Ellen Braunstein
Congregation Beth El-Ner Tamid in Broomall is in the midst of a grant-funded project that explores the ramifications of artificial intelligence for the learning and practice of Judaism.
Fifteen synagogues were awarded the $5,000 grant from the grassroots initiative, Scientists in Synagogues. One of the funding organizations is the John Templeton Foundation of West Conshohocken.
CBENT calls the program J-STEM, which stands for Judaism with science, technology, ethics and meaning.
The Conservative synagogue’s J-STEM committee consists of members who are scientists and Jewish educators, including Rabbi Janine Jankovitz, Dr. Beverly Emmanuel, Dr. Susan Levy, Dr. Steven Pastor and CBENT’s Director of Education Ellen Glassman.
“We are just lay people who are trying to figure out what is artificial intelligence,” Jankovitz said. “What does AI mean? How does it work?”
The second program, which is free to the public, is on Jan. 6 and titled “Spirituality, Health and Technology.” It’s part of CBENT’s monthly program, a more relaxed form of services, called Shabbat for the Soul. There are more J-STEM programs on Feb. 3 and April 6-7.
“Artificial intelligence is one of the most pressing issues in science right now,” Jankovitz said. “A lot of people have expressed to me their fears and their worries about what artificial intelligence means for the future.”
Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processed by machines, especially computer systems. The intersection of AI and Judaism offers an opportunity to explore how technology can enhance religious practice while remaining true to Jewish traditions and values.
“We want to challenge what does artificial intelligence mean for Judaism or how does Judaism change because of artificial intelligence?” Janovitz said. “How does Jewish ethics influence how we approach different scientific and technological advances?”
Levy, a pediatrician specializing in neuro-developmental disabilities, is the chair of the J-STEM program. She is currently vice chair of the institutional review board of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
She has a keen interest in AI because “it’s so prominent and it’s changing our life and how we communicate and how we understand things. I want to be able to talk to people about it and help me understand and really come to terms with how we need to go forward and what issues many come up.”
An example, Levy said, is Torah study. “If you’re looking to understand certain parts of the Torah, one possibility is to use artificial intelligence to get a description of what’s going on in the Torah and the different readings,” Levy said. “The small sample that we did of that was actually pretty effective and pretty accurate, but it’s not certain that that’s always going to be the case.”
CBENT’s pre-school and grade school Hebrew programs have added a scientific component.
“Years ago, you wouldn’t really put Judaism in with science,” Glassman said of Hebrew school education. “If you were looking at the Bible stories, there wasn’t any room to see it through a scientific lens. It would be what the rabbis wrote and what was written in the Torah. Science is all about questioning and making relevance and meaning for yourself.”
In school, the children drew posters describing what is Jewish about science and technology, Glassman said. “Where might science and technology and Judaism connect. What do Jewish scientists do?
“We talked about how scientists have a social intelligence that AI does not,” Glassman said. “Looking at a problem through a Jewish lens, the outcome might be very different from the outcome with AI.
“We talk about how scientists are real people. We collaborate, and you can’t do that with artificial intelligence. We look at strategies and observe what people need. You look at technology and you look at ethics. That’s a big part of it. In Judaism we teach values. We try to bring them to life in the classroom,” Glassman continued.
“It’s keeping our kids thinking critically, questioning, collaboration.”
The opening day program brought RadRobots, created by educator Deb Vloedman, to the school. RadRobots offers a unique way to teach robotics and coding.
“JSTEM has encouraged our congregation to look at Judaism and science as mutually beneficial as opposed to religion, faith and science being mutually exclusive,” Glassman said.
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
