Mysticism and MD5
During New Year services yesterday, I noted in my usual despair the mysticism inherent in certain parts of the services.
In particular, gematria, a Jewish version of numerology. I'm not a fan, to say the least; the last time I spoke on the subject in synagogue, I pointed out that the Hebrew for "State of Israel" had the same numerical value as "tomato sauce" and expanded on the topic from there. (It was a pre-Purim lecture, which is how I got away with it, but it did capture my attitude.)
Then on Tuesday at services I experienced an epiphany. Instead of comparing the straightforward computation of numerical value of the letters, we should compute an md5 one-way hash of the word, phrase, or section of text under discussion. Then we compare the hashes: if they match, it's a certain indication of divine intervention. After all, people fiddle with the gemetria to make it come out "right," that is, consistent with their desired message; clearly, we need a stricter way to compare in order to guarantee origin from On High.
Of course there's no guarantee that md5 is the One True Hash. We might need SHA-x instead.
I understand from a now-sleepless friend that he's currently on track to turn out an md5 version of the Old Testament, both word by word and sentence by sentence. Next comes exploitation of this glorious new investigative tool.
In particular, gematria, a Jewish version of numerology. I'm not a fan, to say the least; the last time I spoke on the subject in synagogue, I pointed out that the Hebrew for "State of Israel" had the same numerical value as "tomato sauce" and expanded on the topic from there. (It was a pre-Purim lecture, which is how I got away with it, but it did capture my attitude.)
Then on Tuesday at services I experienced an epiphany. Instead of comparing the straightforward computation of numerical value of the letters, we should compute an md5 one-way hash of the word, phrase, or section of text under discussion. Then we compare the hashes: if they match, it's a certain indication of divine intervention. After all, people fiddle with the gemetria to make it come out "right," that is, consistent with their desired message; clearly, we need a stricter way to compare in order to guarantee origin from On High.
Of course there's no guarantee that md5 is the One True Hash. We might need SHA-x instead.
I understand from a now-sleepless friend that he's currently on track to turn out an md5 version of the Old Testament, both word by word and sentence by sentence. Next comes exploitation of this glorious new investigative tool.