Someone just sent me this little video.
I almost didn’t write my own weekly email because of it.
It shows how manual sewers at a garment sewing factory will be made redundant by artificial intelligence.
It caused me great angst.
Why?
I don’t work as a garment sewer.
But I do teach, write and lecture about Torah.
And it seems that AI is capable of generating an article about the weekly Parsha.
Even using my voice with my style. It takes just a few seconds to produce, vs the several hours that I invest into my weekly article.
I did a test:
I asked ChatGPT to give me a hundred-word article about this week’s parsha in Rabbi Yosef Kantor’s voice and include an anecdote.
Here is the result:
Parshat Nasso teaches that every individual is counted and uplifted; no one is insignificant. A traveler once hesitated before putting on tefillin, unsure if such a small act truly mattered. With gentle encouragement, he did—and his face lit up with a quiet sense of connection. In that moment, it became clear how one mitzvah can awaken a soul. The Kohanim bless the people with love, פנים אל פנים, teaching us that blessing flows through care and sincerity. Each of us carries this ability: to notice another, to encourage, to act. Through small, heartfelt deeds, we transform ordinary moments into channels of Hashem’s light in the world.
So tell me, why should I bother writing articles anymore?
The AI obviously plugged into the content of the Parsha, was eavesdropping on my Hebrew WhatsApp in which I received an uplifting story and picture of a tefillin laying.
R’ Shalom Boossi, the head of our kosher certification for restaurants ( see the full list here) was headed way up the mountains in northern Thailand to Pai to inspect the kosher restaurant and stopped to say Mincha in a picturesque mountain stop. Hearing Hebrew he asked the young fellows if they wanted to put on tefillin. One of the young men had not put on tefillin for more than ten years. He had undergone a deeply disillusioning experience in his teen years and had stopped laying Tefilin daily as he was used to. It took a chance meeting at a scenic high altitude mountain range to reintroduce him to this most mighty holy mitzvah.
How did AI know that this would have been the anecdote I would have shared in my weekly email.
AI is highly intrusive. Highly intelligent. Don’t underestimate its power and pervasiveness).
I decided that YES, I would still go ahead and invest the time, energy and thought into writing my weekly Torah article.
Here is why:
This is the realization that became apparent to me in full force as I read the Parsha this week.
In honor of the consecration of the Mishkan, the leaders of the tribes brought a potpourri of valuable gold and silver vessels, filled with grain, incense and oil. Alongside this they also brought generous amounts of animal sacrifices to be used for the inauguration of the Altar in the Mishkan.
Initially, Moshe was unsure whether he should accept their gift.
In the event that he did get an instruction by G-d to accept it, he wasn’t sure whether the entire twelve gifts should be offered up on one day or to spread them out over a longer period.
Hashem responded to Moshe on both counts. That he should accept the gifts. And that they should not be sacrificed on one day all together, rather they should be offered up over twelve days. Each day would be the offerings of an individual tribe. One leader of one tribe per day.
Twelve consecutive days of identical offerings.
This raises a question when reading the narrative of this event in the Torah.
Each of the gift packages was exactly the same down to the last detail.
The Torah writes out twelve times the exact same gift ‘menu’ with nary a word different in all twelve renditions other than the name of the tribe and its respective leader.
For a Torah that is meticulous about using as few words as possible to convey even the subtlest of laws, this largesse in repetitive verses and words screams redundancy.
Why does the Torah repeat these offerings twelve times one after the other when they are one hundred percent identical?
I want to remind you about this well-known parable.
A wealthy businessman was walking along a beach. As he enjoyed his stroll, he suddenly noticed a fisherman lying comfortably in his small boat, resting in the sun.
The businessman was shocked.
“Why aren’t you out fishing?” he called out. “There is still plenty of time in the day—you could be catching more fish!”
The fisherman looked up, calm and unhurried.
“Because,” he said, “I already caught enough fish for today. Soon I will go home, spend time with my children, and tonight my family will gather with friends to sing, to laugh, and to enjoy life.”
The businessman could not understand this at all.
“You don’t realize,” he said, “if you go out again, you could catch more fish. With more fish you could make more money. With more money you could buy a bigger boat. With a bigger boat you could go further out, catch even more fish, build an entire fleet… and become very rich.”
The fisherman listened quietly.
“And then what would I do?” he asked.
“Then,” said the businessman, almost triumphantly, “then you would be able to really enjoy life.”
The fisherman looked at him for a moment and asked simply:
“What do you think I am doing now?”
Our generation seems to be constantly rushing.
We have been trained to try and save time. To make life more effortless.
To create new blocks of time to be used at our own discretion.
Even the most basic tasks like washing laundry used to take the larger part of a day back in the ‘olden days’.
We solved that with washing machines and dryers.
Till very recently, going shopping for groceries was a chore that required getting to the store, pushing a trolley, bagging, loading, schlepping into the house.
Today we have online grocery shopping delivered to the front door.
Robots are sweeping and washing our floors.
No need to go to the bank as you can deposit, withdraw, pay, trade stocks and do a million other things from the apps on your phone.
The post office? Governments are struggling to decide whether they are still viable in the era of the internet and drones.
This is saving us time. Creating new blocks of free time.
What are we creating time for?
For raising our children, one would think.
So why are we so often seating our children in front of screens to be baby sat by movies?
To spend quality time with our spouses would be a nice thing to carve out time for.
Why then are more and more couples seen at cafes, not even looking at each other, rather each one peering into their gadget.
Are the only beneficiaries of our extra time the moguls of Hollywood?
When one hires a nanny to sleep with their child at night, give him breakfast in the morning, take them to school, pick them up for school, cook the meals in the house and bathe the kids and ready them for bed, while the parents self-care (good stuff like exercise, nails, health spas and massages) and socialize with friends, is this really the kind of life we aim to live?
I know I have exaggerated somewhat but I think you get my point.
Eating a family meal together at least once a day, at the very very very least once a week should be sacrosanct. (Friday night/Shabbat Kiddush and meal is the super-best time for this).
These should not be rushed events. Rushing away from holy quality time with family to what? To party? For this you sit through a family dinner impatiently waiting to be ‘free’ from spending time with your dear ones?
Telling a story to your child at bedtime is holy and special.
Can you imagine the sacrilege of doing this at double speed, like so many of us have become accustomed to doing when listening to messages.
What is the main thrust and point of your life?
‘Free time’?
Free time is not an end unto itself.
We do not say in eulogies or write on tombstones ‘he/she managed to organize their life to be with the most free time’.
Automation, delegation, effective techniques for saving time, these are all wonderful.
They are means to reaching the true and priceless items of life.
Let us take a few moments to think about what we are freeing up time for.
What is our life truly all about at its core and at its deepest dimension.
It makes sense to say that if one aligns their life behaviors and patterns with their inner purpose, this would lead to equilibrium and happiness.
It seems elusive, but it’s absolutely not a mystery. We just have to ask the ‘Manufacturer’ of humanity to see His ‘manual’ and ‘instructions’ for life.
Coming from Shavuot we know that the Torah is the manual of life.
For us Jewish people we are instructed to study Torah whenever we have free time. The Torah teaches us about the mitzvahs we have.
They spell out leading a balanced life. Here is how.
It’s a mitzvah to go to work and support oneself, one’s family and be generous to those in the community who need help.
It’s a mitzvah to lay Tefillin, to pray daily to light shabbat candles and keep the day of Shabbat holy, to live the laws of Jewish Family Purity, to help others, to educate oneself and others in Torah and mitzvahs and the list goes on.
It’s an overarching mitzvah to take care of the body Hashem has loaned us. Time must be spent on eating, resting, exercising and socializing to stay well balanced physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
If one can spend less time on certain tasks and chores because of the advances of technology, this allows for more time for doing the holy and meaningful things of life.
For me as a Jew, learning Torah and teaching Torah are the very elixir of life. At the core of my mission as a spiritual leader of our community is sharing and communicating Torah and Mitzvahs.
Studying, and then thinking about a Torah subject, distilling it, finding the right words to articulate it, and finally communicating it is a major part of my work. Whether it be via a speech or class given face to face, or via video or a written article, the privilege of having you engage and learn from what I teach is one of my main goals in life.
Should I try to cut that out by asking AI to pull together something ‘artificial’?
So that I can have more time for ‘life’?
I don’t think so.
Teaching Torah is exactly what I want to do with my life. It is why I try to delegate many other things so that I can do what I truly yearn and love to do.
Which translates on Thursday and Friday to writing these Torah articles.
The twelve tribes brought identical sacrifices.
Yes they did.
Sameness doesn’t mean that they become repetitious, boring or lifeless.
Just like you may have had the honor and pleasure of attending many different weddings or other life-cycle events in your life.
It may seem laborious and repetitive to you. Yet another event.
To the one who is celebrating the lifecycle event it is absolutely not a bore. It is totally new and exciting.
As it should be.
Your birthday, even if you have celebrated many of them, should be cherished and appreciated every single year.
Every breath should be celebrated. Every bowel movement is a miracle. Every baby who is born healthy is a wonder of the world.
Don’t take your relationships for granted.
Your wedding anniversary should get more special from year to year. Getting married is one thing. Staying married in our day and age is a gift that requires input, maturity and commitment to G-d’s manual for marriage (Family Purity – Mikva). Every year that your marriage ages, is a gift and a celebration. Not at all repetitive or boring.
If you have parents, appreciate them, cherish the opportunity to spend time with them and honor them.
Make your children the epicenter of your life. And make sure they know that they are the dearest thing you have in your universe.
This is what we should be doing with our ‘free’ time.
Reading about the twelve sets of sacrifices and gifts, when read properly and understood properly, is not ‘more of the same’.
It is the most exquisite and delightful telling and retelling of a commitment of love and enraptured passion of one tribe after another tribe. Every single tribe without exception joyfully and enthusiastically joined the inauguration of the House of G-d.
This is exactly what the Torah’s message is to us.
It is about savoring and delighting in every interaction with G-d. As often as we do it, it must be fresh as if new.
The Torah must be viewed as a freshly minted communique. We all know how often we refresh our news website to search for ‘new’ news. That is the kind of curious interest and hunger for new information we should learn Torah with. Even if we are studying exactly what we studied last year, last month or even yesterday. You are one day older, the Torah you study will uncover new depths.
So back to the central question.
Save time?
If you are talking about working in the fields, or in today’s workplace, on your computer screen, it is nice to whittle down your ‘work week’ hours. Use AI and ‘buy’ yourself more ‘free’ time.
Now you have time to LIVE.
Utilize the time for authentic and timeless eternal interactions.
The Torah is our life.
Our families are our life.
Serving the Almighty is our life.
Don’t rush through life, to get to the chores or even worse to the questionable values transmitted by Hollywood.
Coming from Shavuot, I urge you to take on a new commitment of Torah study.
Chabad.org is one of many sites where you can study Torah in all styles, multiple languages and across many mediums.
Lechayim, TO LIFE.
To a world gone mad, we pray for SHALOM with Mashiach NOW.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yosef Kantor