The Buzz and the Bees

“Did Moses know everything?” the agnostic but inquisitive college student asked me.

“You bet he did,” I answered. “He learned forty days straight around the clock with the Almighty on three different occasions atop Mount Sinai. In addition, he spent seven whole days with the Almighty when he encountered the “Burning Bush” in the desert while tending his father-in-law’s flocks. Altogether, Moses spent 127 days in intense learning, when Hashem showed him all the knowledge the mankind is yet to learn, know and innovate.”

“If that’s true,” countered the college student, “why didn’t Moses invent wireless technology? Why didn’t all the Children of Israel enjoy the convenience of iPhones and microwave ovens?”

“Great question,” I responded, “he could have if he wanted to. Moses didn’t waste his time on “technology”, which intrinsically is low-level knowledge. For example today’s children are tech-savvy; they’re at home with gadgets that professors from previous generations have difficulty in operating. Does that mean the a nine-year Play-Station pro is more intelligent than a Rambam? By all means, not. Today’s nine-year olds are simply adept technicians. That doesn’t say anything about their social, communication, or intellectual prowess. Moses knew that he barely scratched the surface when it came to Divine knowledge. He therefore devoted all his time and effort to seeking more of Hashem’s secret knowledge, reserved only for those who fear and revere Him.”

“Isn’t that neglecting the world? Moses could have done so much more to make life easier for mankind,” the student claimed.

I told the student that Moses wanted to preserve the beautiful world that Hashem in His compassion gave us, and not destroy it. “You asked why Moses didn’t invent wireless technology; let’s ask the bees…”

It’s common knowledge that the world’s bees are suffering. Honey production is way down and natural honey is becoming a progressively more expensive commodity all the time. The world’s dwindling bee population has a disastrous effect on agriculture, since bees are a vital and integral part of our agricultural and ecological systems. Not only do they produce honey, but even more importantly, they play a critical role in pollinating both field crops and fruit trees.

Lately, scientists have been feverishly searching for the culprit behind the decimation of the bees. More and more clues have been leading in the direction of wireless technology. Swiss research has proven that he signal from cell phones not only confuses bees, but also may lead to their death. In places like the USA where virtually most of the population owns cell phones, the bees have suffered the most.

Researcher Daniel Favre discovered that bees reacted significantly to cell-phones that were in call-making mode. They sensed the signals when the phones rang, and emitted heavy buzzing noise during the calls. To the bees, the calls triggered an instinctive danger-reaction to leave the hive, but the frequency confused them. As a result, they flew in an erratic manner. Favre’s study also found that the bees’ buzzing noise increased ten times when a cell phone is ringing or making a call. In human terms, this would be equivalent to every one of us shouting and yelling as if our nerves were under attack every time a cell-phone in our proximity was in use. Alarmingly, bee populations in the USA and UK have decreased by almost half in recent decades, coinciding with the mass use and distribution of cell-phones and other wireless devices.

Ecclesiastes calls the world a “folly of follies”. At first, this caused an uproar. People asked how King Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, can say such a thing when the Torah itself testifies in Parshat Bereishit that the world is “very good.” Our sages bridge this apparent contradiction and teach us that while the Torah talks about Hashem’s creation, Ecclesiastes is referring to what man did to this exquisite creation. Hashem created a wonderful world, but mankind has done so much to destroy it, oftentimes by modern technology.

Moses didn’t want to be responsible for the disasters that nuclear power plants would cause, so he didn’t develop nuclear power.

Moses didn’t want to upset the delicate and beautiful balance of nature, so he didn’t develop wireless technology.

Keeping in mind what Moses knew, he could have done either with no difficulty. But since he knew the value of Torah and Divine wisdom, he knew that nothing was greater. He therefore dedicated every available moment to learning more Torah and obtaining more Divine wisdom. We’d be doing ourselves a tremendous favor by doing the same.