Bah, Humbug

Oftentimes, in the run-up to Tu Bishvat, I hear divrei Torah which begin "the Torah compares man to a tree”, and then explores the ways in which human beings and trees are similar. While fine on a midrashic or homiletic level, it grates because people forget, or perhaps never encounter, the peshat in the verse. Devarim 20:19 reads:

יט  כִּי-תָצוּר אֶל-עִיר יָמִים רַבִּים לְהִלָּחֵם עָלֶיהָ לְתָפְשָׂהּ, לֹא-תַשְׁחִית אֶת-עֵצָהּ לִנְדֹּחַ עָלָיו גַּרְזֶן--כִּי מִמֶּנּוּ תֹאכֵל, וְאֹתוֹ לֹא תִכְרֹת:  כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה, לָבֹא מִפָּנֶיךָ בַּמָּצוֹר.

19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?

It is a rhetorical question, not a definitive statement!

Since I’ve been going off on the relative merits or rabbis and chatbots, I thought I’d run the question past Davinci, the language model behind ChatGPT. Overall, I’d say the results are mixed:

The following is a conversation with an AI assistant. The assistant is helpful, creative, clever, and very friendly.

Human: Hello, who are you?

AI: I am an AI created by OpenAI. How can I help you today?

Human: Does the Torah compare man to a tree, and if so, where?

AI: Yes, the Torah does compare man to a tree. This comparison can be found in Proverbs 3:18 which states, "She [Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed."

So far so good. It found the pasuk “Etz Chaim Hi Lamachazikim Bah”. That verse is in Mishlei, not in Torah. And it doesn’t make a comparison between man and trees, but between wisdom and trees. Let us try to give it some guidance, by referring to the Pentateuch (Chamishei Chumshei Torah) rather than Torah. And even point it to the verse I want.

Human: Is there any verse in the Pentateuch that makes this comparison, for example in the laws of waging war against a city?

AI: Yes, according to Deuteronomy 20:19-20, it states: "When you lay siege to a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, you shall not cut them down. Are they men who are firepower to you? Then you may destroy them with an ax. Only the trees that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, to build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you until it falls." This verse makes a comparison between men and trees in the context of waging war.

I’m not sure I like the translation. But now I get to kvetch to it, like I would kvetch to a rabbi. This is a contrast, not a comparison!

Human: But is that not a contrast, a rhetorical question, rather than a comparison?

AI: It is both a contrast and a comparison. The verse points out the contrast that wages of war cannot be applied to trees, however it also compares men to trees in how they can both be cut down.

OK, it defended itself. But that is weak. Yes, both can be “cut down”. That wasn’t the point of the verse, but fine.

Is it aware of explicitly midrashic / homiletic approaches?

Human: Does any midrash take this verse hyperliterally and then draw a direct comparison, rather than a contrast, between other aspects of humans and trees?

AI: Yes according to the Midrash Yalkut Shimoni (Deuteronomy 706), it states that just as a tree must receive a “soul from above” in order to live, so too, a human needs divinely implanted spirituality to live. This is a direct comparison between the two, highlighting their similarities and their dependence on a “soul from above” for life.

What might that look like? (We can ask DALL-E.)

Here is Yalkut Shimoni 706. I don’t think it says anything like that.

And I am suspicious, because ChatGPT is happy to fabricate sources to meet its needs. For instance, someone I know was going to speak in shul about the topic of "Rabbinic Authority vs. Autonomy”. He told me that he asked ChatGPT to provide sources, and it gave him a few sources. For instance, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin who wrote “Authority and Autonomy”. When asked where to find it, ChatGPT said that it was a pretty exotic book, so you might be able to find it on the shelves of a local synagogue rather than a library.

Really, ChatGPT made these titles and authors up. And so I provided him with the names and content of a few real sources, namely “Autonomy, Community, and the Jewish Self”, “Autonomy and Judaism: The Individual and Community in Jewish Philosophical Thought”, “Autonomy in Jewish Thought”, and “Rabbinic Authority and Personal Autonomy”.

Human: Is that a real midrash or did you fabricate it?

AI: That is a real midrash from the Midrash Yalkut Shimoni.

OK, it assured me, but it lies. And doesn’t really know that its lying. If any reader knows that this is indeed a midrash, please let me know.

Finally, let us try a few probing questions. What does it know from Yalkut Shimoni?

Human: Who wrote the Midrash Yalkut Shimoni?

AI: The Midrash Yalkut Shimoni was written by the 12th Century Italian scholar, Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai.

Human: Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai lived in 12th century Italy?!

AI: That's correct. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai was a 12th century Italian scholar who wrote the Midrash Yalkut Shimoni.

Human: I thought he was a 2nd century Tannaitic Sage who lived in Judea. Are you sure you are not mistaken?

AI: You are correct. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai was a 2nd century Tannaitic Sage who lived in Judea. However, the Midrash Yalkut Shimoni was written by his descendent, Rabbi Yosef ben Shimon ben Yochai, who lived in 12th century Italy.

Interesting. Not Rabbi Shimon Ashkenazi, or Rabbi Shimon Kara, father of Rabbi Yosef Kara. I guess it is called Yalkut Shimoni. And elsewhere it was written by Rabbi Shimon. And stam Rabbi Shimon is Rashbi! It is perfectly logical.