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| Some of the thousands of attendees at a recent Asifa in Bnei Brak (VIN) |
Imagine if in his righteous attempt to rid the Jewish people of serious violations of those laws he simply said, ‘Sex is evil.’ And should be avoided entirely if at all possible. If everyone adhered to that, imagine the pristine lives we would be able to lead BeKedusha UveTahara.
What about procreation – the Mitzvah of Pru Urvu? That can be taken care of by artificial insemination. While not the ideal way to procreate, in light of how far we have fallen in terms of sexual misconduct, it is a Hora'as Shah - a time that we must act for the sake of our very existence. Even though the Torah permits it - at this point in time it must be vilified and banned wherever possible. This is the best if not only way to solve the problem.
This is of course a most laughable idea and complete nonsense. Just because there has been a rise among our people in serious violation of sexual laws, you don’t get rid of sexual activity. Intimate relations between a husband and wife is more than about procreation. It is actually encouraged by the Torah. Just because there are massive problems in this area does not mean we eliminate it entirely from our lives. We must as a people learn how to better control our impulses.
While analogies are never perfect, one might think about this when considering the constant harangue by clueless Charedi rabbinic leaders who keep vilifying technology. To the point of even removing all technology from our lives as the best solution for its misuse. Here is what one such individual, Rabbi Zvi Meir Zilberberg said at a recent gathering of thousands of observant Jews in Bnei Brak:
Rabbi Zilberberg spoke against Smartphones and tablets which have for various reasons become commonly used even in chareidi society. He said that these were a danger to the future of Klal Yisrael and must be denounced as such.
What he fails to understand is the problem is not the devices. It is the individuals using them. Blaming technology instead of the individual that cannot control their impulses would be the same as blaming sexual violations on sex itself. It is the inability to exercise self control that is the problem. Not the technology itself.
Smartphones are increasingly becoming one of the most useful tools in our lives today. In fact Smartwatches are now capable of saving lives. They can monitor a variety of medical situations and alert their wearers of potential problems that can be life threatening. Like an imminent heart attack or stroke for example.
In vilifying the technology, Rabbi Zilberberg has in effect increased the possibility of serious health issues going undetected by discouraging its use.
I realize of course that all the ‘dangers’ inherent in technology that Rabbi Zilberberg referred to, do in fact exist. Indeed it is quite true that technology has taken over the lives of countless numbers of people to the point of doing them great harm in a variety of ways. This is true not only for observant Jews. It’s true for everybody. Article after article has been published in the secular media about this problem. Smartphone addiction has become quite common. Especially among young people.
But the solution is not to vilify the technology. It is to teach self control. (For young people it’s about parental responsibility.) Self control is how one avoids violation of sexual laws and how one avoids the dangers of technology.
Advances in technology are a boon to mankind. In his zeal to eliminate temptation, Rabbi Zilberberg does a disservice to Klal Yisroel in vilifying it. Either he is ignorant of all its many benefits - which are constantly increasing - or he refuses to recognize their value. And he is not alone. The vilification of technology is as old as the internet. Recall how the internet was banned by Rav Shmuel HaLevi Wosner at one such gathering (Asifa) many years ago. Which was mostly observed in the breach by the vast majority of observant Jewry. Rightfully so.
Even as the misuse of that technology increases, I just wish rabbinic leaders who speak out about its dangers would tell the truth about it instead of only vilifying it. I don’t disagree with them about the problems. Just about how he and that of so many other rabbinic leaders like him believe they should be tackled. In my view the ‘all or nothing’ approach does more harm than good.