We’re living through a watershed moment of exponential growth in the abilities of computer technology to change our world. Tools like ChatGPT are revolutionizing the game in ways we never imagined. (Can you even be sure that I actually wrote this Dvar Torah?)
Where does it leave us poor humans? Will that imminent scary sentient AI robot even take a nanosecond to ‘think about’ where it came from on the way to complete planetary domination?! What do we do? Where do we turn?
I believe that we, indeed, find ourselves in a uniquely WWMD moment! “What Would Moshe Do?”
Moshe’s leadership is the perfect reference point - he directed Bnei Yisrael through a monumental transition - transforming a nation of demoralised slaves to be able to courageously conquer Eretz Yisrael.
In the midst of that journey, Moshe also hit a brick wall. In our Parsha, he gives up, “I cannot carry this entire people by myself, it is too much for me. If You would deal with me this way, kill me rather, I beg You, so that I see no more of my misery!”
Moshes’s had a really hard day at the office - no end to the obscene complaints coming in from all directions. What would he give to have an AI executive assistant bot receive, categorize and give provisional answers to all the moaners?
Alas, there was no OpenAI at that time, but Hashem did the next best thing - ‘OpenNevuah’. Hashem instructs Moshe, “Gather for Me seventy of Israel’s elders of whom you have experience as elders and officers of the people, and bring them to the Tent of Meeting and let them take their place there with you.”
But it all goes horribly wrong! Eldad and Meidad start prophesising in the midst of the camp! Yehoshua is caught up in a fit of fury and fear as he sees, ‘the writing on the wall’. Moshe’s distinctive feature of prophecy is not his alone anymore. What will be? The end is nigh! Moshe has been made redundant!
Moshe calmly responds, “Are you so uptight on my behalf? If only all of Hashem’s
people were prophets, if Hashem was to put the divine spirit upon them!”
Moshe is relaxed. He knows there’s far more to the wondrous human being - the very reflection of Hashem’s essence. We are far greater than even those aspects which we perceive to be our most precious assets.
Hashem’s got it covered. Just like Moshe - we need to stay humble, keep believing and move forward.
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