Angels

Human, Angel, or Machine: The Challenge of Consciousness

I. Introduction The confrontation between Jacob and an unidentified being in Genesis raises fundamental questions about the nature of consciousness, identity, and the boundaries between different orders of being. This encounter gains new relevance as we approach an era where artificial intelligence may become indistinguishable from human intelligence. Building on our previous analysis of angels as metaphors for information processing systems found in “The Binary Universe II: Angels as Microprocessors,” “Binary Universe III: Two Camps of Angels,” “The Ontological Ambiguity of Messengers: From Angels to AI,” and “Wrestling with AI: From Divine Dreams to Digital Reality,” this essay examines a deeper ontological ambiguity: the challenge of distinguishing between human and non-human intelligences. II. The Biblical Paradigm The Torah presents two distinct instances of ontological ambiguity regarding angels. The first appears in the term [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2024-12-16T21:29:33-05:00December 16th, 2024|Angels, Bereshit, Genesis, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Philosophy, Soul, Spirituality, Uncategorized, Vayishlach|0 Comments

The Ontological Ambiguity of Messengers: From Angels to AI

This post continues the discussion we began in “Bereshit: The Binary Universe I” and continued in “The Binary Universe II: Angels as Microprocessors” and “Binary Universe III: Two Camps of Angels.” Introduction The beginning of the Torah portion of Vayishlach presents us with an intriguing linguistic and philosophical puzzle when Jacob sends מַלְאָכִים (malakhim) to his brother Esau. The deliberate ambiguity in the term מַלְאָךְ (malakh)—which can denote either human or divine messengers—provides a unique lens through which to examine questions of consciousness, agency, and identity that have become increasingly relevant in our age of artificial intelligence and advanced robotics. The Biblical Context In the beginning of the Torah portion of Vayishlach, Jacob sends messengers (angels, according to Rashi) to his brother Esau: Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother, to [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2024-12-10T09:40:12-05:00December 9th, 2024|Angels, Bereshit, Genesis, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Uncategorized, Vayishlach|1 Comment

Binary Universe III: Two Camps of Angels

This post continues the discussion we began in "Bereshit: The Binary Universe I" and continued in "The Binary Universe II: Angels as Microprocessors." At the end of Parshat Vayetze, Jacob meets two camps of Angels: And Jacob went on his way, and angels of G‑d encountered him. When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of G‑d!” So, he named that place “Mahanaim.” (Genesis 32:2–3) The text indicates that Jacob meets two camps of angels—one set of angels that accompanied him outside the Holy Land and another set that takes over as he re-enters the Holy Land (See Rashi on these verses). The word “Mahanaim” (מַחֲנָיִם) literally means “two camps,” reflecting Jacob’s perception of two distinct angelic groups. In light of our metaphor—angels as transistors—this transition at the border of the [...]

By Alexander Poltorak|2024-12-08T21:40:36-05:00December 8th, 2024|Angels, Bereshit, Binary Universe, Genesis, Parshah, Pentateuch (Chumash), Uncategorized, Vayetze|0 Comments

Articles

Guest Articles

Essays

Archives

Categories

DON’T MISS A BEAT