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| R’ Zvi Meir Zilberberg (Matzav) |
This unfortunate phenomenon did not begin yesterday. Nor is it all that uncommon. I don’t know the frequency by which this type of thing occurs. But an incident like this seems to be happening fairly regularly. VIN reports the following:
In yet another act of vandalism at a cellphone store in a chareidi neighborhoods, a cyclist smashed the window of the Muchshar-Net store in Geula, scene of numerous demonstrations and violent actions. The cyclist was caught in surveillance cameras as he smashed the window and threw putrid substances into the store.
A few weeks ago a cellphone store was gutted by fire, with the fire nearly causing casualties in nearby homes. In Bnei Brak extremists stopped traffic and fought with police at a demonstration against a store and in another incident a cellphone store owner was assaulted by a chareidi passerby.
I’ve said this before. And I will keep saying it until there is some change. It is true that personal responsibility means that the person ultimately responsible for any property damage or physical harm, is the one who actually did it. And it might also be true that only a relatively small fringe segment of certain types of communities do such things. And that most people in those communities would never participate in it and don't necessarily condone it.
However, there can be no doubt about who instigates it. Even if that is not their intention. This is true in the current climate of American politics - where a lot of damage was causaed on January 6 of 2021 by people motivated by former President Trump. And it is equally true about some of our rabbinic leaders that harangue their people who so strongly and passionately condemn technology. As the following harangue against Nedarim plus electronic donation devices clearly indicates:
In a fiery speech at a rally against technology a few weeks ago, Rabbi Zvi Meir Zilberberg spoke out against the devices, claiming that they can easily be hacked and used for internet.
Who is Rabbi Zilberberg? I had never heard of him. But a quick search on google turned up the following:
A child prodigy and grandson of Rabbi Gedalia Schorr zt”l (known as the ga'on of the Slabodka Yeshivah), Rabbi Zilberberg is known for his extreme diligence, spirited davening, and tremendous thirst for learning.
When people like this speak, people in his world listen. Respected Torah geniuses with a pedigree like his are believed to be reflecting Daas Torah. Which I’m sure Rabbi Zilberberg himself sincerely believes.
Fiery speeches produce fiery results. In my view he shares responsibility for this. Responsibility for the violence we constantly see in these communities can be placed squarely at the feet of religious figures like this.
For some reason they seem to be oblivious to the consequences of their words. They focus only on the message. The goal of which – I’m sure – is to prevent misuse of technology. Which they believe ought to be banned because of its dangers to the spiritual health of their people. So strongly do they feel about it, that they rarely miss an opportunity to harangue their people about it. With an urgency and passion they may feel because it risks their own Olam HaBah if they stay silent.
They apparently don’t see – or ignore the frequent consequences of such passionate condemnations. Or perhaps they believe it is a necessary price to pay in order to impress upon their people the seriousness of their message. If they do realize the consequences of their words, they might not agree with the tactics but they surely agree with the sentiment.
If this is in any way how they feel, it is, in my view, an astounding miscalculation of the Torah’s priorities. The ways of the Torah are pleasant. The idea of tolerating violence, destruction of property, and even physical harm to innocent people for purposes of getting their message across cannot possibly be in concert with those values. There are better ways to deal with this problem.
If they would speak out with the same fire against the violence - and its perpetrators, it might justify the fiery anti technology rhetoric. But to the best of my knowledge they have NEVER done that. Tepid condemnations are clearly not enough. If anything they are shrugged off which perpetuates this kind of thing. It is as if the original message is more important than the property and safety of their own people.
The only real way this kind of constant mayhem will stop is if these same rabbinic leaders make the same kind of fiery speeches against that violence and its perpetrators - that they do against technology. And to make sure there are serious consequences for their actions.
Fat chance, though, of that happening any time soon.
