rather that the intellect itself should be immersed and absorbed in the Divine subject of Chasidus.”
There is avodah, there is profound spiritual journey and process in study.
Consequently, when there is a topic that contains an error such that the words are not understandable, it requires much effort over time, until one realizes that there is an error.
"What benefit, then, is there in correcting the errors in 'Likkutei Torah'?" – the Radatz turned to the proofreader Reb Anshil – "Until now, a Jew would invest one, two, or three hours struggling to understand the discourse.”
Only, when the student had completely exhausted the limits of his understanding, would he be forced to conclude that it must be an error in the text that prevented his understanding.”
”Now however,” the Radatz lamented, “The chasid will be able to go through it quickly like water, since there is nothing to hold him back, and afterward we don't know what he will be occupied with, and it's possible that he will go to sleep – because he no longer needs to struggle to understand the things that previously contained errors!"
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שיחות קודש תשל"ט כרך ב' עמ' 128