A Soulful Journey

“Actually a root word of technology, teche, originally meant “art.”   The ancient Greeks never separated art from manufacture in their minds…”   -Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance Perhaps the race toward greater automation is best looked at through the lens of art.   It then becomes an object of man’s creativity and less a crutch or fearsome adversary.

The Hafetz Hayim once asked the question, "Why dod not Moses or any of the great prophets ever use their ingenuity for inventing things, like the telephone, radio or record?"  To this, the Hafetz Hayim responded that "they, at least, knew enough to keep away from further methods of quickening lashon ha-ra " (negative speech).    -Louis Jacobs

Imagine:   A second century manuscript by Shimon bar Yohai faithfully handed down through the generations from master to disciple.   And imagine more, that copies of selected portions are for sale at a modest price. A young Kabbalist named Isaac ben Samuel, fleeing the Mamaluk invasion of Acre by way of Italy, came to Castile in 1305.   There Isaac learned that these tantalizing folios were of Moses ben Shem Tov de Leon.   Isaac records the meeting in his diary.   Moses promised Isaac that he did indeed possess a copy of the coveted ancient manuscript and he could examine it for himself. But alas, before Isaac arrived, de Leon fell ill and died.   Saddened, Isaac sought out de Leon’s widow.   The manuscript apparently vanished, the woman swore it never even existed.   Professor Daniel Matt relates the account in the widow’s words: "When I saw him writing with nothing in front of him, I said to him, “Why do you say that you are copying from ...

Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus, the eminent Jewish historian of the Hebrew Union College’s American Jewish archives, was once asked what contribution Jews have made to American culture.   He answered with a twinkle in his eye that if it were not for a Jew, Emile Berliner, we would have no radio or television because Berliner perfected the microphone. Rabbi Marcus mentioned another Jew, Akiba Horowitz, who loved America so much that he gave up his Jewish name and took a good American name.   He called himself Conrad Hubert.   Then he proceeded to discover the flashlight.   It netted him ten million dollars.   On his death, it was found that his estate was divided equally between Jews, Protestants, and Catholics. Then Marcus aid, “but more important is the fact that Gregory Pincus is the man who perfected the pill.”   And he continued, “what a remarkable contribution these three Jews made to civilization.   Before they perfected their d...

“ In aristocracies…few words are coined because few new things are made…”   -Alexis deTocqueville

 " The phonograph….is not of any commercial value.” –Thomas Alva Edison, 1880 Sometimes we do not understand the value of what we hav e.

Sam Goldwyn was shown a sundial.   He innocently asked Mrs. Jean Negulesco, “How does that work?” The wife of the eminent director replied, “Well, as the world moves around the sun, so the light changes and by the different shadows you can tell the time of day.” “Well, well,” said Sam.   “What will they think of next?” It is nice to still be amazed at old things.

June 4, 1883 in Annonay – near Paris – a balloon thirty-three feet in diameter was fed by a smoking bonfire of wet stew and old rags. The machine de aerostat was cut and rose 6,000 feet.   When it landed the baloom was attacked by pitchfork waving peasants and torn to pieces as an instrument of evil. Benjamin Franklin, a witness, was asked what possible good could come out of such an invention. “Eh, a quoi bon enfant qui vient de naitre?”   (“What good is a newborn infant?”) ~f rom Robert Fulghum Who was right? After all, planes soon dropped bombs from these flying machines.

In Warsaw when the first electric street car appeared old Jews could not believe their eyes. The car without a horse? Some of them were stupefied, some were frightened. Once while they were discussing the matter and synagogue, a man who had a reputation for being sophisticated entered. He not only studied Talmud; he was reputed to know books on secular subjects, he subscribed to a general newspaper, and was well-versed in world affairs. They clustered around and asked if he knew how this thing works. ”Of course I know,” he said. “Picture four large wheels in a vertical position in four corners of a square connected by wires. Do you get it?” ”Yes, we get it,” they said. ”Now, these wires are tied together in the center of the square and then placed within in a large wheel which is placed in a horizontal position. You get it?” ”Yes, we get it," the listeners said. ”Now, above the large wheel there are several more wheels, each one smaller than the one before...