Spiritual Email: A big deal about a dot

Question of the Week:

Dear Rabbi,

Why does the Jewish religion seem to fuss over insignificant details? How much matza do we have to eat, which spoon did I use for milk and which for meat, what is the right way to tie my shoelaces? It seems to me that this misses the bigger picture by focusing on tiny trivia. Is this nitpicking what Jews call spirituality? I actually already sent you this question over a week ago and didn't receive a reply. Could it be that you have finally been asked a question that you can't answer?!  Signed, Rob

Dear Rob,

I never claimed to have all the answers. There are many questions that are beyond me. But it happens to be that I sent a reply the same day despite the fact that I've been away from home on a rigorous speaking tour in the USA. The fact that you didn't receive it is itself the answer to your question. You see, I sent you a reply, but I wrote your email address leaving out the "dot" before the "com". I figured that you should still receive the email, because after all, it is only one little dot missing. I mean come on, it's not as if I wrote the wrong name or something drastic like that! Would anyone be so nitpicky as to differentiate between "yahoocom" and "yahoo.com"? No, it's not ridiculous. Because the dot is not just a dot. It represents something. That dot has meaning far beyond the pixels on the screen that form it. To me it may seem insignificant, but that is simply due to my ignorance of the ways of the web. All I know is that with the dot, the message gets to the right destination; without it, the message is lost to oblivion.

Torah observance and mitzva fulfillment contain a world of symbolism. And every dot counts. When the mitzvot are performed with precision, a spiritual vibration is emailed throughout the universe, all the way to G-d's inbox. If you want to understand the symbolism of the dot, study cyber tech. If you want to understand the symbolism of Judaism, study Torah. Yours always, LB

Comments

[theresa]

Blessings rabbi. a wonderful explanation. G-d concerns Himself over every minute detail of His creations. A surgeon or medical doctor who overlooks a small detail or symptom could result in the physical death of the patient. Likewise very small detail in the torah and oral laws are there for the spiritual good and protection of a person.

[LazerBeams]

BH
Shalom! We are currently out of the office on an overseas speaking tour. G-d willing, well be back on Nov. 12th. With blessings always, LB

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In the computer world as in the spiritual world there are degrees of compliance. The dot, as you mentioned, is a necessary part of the email address. On the other hand, you could type "yahoo" or "YAHOO" or "yaHoo" and it will all get to the same place.

On the internet there are published standards and different organizations adhere to them to different degrees. The system is not perfect, but it works. When it comes to Judaism, there are no published standards, no enforcement bodies, and no way to generate global consensus. So it makes it impossible for lay people like myself to know which details are important and which ones are not, other than looking at other human beings and seeing what they do.

Computer professionals recognize that there is value in consensus. I wish the Jews would learn from that.