Why are sirens called sirens? Classical scholars among the Hanassi membership may recall reading the sequel to Homer's Iliad, this being the Odyssey--an epic poem that relates the ten-year journey faced by Odysseus on his way home from the siege and eventual fall of Troy. On his way, his ship encounters sirens. These are female beings that resemble humans but possess irresistibly alluring voices. The best way to cope with their songand not to fall into their clutches is either to stop up one's ears with beeswax, which is what Odysseus told his crew members to do, or (as he did himself) be tied to the mast so that he would not be compelled by the attraction of these voices to throw himself after them into the sea. The tale of the sirens raises an interesting point of Jewish law. Would the enticing songs of the sirens be subject to the halachot relating to kol ishah? Do those rules apply only to human female voices? And, to come to think of it, would the same issues arise in respect of female voices generated by AI? That's something to think about!
