Parshat Shoftim
Mina Cohen
As an instructor at two community colleges I’ve been confronted intensely and quickly with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its use by students. Are the students cheating using this tool, is it enhancing their learning experience, and how will AI become part of all our lives? So, to understand it better, I’ve begun exploring AI myself so I submitted interpretation of this parsha to Chat GPT and you’ll see the difference between a machine driven mind vs. a human driven mind.
This is a good parsha for this exercise since Shoftim means judges and the focus of this parsha is on the role of judges and what judgement means. I have to make judgment calls on whether my students are using their critical thinking skills or relying on a machine to do the thinking for them. Not only do judges and the judicial system have responsibility for ethical behavior, the parsha also explores the rules of legal testimony which presumes innocence and speaks about the responsibility of being a witness.
This is how AI intorduces this parsha according to Chat GPT:
Deuteronomy contains a range of laws and instructions given to the Israelites as they were about to enter the Promised Land. The topics covered include appointing judges, worship practices, rules for kingship, provisions for priests, warnings against various practices, prophecies about future prophets, and guidelines for justice during warfare.
So I’ve chosen three sections of this parsha to compare AI interpretation and human interpretations.
1. the famous quote at the start of the parsha is “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof le’maan tichyeh”, justice justice you shall pursue so that you may thrive
2. the section dealing with cities of refuge, my daughter’s dvar torah from her bat mitzvah and something that has always fascinated me
3. rules of engagement for warfare
First Tzedek Tzedek tirdof le’maan tichyeh:
For verses 18-20 AI explains “This portion discusses the appointment of judges and officials within the Israelite community. Moses instructs the people to appoint righteous judges who would administer fair and just judgments. The emphasis is on impartiality and not perverting justice due to favoritism or bribery.”
When I asked ChatGPT to interpret this section further this is what I got:
“The commandment to appoint judges and officers in every city to ensure fair judgment and uphold the rule of law. Fairness and impartiality means without favoritism or bribery. The judges are not to show partiality toward the wealthy or influential.”
Here is what midrash (human generated) says about judging impartially in this context:
Being the wisest and most learned man in the whole land of Israel, Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach was elected Chief of the Sanhedrin (the highest court). One day a man brought a complaint against the king, saying that the king had unjustly appropriated his estate. Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach requested all his colleagues, the justices, to assemble and then sent a messenger to summon the king to appear before the Court. The king appeared in all his majesty and the justices felt themselves ill at ease. They offered the king a seat near Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach and generally tried to please him. Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach was greatly angered by this uncomely behaviour of his colleagues. He turned to the king and said in a firm voice: "Let the defendant rise on his feet and hear the evidence of this court."
"Will you judge your king like any commoner?" king Janai challenged him. "Let the majority of your justices request me to stand up, and I will do so!" Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach looked around, but all the judges lowered their faces, being afraid to displease the king. Seeing their cowardice, Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach became very angry. "He who knows all thoughts shall pass judgment upon you!" he exclaimed. As he uttered these words the Court was suddenly lit up by a blinding light, and the next moment all the judges fell dead.
King Janai became very frightened and begged Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach to appoint new judges and pray for Gd's mercy. Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach appointed new judges from among his best disciples whom he knew to be honest, upright and fearless. Then he sent for the king again. "Stand up upon your feet and be ready to accept the judgment of this Court, for not before me are you standing now, but before the King of Kings, the Creator and Supreme Judge of the Universe!"
Hastily the king stood up until the court declared its verdict: The king was to restore the estate to its rightful owner. This fearless sense of duty of Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach was to serve as an inspiring example to all the courts in the land, that all were equal before the law and there was no room for favoritism at the courts of justice, as it is commanded in the holy Torah. Rabbi Shimon ben Shetach became even more dearly loved and honored than before.
So, Chat GPT isn’t incorrect though you would probably agree that it is generic and lacking of expanded thought. The Talmud expands on the concept of justice in terms of how Ha’shem might see it. “Three things the Holy One hates: him who says one thing with his mouth and another in his heart; he who possesses evidence in favor of his neighbor, but fails to testify on his behalf; and he who, seeing something improper in his neighbor, acts as the sole witness against him (Babylonian Talmud, Pesachim 113b). So critical human interpretation goes further in understanding the relationship “beyn Adam La’Makom” between humans and God and “beyn Adam Le’Chaveyro” between one person and another.
Looking at the concept of Tzedek and fairness further in Jewish texts I came up with the following:
S'fat Emet: First he dwells on the fact that Tzedek Tzedeh (word said twice)- comes to teach that there is no end to God’s righteousness and truth, that it is imcumbent upon one to always delve deeper to insure that he is living according to complete truth. The nuances of the text have obviously been lost on ChatGPT.
Another Talmudic reaction to Tzedek being said twice (Sanhedrin 32b:6) is that one time justice is in reference to judgement and the second one is in reference to compromise. How so? Where there are two boats traveling on the river and they encounter each other, if both of them attempt to pass, both of them sink, as the river is not wide enough for both to pass. If they pass one after the other, both can pass.
It's common in Jewish interpretation of our text to tell stories as examples. I’m not sure Artificial Intelligence can do that at least not yet.
Now let’s look at the second segment I selected. Here is what Chat GPT says about the Cities of Refuge in this parsha:
This chapter (Chapter 19) covers the establishment of cities of refuge. These are designated cities where a person who unintentionally kills another could flee to avoid retaliation from the victim’s family. The concept is rooted in the principle of justice tempered with mercy.
So at least Artificial Intelligence can acknowledge a principle here of justice tempered by mercy. I’ve always wondered if these cities really existed or if they were merely a metaphor for taming the strong human impulse for revenge. My mother who was a Holocaust survivor told her story many times including several times here in our community. When she and her sister escaped from the Death March they found work in exchange for a place to stay and food to eat. They of course did not reveal to the very cruel landlady that they were Jewish. One day while working in the field they saw German soldiers parachuting and my mother saw one of them fall to the ground wounded. She dragged him to shelter and when she told her sister what she had done, she was scolded. My mother’s response was “after all we’ve been through I want to still be a human being and taking revenge would accomplish nothing.”
So in ancient times how did a city of refuge become acceptable in an age accustomed to vengeance and the idea of an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth that is enshrined on the Stele of Hammurabi from 1750 BCE? So if we look at the passage in this parsha regarding the individual banished to a city of refuge, exiled from the life he has known until the death of the High Priest, whose own death provided expiation for the blood that had been spilled. So consider in our own time manslaughter resulting from a car accident and what that might do to someone’s emotional reality for the rest of their life. Even if there is no criminal liability this section of the parsha acknowledges the toll that loss of life creates for both the perpetrator and the loved ones.
This comes back to the theme in Tzedek Tzedek tirdof, in our relationship to God. God understands that everybody makes mistakes, sometimes even terrible and irreversible ones. If someone who killed is not rejected by God, how much more does that apply to the everyday mistakes we all make. We have to acknowledge that the process of healing takes time and community. We are at the start of Elul, considering our approach to our deeds from the year that is ending. It’s an appropriate time to think about cities of refuge in that metaphorical sense.
Chat GPT made a cursory explanation for this powerful section of the parsha and someone relying on it for understanding might gloss over what I think might be the most important section of this parsha.
Now the third section of this parsha I want to address. Here is what Chat GPT says about Chapter 20:
This chapter outlines laws related to warfare. It provides guidelines for how the Israelites should conduct themselves when going to battle, including exemptions from military service and specific rules for sieges.
Sefer Ha’Chinuch (written in 13th century details the 613 mitzvot and explains the reasons behind them) speaks about Rachmaniut (Mercy) as a good quality, to behave thus even with our enemies. Here’s that concept of mercy. It was included in the Chat GPT summary about the cities or refuge. The idea of mercy applies to daily life as well, making peace with someone we are in conflict with before arguing or becoming angry as hard as this might be. Another thing to think about in this season of Elul.
So are there examples from Torah for this kind of extreme rachmaniut? Samuel II (20:14-22) tells the story of Joab, a warrior acting on the king’s behalf who pursues Sheba son of Bichri, the leader of a group that has rebelled and fled to the town of Avel. When Joab besieges the city a “wise woman” in the city persuades Joab that if the residents of Avel hand over Sheba he will not attack the city. She convinces the townspeople to cut off Sheba’s head and toss it over the wall. So one life was sacrificed for the greater good to avert large-scale bloodshed and ruin.
The parsha tell us if war cannot be avoided, there are ways to go about it. There are problems with this section that are complex and warrant a whole other d’var torah so will have to save that for another time. Parshat Shoftim emphasizes the establishment of a just society, where the rule of law is upheld and justice is administered fairly. It underscores the importance of ethical conduct, impartiality, and adherence to God's commandments in both the judicial system and broader societal affairs.
So what about AI and this d’var torah. So nothing I found in Chat GPT was wrong although one place I found it troubling was for Chapter 18:15-22 it says “Moses prophesies about a future prophet who will be like him and speak the words of God. This prophecy is often understood in a Messianic context pointing to Jesus Christ for Christians. The Israelites are instructed to listen to this prophet and not to false prophets.” Also another topic not to get into right now but left very vague and open to incorrect conclusions.
What is a problem for me with ChatGPT and AI in general is that it reduces everything to generic and limited thought. I’ve had to create a policy for students regarding AI and my biggest concern is that students are already not thinking critically. Their reliance on a non-human generated interpretation turns their brains to mush. When I’m riding my mountain bike on the coastal trail, a paved mostly flat road I have a pretty efficient bicycle and I ride often but I still have to use my own strength to get from one end to the trail to the other. When I pass someone on an electric bike (especially those who are half my age) and they are riding as fast as they can without taking in our beautiful coast, without even peddling, it reminds me of students using a crutch like AI.
My policy for students using AI, is that they may use it as a source or starting point but they must read between the lines, and put their thoughts down in their own words. In parshat Shoftim there is no substitute for our own Jewish scholars, ancient and modern, the torah itself, and our own human insights on what we are learning and thinking about.
When I’m visiting my children and grandchildren in Jerusalem I see in their apartment and probably every apartment in their neighborhood bookshelves floor to ceiling with books- 17 volumes of the Jerusalem Talmud, 63 volumes of the Babylonian Talmud, 17 volumes of Midrash, 12 volumes of Tosefta (oral law), 17 volumes of Rashi, etc. You get the point. At some point AI will have sucked up all of that information but the interesting thing will be to see how it disseminates what it learns.