Lakewood's powerful gathering against internet
Powerful, inspiring was Lakewood's gathering on the detructiveness and harm of the internet.
Thousands jammed Bais Faiga Hall and its' outdoor spaces where from a three level crowded dais and numerous large screens, rabbonim, just days before Rosh HaShana declared a war against the internet.
Leading off was the rosh yeshiva Rabbi Malkiel Kotler who spoke about the necessity of erecting "walls", safeguarding yourself and your children. "Don't let cracks in that wall; don't open any door!"
Next Rabbi Shmual Kaminetsky delivered via video (having recently fallen) a passionate plea. He called the internet "Sakanas Nefashas", and said the takanas, rules, that will be given are about saving our children.
Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman came to the lectern thundering that the satan has us by a death grip. He quoted R' Rosenblum Shlita saying: "The pillars of Klaal Yisroel are shaking!".
Now, he said, we're deciding how our children and grandchildren will look in the future.
"Infections are spreading class to class like a plague.", he wailed, with visible sweat trickling down his face.
Lakewood's beloved mashgiach Rabbi Matisyahu Solomon ended off bemoaning how our generation is dancing with the satan and- "he's spinning out of control with much excitement", having gotten the internet in our homes.
Any heter, exclaimed the mashgiach, to posses the internet for parnasah is "B'Deyeved of B'Deyeved, adding: "I'd like to say something radical: maybe it is better to live in poverty than to give away your neshama- bring the internet in your house!".
He warned everyone : "It has no place in a jewish home",... "One picture can ruin a child for life.",... "You don't give children keys to your car"!
"We need a fear of the internet", he declared emphatically.
He ended off with the sad- but not helpless fact- of today's world, "We can't protect our children from others except with tefilah (prayer)." With that he concluded the historic asifa by leading all in the Psalm "..from the depths I call you.."
The new Takanas will be forthcoming.
Thousands jammed Bais Faiga Hall and its' outdoor spaces where from a three level crowded dais and numerous large screens, rabbonim, just days before Rosh HaShana declared a war against the internet.
Leading off was the rosh yeshiva Rabbi Malkiel Kotler who spoke about the necessity of erecting "walls", safeguarding yourself and your children. "Don't let cracks in that wall; don't open any door!"
Next Rabbi Shmual Kaminetsky delivered via video (having recently fallen) a passionate plea. He called the internet "Sakanas Nefashas", and said the takanas, rules, that will be given are about saving our children.
Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman came to the lectern thundering that the satan has us by a death grip. He quoted R' Rosenblum Shlita saying: "The pillars of Klaal Yisroel are shaking!".
Now, he said, we're deciding how our children and grandchildren will look in the future.
"Infections are spreading class to class like a plague.", he wailed, with visible sweat trickling down his face.
Lakewood's beloved mashgiach Rabbi Matisyahu Solomon ended off bemoaning how our generation is dancing with the satan and- "he's spinning out of control with much excitement", having gotten the internet in our homes.
Any heter, exclaimed the mashgiach, to posses the internet for parnasah is "B'Deyeved of B'Deyeved, adding: "I'd like to say something radical: maybe it is better to live in poverty than to give away your neshama- bring the internet in your house!".
He warned everyone : "It has no place in a jewish home",... "One picture can ruin a child for life.",... "You don't give children keys to your car"!
"We need a fear of the internet", he declared emphatically.
He ended off with the sad- but not helpless fact- of today's world, "We can't protect our children from others except with tefilah (prayer)." With that he concluded the historic asifa by leading all in the Psalm "..from the depths I call you.."
The new Takanas will be forthcoming.
posted by Yeshiva Orthodoxy
at 2:15 PM
6 Comments:
I don't live in lakewood but would love to hear the Takanos
The frum community is already experiencing a lot of poverty. What does the mashgiach suggest?!?!: possibly classes in auto shop, classes in construction, classes in plumbing.
It is nice to make proclaimations to prove the point the internet is dangerous and is only b'dieved, b'deived for work, but there are very few lines of work (including homemaking) that are not helped, at the very least, by having internet access.
While I see very little need for children to go on the internet (at least until they start looking at colleges--oh wait that is assur too), at this point it is a necessity for any type of non-manual labor work and can be extremely helpful for homemaking and doing work at home.
What we need to be teaching is discretion. I have an internet connection. I use the internet for some pleasure, but I mostly use it for banking/financial, my at-home work projects, price shopping and ordering (I don't even have to leave my home to shop in many instances which gives me a lot more time to spend with my family), and more.
I'm waiting to hear the takanot too.
"from a three level dais and tons of screens"
Screens? Like the wire mesh that you put on your windows to keep the bugs out?
Ohhhh. Video screens. TV's. Got it.
"You don't give children keys to your car"
Of course I do, when they are old enough and capable of safely operating it.
anon, you missed the point YES they did have screens there just as they had electricity and lighting,it was a huge crowd and thanks to technology they had video hookup.the gathering was not a ban on technology,but on the DANGERS of technology.
2.there is no such thing as safley operating and old enough in reguards to the dangers of the internet,do you think the rabbis did not trust anybody when they wrote the laws of yichud? didin't they know that ppl will say I dont have this promblem I trust myself.
Some of the takanos are mentioned on http://yeshivishenews.blogspot.com in this post.
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