I. A Time for War Early morning last Friday, Israel attacked Iran in a multi-pronged effort that was wildly successful in its initial stages and we pray will continue to succeed. Koheles (3:6) notwithstanding, there is never a good...
Hospitals, airports and universities often include interfaith chapels which are intended to accommodate individuals of all faiths for individual or group prayer. This religious accommodation raises an important question: May a Jew pray in a room that also houses non-Jewish worship, potentially...
The complex nature of halachah leads to multiple opinions on various issues — expert judgment often varies. We expect that two scholars who legitimately disagree still respect each other’s right to an opinion. If I eat a certain food...
I. AI Authorship Is it permissible to study Torah from a sefer, a text of Torah scholarship, written by artificial intelligence (AI)? There are different ways an AI could author a sefer. For our purposes, we can divide authorship...
The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) raises new and sometimes unexpected halachic questions. Among them is whether it is permissible to teach Torah to an AI. On the one hand, what could be wrong with it? After all,...
Recent technological developments have enabled the creation of increasingly lifelike AI-powered companions, ranging from chatbots to humanoid robots. As usual, technology continues to progress without consideration of ethics. While these developments hold potential therapeutic benefits for individuals experiencing loneliness, they also can...
I. AI Interfaces One of the most persistent motifs in science fiction is the Frankenstein plot: a human creates a machine, which then becomes independent and ultimately turns against its creator. The underlying question is one of responsibility — who...
I. Golem and Minyan We are witnessing a major transformation of information and technology with the growth of artificial intelligence (AI). To my frustration, much of the Jewish discourse on AI begins—and often ends—with the halachic status of a...
When you eat matzah at the Pesach Seder, you have to eat matzah that you own. How much do you have to own it? The Gemara (Pesachim 38a) equates the mitzvos of eating matzah and of taking challah...
The night before Pesach, we search for chametz on our property (bedikas chametz). By rabbinic decree, it is not enough to nullify our chametz but we must also search for, and destroy, our chametz, as well. The Roomba, a robotic...