Just Tell Me What to Do

Have you ever wished you had access to an all-knowing oracle; a kind of magic 8-Ball? Silly question! Of course you have. Who hasn’t?

Should you quit your job and start the business you’ve always dreamed of? Easy—ask the oracle. Is the person courting your daughter someone she’ll grow to love and respect? No problem—ask the magic 8-Ball. Should you undergo the slightly risky medical procedure or take your chances waiting to see if the symptoms fade away? Simple—check in with your secret soothsayer.

The seductive allure of having a reliable authority to answer life’s most frightening questions is almost irresistible. This is why so many people yearning for certainty ask religious leaders, psychologists, and counselors for decisions rather than guidance. It’s why people are increasingly turning to AI for answers to life’s challenges. While legitimate consultants and advisors fill a vital role, too many people want someone else to make decisions for them in their personal and business lives and then to take responsibility for that decision. This has led to the emergence of large numbers of bogus ‘experts’ both live and robotic.

Regardless of how strongly we feel the temptation of inviting someone else to make our life decisions, it is far from what God intends for us. So often, things to which we feel strong attraction and which others advise us to do, are wrong. So it is with this.

Ancient Jewish wisdom refers to the unhealthy desire to place our life’s decisions in another’s hands as consulting Ov and Yidoni.

So strong is God’s disapproval that within only 34 verses of Leviticus, we find not one, not two, but three warnings against Ov and Yidoni.

Do not turn to the Ov and Yidoni…
(Leviticus 19:31)

A person who turns to the Ov and Yidoni…
I will cut him off from his people.
(Leviticus 20:6)

A man or woman who practices the Ov or Yidoni
shall surely be put to death…
(Leviticus 20:27)

Ancient Jewish wisdom offers this tip: To better understand a particular section of Exodus, Leviticus, or Numbers, study Moses’ encapsulation of that same matter in Deuteronomy.

There shall not be found among you those who inquire of the Ov and Yidoni…
(Deuteronomy 18:11)

Continuing from there we find a remarkably short five-word verse:

You shall be (TaMiM) with the Lord your God.
(Deuteronomy 18:13)

It seems from this that seeking answers from Ov and Yidoni negates being TaMiM with God.

But wait! That exhortation to be TaMiM, precisely matches what God directed Abraham about four hundred and forty years earlier:

…and God appeared to Abram and said to him,
‘I am God Almighty, walk in front of me and be TaMiM.’
(Genesis 17:1)

Those of you who have been studying with me for a while know that many Hebrew words don’t translate directly into English. TaMiM is one of those words. To help understand it, we can use another unique Hebrew characteristic. Many key words in the Lord’s language mean one thing reading forwards and the diametric opposite when read backwards.

TaMiM is plural; its singular is TaM. Reading TaM backwards, we have the word MaTe meaning death. (The end of a chess game is when your opponent’s king is finished, or dead. We call that check mate or dead king.)

This gives us insight into the word TaMiM. TaMiM is an affirmation of life which entails using our God-given capabilities to make choices. Turning to oracles, soothsayers, or technology rather than struggling within ourselves to choose the right path is a rejection of the life factor God implants in us.

We all have the same option as Abraham did, actively to make those choices which keep us TaMiM with God.

Is it odd for this Thought Tool to appear during the same week that we sent out an announcement of RDL AI – the Rabbi Daniel Lapin AI tool? It is a bit ironic. But I sincerely hope that rather than asking you to do what I say, this AI tool will provide information and guidance to help you think for yourself and take steps of your own choosing.

Revised and updated from May 4, 2011

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