An exhibition featuring a robot writing Torah scrolls is on show at the Jewish museum in Berlin. Ove

(11 Jul 2014) THE RABBI VERSUS THE ROBOT.
THIS UNUSUAL SCENE IS PLAYING OUT INSIDE THE JEWISH MUSEUM OF BERLIN.
ON ONE SIDE--RABBI REUVEN YAACOBOV IS WRITING TORAH SCROLLS BY HAND. DOING THE PAINSTAKING WORK FOR TWO HOURS A DAY.
ON THE OTHER SIDE--A ROBOT WORKING TEN HOURS A DAY TO INSCRIBE THE RELIGIOUS WRITINGS. THE FIRST ROBOT TO WRITE IN HEBREW.
NATSOUND: (German), Matthias Gommel, Robotlab artist
"This is not about having robots mimicking humans. Rather we wanted to put the robots in a position of creativity so that what it creates has a meaning for people."
THE CREATORS OF THE ROBOT SAY THIS PROJECT IS NOT ABOUT ROBOTS MIMICKING HUMANS--BUT IT'S ROBOTS CREATING AN OBJECT THAT HAS MEANING FOR PEOPLE.
A FULL TORAH SCROLL CONTAINS MORE THAN 300-THOUSAND LETTERS. IT WILL TAKE THE ROBOT THREE MONTHS TO COMPLETE IT.
NAT SOUND IN GERMAN of Reuven Yaacobov, Rabbi
"It is a piece of beautiful art. It shows that humans can create these kinds of robots. For us is this art also very good advertising. Everyone can write a Torah, and it is the obligation of every Jewish person to write a Torah at some point. And now I can say, 'even the Robots are already writing Torah.'"
RABBI YAACOBOV CALLS IT'S A PIECE OF BEAUTIFUL ART. AND IT SHOWS THAT HUMANS CAN CREATE THESE KINDS OF ROBOTS.
NATSOUND: (German), Cilly Kugelmann, Program director, Jewish Museum of Berlin
"The biggest difference between the result from the two writers, the robot and the human, is that only the product of the human, the hand written Torah, could be used in a Synagogue. The product that comes from the art installation can be kept in a collection but could not be used in a Synagogue."
BUT THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM REMINDS EVERYONE THAT THE WORK OF THE ROBOT CANNOT BE USED IN A SYNAGOGUE. BUT IT CAN BECOME PART OF A COLLECTION.
MATT FRIEDMAN. ASSOCIATED PRESS.

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