Well it looks like the Gedolim are finally paying attention. Perhaps they read my blog on this issue… or the many other responsible bloggers who were saying the same thing. (For those who humor impaired, I’m kidding)
Bottom line is that the reality of life in the Torah world is counter to their wishes. The Internet is here to stay and they know it. No amount of Takanos are going to change that reality except in the most isolated of environments, like Lakewood or Bnei Brak. And even those places have many violators, as can be seen by the numbers from those communities who have blogs of their own and comment on other ones.
Here is a very partial list of the internet's responses to the admonitions against it:
*There are a multitude of Torah sites including those which feature Shiurim like Daf Yomi.
*Rabbi Avi Shafran, the official spokesman of Agudah which is the home of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah is a featured writer on a very prominent blog.
*The Jewish Observer in its entirety is featured on a website.
*The Yated has many of its articles featured on a website called Dei’ah VeDibur.
While it is true that the latter two are not official websites, both have permission from their sources to post their articles. These websites are designed mostly for the very public that has been admonitioned against using it.
If I understand correctly the Agudah Moetzes has not come out with an official Takana, forbidding the Internet. I’m sure they would if they thought it would work. But they realize that their own public will not abide by it. So they are finally changing their tactic.
Last Sunday there was a community wide meeting in the largest Orthodox Shul in Chicago. K.I.N.S. They had an overflow crowd, probably well over 1000 people. The subject was Internet safety. According to Chana’s notes (hat tip: Neil Harris) the driving force of this meeting was Agudah Moetzes member, HaRav Avraham Chaim Levin, Rosh HaYeshiva of Telshe here in Chicago.
The fact that not a single speaker said you can’t have the internet in you home makes a very clear statement to me. To be clear, I do not want to put words into Rabbi Levin’s mouth. He may very well be strongly opposed to having the internet in the home. But not a word was spoken against it.
There were many people from every segment in Chicago, all there for the same reason. This is a wonderful testament to the degree of Achdus we still have in Chicago despite the growing community. It would be no exaggeration to say that fully 75% of the crowd in attendance have the internet in their homes.
If I recall correctly Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon has actually said that the internet is forbidden, but I am told he has also admitted that if not for the inherent dangers, that it would be one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century.
It seems that all the sentimets I have expressed in the past are now finally being acknowledged in one form or another. The fact is that Rabbi Salomon’s statement about the internet is true. It is one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century and it also poses one of the most serious mass spiritual threats the Torah world has ever faced.
The problem I always had with the approach of those who forbid it is the fact that they ignored the benefits of the internet which are thrown out with it. If you combine Rabbi Salomon’s admission of the benefits with the meeting that took place here in Chicago last Sunday, we finally have sensibility on this issue from important rabbinic leaders. They are finally dealing with the issue in ways that I have suggested they should.
That evening there was much talk about the dangers with many examples given and suggestions made about how one should handle the medium in their own homes. It was also noted by speakers that just because one does not have the interent in their homes that does not mean their children will never come into contact with it. Computers are so pervasive now, almost anything with a screen can provide access.
Speakers that evening included an expert in the field of sexual abuse, Rabbi Dr. David Pelcovitz. He spoke of an e-mail he received from a young man from a good Charedi type home with good parents and a nurturing environment who had become addicted to porn. And nobody knows it. The young man was still a member in good standing in his Yeshiva among peers and Rebbeim alike. He was learning well, got good grades and was well adjusted in his environment. No one, he said, would ever suspect that he was addicted. And he got started quite by chance.
As I said the dangers are real and forbidding it in the home is at best a delaying tactic. Once a child is old enough and he wants to find out what all the fuss is about, he will find a way when no one is looking.
Many suggestions were given and you can read about them on Chana’s blog. But as I said at least now we have some sanity on the issue. Blanket Takanos never really work and as we have seen admonitions against the internet have been virtually ignored by the vast majority of Orthodox homes.
