Tosafos on Amud Aleph (“Retzono Lomar”) draws a distinction between an idolatrous thought that remains as thought only, even as expressed as an intention, such as, “I will worship such and such…” — though forbidden, is not punishable by earthly court. However, an idolatrous thought and intention which is carried through via an action which supports it, is punishable. Therefore if one declares he will sprinkle blood or make some other idolatrous worship, so far it is not punishable. However, if he declares, “I will slaughter this animal in order to sprinkle its blood for such and such a deity,” and he slaughtered the animal, even though he didn’t yet sprinkle the blood, he is liable for idolatry. This is because his inner thought was supported by an action, even if the action was not yet the action of idolatry that he specified since he only slaughtered, but did not yet sprinkle the blood. His action of slaughtering demonstrates his intention.

Torah Temimah (Bereishis 11:4) uses this principle to resolve a question regarding the sin of the Tower of Bavel. The Torah itself is ambiguous in its description of the sin. We understand that they wanted to build a tower from the narrative, which itself doesn’t seem to be sinful. The verse (11:6) states: “and GOD said, ‘If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach.’” While we do not know from the text what their sin is, it is apparent from God’s reaction that there was a terrible breach, and that it was of a sinful act that only just began and would become worse.

The Gemara Sanhedrin (109a) says their intention was to make this tower into a mode of idol worship. The question is, why should they have been held liable if they so far did not actually perform the worship? However the Torah Temimah answers, based on the principle we saw in Tosafos, an action could substantiate the thought, even if the action is not yet the performance of the intended thought. Here, too, even though they did not worship yet, the building of the tower was the action that substantiated their thought and made them liable.

As we saw, the text itself is ambiguous, and we do not really know exactly what their sin was. One of the most creative ideas is that put forth by Rabbi Yonasan Eibshutz (Tiferes Yonasan, Bereishis 8:21) that the tower was some kind of rocket platform, which would be high enough that then some vessel could be launched with gunpowder and be able to remain elevated outside of the pull of earth. (He did not quite know yet about gravity in the Newtonian sense, but understood that there was an area somewhere above the atmosphere that did not pull things down to earth as much.) The idea would be that if they could launch themselves that high and stay in orbit, they’d be able to avoid the rain which came down at a lower level and therefore outwit God’s ability to bring upon them another flood.

I think this is fascinating because two of the most famous Jewish astronauts Judy Reznick and Ilan Ramon died either upon launch or reentry into the atmosphere. I’ve always wondered: Is this a sign from God that we are not to ascend to the heavens? I think not. I think God’s directive and blessing to “conquer the land” (Bereishis 1:28) gives license and even obligates human beings to productively and creatively settle and explore the land. There’s no reason to believe that land in this case means anything less than any area that human beings can occupy, even other planets.

Ironically, some people learned that the sin of the Tower of Bavel was that they wanted to settle in one place and have an authoritarian society that would limit its inhabitants to a centralized city and government, which would lead to stagnation. This itself as a pro-technology pro-exploration interpretation. That is why God mixed up the languages in order to create a diaspora of different opinions and cultures that would lead potentially to human growth and development. (See Ibn Ezra Bereishis 11:3-5.) Additionally, there actually were 20 Jewish people who made it into orbit, and just Ramon and Reznick (see https://aish.com/jews-in-orbit-4-jewish-astronauts/).

It is not the technology that is the problem. It is the intent. Is it to explore God’s world and develop humanity, or is it with idolatrous or hubristic intentions? 

We are in a society that is on the cusp of changes that are so rapid and sweeping, we might not recognize ourselves even within a decade. We are on the breakthrough in advances of bioengineering, artificial intelligence, the imminent approach of Ray Kurzweil’s Singularity, and abundant and free energy. There is a possibility of such rapid change that labor and products could be essentially free, which should disrupt the purpose and meaning of life.

There are two traditions about the Messianic future that indicate that the very same reality can either lead to redemption and bliss or shame and rebuke.

Succah (52a) states: 

“Rabbi Yehuda taught: In the future, at the end of days, God will bring the evil inclination and slaughter it in the presence of the righteous and in the presence of the wicked. For the righteous the evil inclination appears to them as a high mountain, and for the wicked it appears to them as a mere strand of hair. These weep and those weep. The righteous weep and say: How were we able to overcome so high a mountain? And the wicked weep and say: How were we unable to overcome this strand of hair?”

Similarly, the Gemara (Avodah Zara 3b) states:

“Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish says: There is no Gehenna in the World-to-Come. Rather, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will remove the sun from its sheath [minnarteikah], where it is situated during these times, and heats [umakdir] that world with it. The wicked will be punished by it and consumed by the heat, but the righteous will be healed by it.”

“And we have the verse in Hoshea (14:10): “For the paths of GOD are straight; The righteous can walk on them, While sinners stumble on them.”

All of our advances in technology can literally be heaven or Hell. We could be living in a Messianic future or a satanic upheaval — it all depends on our humility and wish to fulfill God’s will. May the world choose wisely.

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Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com