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THE LIMITS OF TECHNOLOGY

NOACH

The episode of the construction of the Tower of Babel, edification destroyed by God at the dawn of the history of Humanity has become the paradigm for the lack of understanding between people: they do not understand each other because they speak dissimilar languages. It’s not just a question of vocabulary: the problem lies in the concepts and in the meaning that we give to words. Indeed, the tower collapsed because those who were building it stopped understanding each other. Also, the completion of this building had become an obsession that, according to the Midrash, contributed to giving the individual greater significance than to the loss of a brick or the death of another human being.

What could have been the purpose of the building of this Tower of Babel? One possibility is that it served as a reference for people to find their way back to their place of origin since due to its height it could be observed from afar. On the other hand, as a consequence, it would stop populating the rest of the earth, since all would be concentrated in the same area of ​​the globe.

It is also pointed out that the Tower could serve to spy on people Because from its height one could have a panoramic view of the region. It would be a kind of control tower. (I remember that During our first visit to Havana in 1988, we were impressed by a tall structure within the complex of the Embassy of the Soviet Union: the feeling we had was that it was a kind of lookout tower from which one could make out every step of the town’s population).

Perhaps the main intention of this episode is to illustrate that man wanted to assume the role of the Creator: he felt very powerful because of his skills in the field of construction.

The man may have thought he could create another universe, just as God had done. Furthermore, the insistence on uniformity was a sign that they wanted to perpetuate their pagan cults and stop any alteration or change of their ritual.

It is clear that diversity allows and promotes growth and development. The confrontation of a diversity of ideas and thoughts, the adaptation to climatic extremes, and the unequal manifestations of nature, for example, demand an intelligent and creative response for every situation.

The idiomatic confusion that God produced so that men desist from the construction of the Tower of Babel had a didactic purpose. It showed that language is not necessary only to designate objects and to name feelings.

Language is a way of thinking. He or she who speaks  Spanish thinks differently from those who speak German.

Language reflects the cultural heritage of society: it expresses its idiosyncrasy. The technocrats responsible for the Tower of Babel probably thought that when the cusp of the Tower reached the sky they would discover the essential secrets of nature. They would then become gods. However, millennia later, at the beginning of the 21st century, the authentic scientist recognizes the enormity of his ignorance, he is aware that what remains to be learned is far greater than what he knows already and that there probably exist some kind of limits to human knowledge.

While the construction of the Tower was a demonstration of the advanced technology of the time, society continues on the move because of ideas and ideals that have always been present.

The basic notions of happiness and joy, satisfaction, and spiritual enjoyment are not the necessary consequence of new technologies.

Modernity has provided the means to alleviate the use of physical force at work, as well as indispensable tools for research in different areas. Yet love and hate, envy and altruism, meanness and generosity, feelings, emotions, and passions continue to be the factors are determinant in greater and deeper spirituality, and capable of giving greater meaning to the human presence on the planet.

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EL PACTO DIOS-HOMBRE

BERESHIT

Cada lectura de los textos bíblicos es diferente. El texto es inmutable, el lector cambia. Por ello, el comienzo de un nuevo ciclo de la Torá constituye un hito en la evolución intelectual y espiritual del judío.

El reto de los primeros capítulos del Génesis no desaparece: es el desafío de quienes proponen que la Torá es en realidad un compuesto basado en textos primarios. Este hecho resalta con la repetición de la historia de la creación del universo porque, según algunos, representa una huella de los textos que sirvieron al supuesto autor o autores humanos de las Sagradas Escrituras.

Según muchos exégetas tradicionales, existe una razón didáctica para las dos versiones. Mientras que el primer capítulo constituye un relato general sobre los orígenes de lo que nos rodea, el segundo capítulo es específico: se concentra en la historia del hombre, quien es el punto de referencia terrenal de la creación y, en especial, su relación única con el Creador: sólo el ser humano puede entrar en una correspondencia mutua con Dios, un “berit”, pacto, que establece obligaciones de parte y parte. La historia religiosa de la Humanidad se refiere a la estructura y condiciones de este “berit”, las violaciones y los cumplimientos que invariablemente tienen que ver con ese “pacto” con Dios. Cuando la relación con Dios se fractura, encontramos la semilla de la destrucción, hecho que se ve incrementado con el proceso imparable de la globalización, que ha convertido al globo terráqueo en una aldea.

Los Jajamim, los sabios, estaban atentos a las dificultades textuales, por ello sostuvieron serias discusiones acerca de la inclusión de algunos textos en el compendio del Tanaj, la Biblia. En particular, el libro de Ester presentó la gran interrogante: ¿acaso es posible insertar dentro de las Escrituras Sagrados un texto que no menciona el nombre de Dios? Tomaron una decisión afirmativa debido a la frase: “kiyemú vekibelú hayehudim aleihem veal zaram veal kol hanilvim aleihem veló yaavor lihyot osim…”, “los judíos decidieron que ellos, su simiente y todos los que se les unieran, continuasen observando escrupulosamente conforme a lo establecido…”. El cumplimiento de los instructivos de Ester y Mordejai a la población judía fue el hecho decisivo para que el libro de Ester fuese incluído en el canon de la Biblia. Además de la crítica que se puede efectuar con referencia al texto, se debe tomar en cuenta la influencia que el escrito ha ejercido para corregir y perfeccionar la disposición y actitud moral de la sociedad.

El relato del Génesis es majestuoso. La creación no es el resultado de una colisión de voluntades entre los dioses, el producto de cataclismos que se produjeron en el cosmos. El mundo nace como expresión de la voluntad de Dios, quien con la expresión “Vayomer Elohim”, “Y Dios dijo”, colocó a la idea y al pensamiento por encima de cualquier actividad física. Bereshit enseña que hay propósito en la creación, no se trata de un universo en el cual reinan el caos y la incertidumbre, el capricho y el azar. Existe un creador y por lo tanto coexiste la finalidad y el designio.

La ubicación del hombre y de la mujer en el idílico Gan Eden, el Jardín de Edén, muestra una naturaleza amiga que provee el fruto para el sustento. Cuando esta naturaleza se rebela puede ser amaestrada o controlada, se puede hacer construcciones antisísmicas, por ejemplo. En cambio, quien hace peligrar, de manera sostenida, la existencia de la especie humana es el hombre mismo debido a su agresividad, cualidad probablemente indispensable para el crecimiento y el desarrollo, la evolución y el perfeccionamiento, pero que demanda un precio altísimo. Por ello, la Torá exige que la conducta del hombre se rija por un conjunto de leyes que sabiamente enseña el judaísmo, según una revelación directa del Creador que recibió en Sinai. Dios no podía abandonar su creación en manos de esos seres a quienes dotó con gran inteligencia y cuyo potencial puede tomar el rumbo de la construcción o de la destrucción. Para asegurar la supervivencia de la especie y de la naturaleza junto con la flora y fauna que posee, legisló la Mitsvá para asegurar un comportamiento que garantice Yemot HaMashíaj, “los días del Mesías, una era de convivencia que no será una consecuencia de la Voluntad de Dios, sino que será el producto del convencimiento de su creación de última hora, en el sexto día: el ser humano.

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THE GOD-MAN COVENANT

BERESHIT

Each reading of the biblical texts is different. The text is immutable, the reader changes. Therefore, the beginning of a new cycle of the Torah constitutes a milestone in the intellectual and spiritual evolution of the reader.

The challenge of the first chapters of Genesis does not disappear.

It is the challenge of those who propose that the Torah is actually

a composite based on primary texts. This fact is highlighted by the repetition of the story of the creation of the universe. Because, according to some scholars, it manifests a trace of some prior texts that served the alleged human author or authors of the Holy Scripture.

However, according to many traditional exegetes, there is a didactic reason for both stories of the creation. While the first chapter constitutes a general account of the origins of all that surrounds us, the second chapter is specific: it concentrates on the history of man, who is the reference point of the narrative.

It underlines the unique relationship with the Creator because only humans can enter into a mutual correspondence with God. This is a “berit”, a pact, which establishes obligations on both sides. The religious history of Humanity refers to the structure and conditions of this “berit”, and the

violations and compliance that invariably happen with this “covenant” with God. When the relationship with God fractures, we find the seed of destruction, a fact that is increased with the unstoppable process

of globalization, which has turned the globe into a village.

The Chachamim, the sages, were attentive to these textual difficulties,

and for this reason, they held discussions about the inclusion of some texts in the compendium of the Tanakh, the Bible.

In particular, the book of Esther raised a big question: Is it possible to include in the Sacred Scriptures a text that does not mention the name of God? They decided affirmatively because of the phrase: “Kiyemu vekibelu hayehudim aleihem veal zar’am veal kol hanilvim aleihem veal yaavor lihyot osim… ”, “the Jews decided that they, their seed and all who joined them, should continue to scrupulously observe according to the established… ”. Compliance with the instructions of Esther and Mordechai to vow again to follow the instructions of the Torah, was the decisive fact for the book of Esther to be included in the canon of the Bible.

The Genesis account is majestic. Creation is not the result of a collision of wills between the gods, or the product of cataclysms that occurred in the cosmos. The world is born as an expression of the will of God, who

with the expression “Vayomer Elohim”, “And God said”, placed idea and thought above any physical activity or action.

Bereshit teaches that there is a purpose in creation. It is about a universe in which apparent chaos and uncertainty reign together with caprice and chance. But there is a Creator and, therefore, purpose and design must also coexist with the mentioned chaos.

The location of men and women in an idyllic Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden, shows a friendly nature that provides fruit for sustenance. However, when nature rebels it can be constrained and controlled. Anti-seismic constructions can be erected, for example.

On the other hand, the existence of the human species is endangered by

man himself because of his aggressiveness, a quality that strangely may also be indispensable for his own growth and development, evolution, and improvement.

Therefore, the Torah demands that the conduct of man be governed by a set of laws that were revealed by the Creator at Sinai. God could not abandon his creation solely in the hands of those beings whom he endowed with great intelligence and who are capable of construction or destruction. To ensure the survival of the species and of nature with the flora and fauna it possesses, the Mitsva, a set of norms of behavior had to be instituted also in order to guarantee the arrival of an eventual era, Yemot HaMashiach, “the days of the Messiah, an era of coexistence and harmony that will not be a consequence of the Will of God but will be the product of the conviction and behavior of his last creation on the sixth day of Bereshit: the human being.