Bereishit

This Shabbos, days after the third anniversary of October 7th, we read two charges side by side. In Bereishis: “בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹ-הִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ every person is created in the image of God. In the haftarah, Yeshayahu: “אֲנִ֧י הֹ קְרָאתִ֥יךָ בְצֶ֖דֶק וְאַחְזֵ֣ק בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ֗ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ֛ לִבְרִ֥ית עָ֖ם לְא֥וֹר גּוֹיִֽם” I, Hashem, have called you in righteousness… a covenant of the people, a light of nations. The first tells us what every person is worth; the second tells us what we are here to do about it. YESODI is built for that purpose. It is the B2AI layer where entrepreneurs own their algorithm, are discoverable on the AI engines, earn and spend coins that reward engagement and control their brand’s visibility, offer followers discounts on products, services, and events, grow each other’s businesses through five degrees of super affiliation, and share profits and equity in what they create, from songs to fashion to content. Through it we show the world, in real time, what Israel and the Jewish people contribute, and the Torah values we live by: achdus, service to the community, love for every person, empowerment, leading by example, and building tools that benefit society. That is pirsumei nisa, publicizing the miracle, the pride behind the menorah in our windows and on the emblem of the State of Israel. Those values, and the knowledge that we are Hashem’s children, carried us through the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Inquisition, and the Holocaust. We ARE the algorithm. When Ambassador Ofir Akunis invited me to a screening of the 47-minute film of that day, I watched what was done to my brothers and sisters in Israel, and I heard our Father in Heaven asking us to act for the lives ended too soon. To my fellow founders, CEOs, visionaries, and advocates: when the snake bites, we join together, mobilize, join arms, and act. This is our calling.