Such programs as ChatGPT have the ability to draw on the knowledge of the entire Internet to answer factual questions, and can sometimes (but far from always) do so with impressive accuracy. As the technology improves, it’s feasible that Jews might turn to machine-learning software to answer difficult questions of Jewish law, usurping the primary traditional role of the rabbi or halakhic authority. Gil Student takes up the question:

The Torah says regarding the priests: “you are to teach the Children of Israel all the statutes” (Leviticus 10:11). Rabbi Isaac of Corbeil (13th-century France) counts this as a mitzvah [incumbent] on anyone capable of issuing a halakhic ruling, if no one else more capable is available. . . . While others include this [obligation] as part of the commandment to study and teach Torah, Rabbi Isaac sees it as an independent mitzvah. Either way, issuing a halakhic ruling is an act of religious devotion. It is a fulfillment of a divine command that allows the respondent to enter the religious life of the questioner and create for him a new halakhic reality.

Anyone who has studied halakhah can tell people what [a particular halakhic code] says about a specific case. A computer can do this, as well. A person is better than a regular computer at understanding the nuances of a question and offering the appropriate reference source. An AI might be even better at this than a person, with perfect recall of a massive library. However, this is just a matter referencing past rulings.

Issuing a new halakhic ruling is not just about providing a reference—it is a religious activity. I suggest that only those within the religious community, only those who are part of the covenant and fulfill commandments, can create a halakhic reality by issuing a ruling. . . . Someone outside the halakhic covenant cannot create a halakhic reality.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.