The Evil and the Beauty of Modern Technology

R' Shmuel HaLevi Wosner, ZTL (Wikipedia)

By now, internet use is has become about as common in the Charedi world as it is in the rest of the world. This includes the use of smartphones as the medium whereby one can access it. Despite the dire warnings against it a few years ago by many rabbinic authorities. Some of whom outright condemned it and forbade bringing it into one’s home. On penalty of expulsion of one’s children from their religious schools if it were to be found in one’s home.

I will never forget the comments made by Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman at an Assifa (gathering) at Citifield a few years ago attended by tens of thousands of mostly Charedim wherein he declared (based on his reading of the Mussar of Rabbenu Yona -a medieval  rabbinic commentator) that when a rabbinic leader makes a pronouncement in a public forum, we have no choice but to abide by it or lose our Olam Haba.

That was followed the late R’ Shmuel HaLevi Wosner of Bnei Brak, forbidding internet use. That was later modified to allow it for business purposes but never in the home (and if I recall correctly - only with filters).

I recall saying at the time how foolish a ban like that would be. And that most people would honor that ban in the breach.

I could not have been more right about that. Although there are people that still do not access the internet, it is becoming almost impossible to function in the 21^st without it.

This is not to say there aren’t any problems. In fact the opposite is true. The more we become dependent on technology the more problems we seem to have. The original fears about the ease of access to pornography that generated the ban seem to pale in comparison to the multitude of problems that exist now. Pornography is still a problem. But it is just one of many.

And the internet is not the only thing to worry about. Smartphones which include the internet have multiplied the problem. It has added, texting and an almost unlimited number of apps that anyone can download. Each of which consumes even more of our time. That is what I believe is the biggest problem.  

Technology is taking away time from more important things (like work, family time, and studies – if you are a student).  It causes distraction from any task  at hand. Like driving for instance. There has been an increase in traffic accidents – some of which involved fatalities because of such distractions. And this only scratches the surface of the problem.

One might think that this is a wake up call.  Not just for Orthodox Jews but for all of humanity. But the opposite seems to keep happening as we all seem to constantly be increasing our screen time while becoming more oblivious to our surroundings.

Were the rabbis that banned the internet right?

No. As I have said many times the fact happens to be that smartphones have become almost invaluable to living life in the 21^st century. There is a reason for downloading those apps. They actually do add value to the quality of our lives. The trick is in how to use them without their gobbling up so much of our time. This is not a religious problem. It is a societal problem which is a byproduct of the value we get out of it.

For me the real issue is self control. We need to teach ourselves not to look at our phones every time we have a spare minute. We need not check our email at every available opportunity. We need to not answer every text or email the moment we get it.

We need to shut off all messaging while we are driving. And even avoid using the phone altogether while driving – or at least use it only in the ‘hands free’ mode (e.g. a through a speaker phone or a Bluetooth connection).

We need to shut off our phones during meal time. And during Davening. And certainly not check it while we wait for Chazoras HaShatz – something I keep seeing more of these days.

If used in this way, technological advances like the smartphone will live up to its potential - and enhance our lives the way it is supposed to. 

What about Charedim? Should they still abide by the original ban? The attitude still seems to be that one is better off without it. That if they don’t absolutely need it for work, one will live a holier life by not using the technology at all. After all this is why Agudah does not have an official website. Although they do have an unofficial website that does just about everything an official website does. But they can still say they don’t - claiming that it is owned and operated by a private individual. They believe this gives them deniability. I don’t think it does. But in any case - the point here is why they do it. It is because they still feel it is better to not have it than to have it.

I do not agree. The fact happens to be that the internet has created an industry that has made some entrepreneurial Charedim very wealthy while allowing them to lead a fully Charedi lifestyle which includes spending half or each day (mornings) learning Torah. Had they honored the ban they could never have achieved that kind of success. And there are still plenty of opportunities for others to do the same thing. How do I know? Buzzfeed told me.