By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com

For one reason or another, the Tik Tok app has been the talk of the community of late. Tik Tok is one of the fastest growing Apps in the social media world – with somewhere near a billion users. This article will discuss the pros, the cons, and the halacha of allowing one’s children to use the App.

THE PROS

Very little, other than that it may be fun.

THE CONS

There are numerous reasons to make sure that this APP should be deleted immediately – not just by Torah Jews, but by all Americans.  We will list 6 very serious reasons.

UNDERMINING THE UNITED STATES

The first issue is that there is a very strong concern that we are handing over huge amounts of data to an enemy of the United States.  Let’s not forget, last week it was announced that the Justice Department unveiled charges against four members of China’s People’s Liberation Army for hacking into the credit-reporting agency Equifax back in 2017 and stealing sensitive information on 147 million Americans.

That’s right.  China stole everyone’s very personal data.  They have all our credit information and pretty much everything else about us.

The charges are the latest in a campaign of indictments against Chinese-government-linked hackers that dates to 2014 but has ramped up considerably since 2017.

According to the New York Times, “lawmakers raised concerns about TikTok’s growing influence in the United States.. the American government had evidence of the app sending data to China.”

The US government has opened an investigation about it, the New York Times reported in November.  The Times further writes, “The move is the latest in a back and forth between the United States and China, which are enmeshed in a global competition for technological dominance that has begun to cleave the high-tech world in two and start what some analysts refer to as a new Cold War.”

We live in a wonderful country and we should not be handing out data to a foreign government bent on undermining our economy and country.

VILE WORDS

The second reason is that this App has millions of young women and young men lip-singing to songs that have the most vile words one can imagine.  There is no escape from it.  Not one person that was interviewed for this article who has been on TikTok has escaped exposure to these horrifying words.

The Gemara in Pesachim 3a cite Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: A person should never allow an unseemly word to come out of his mouth, for the Torah went eight letters out of its way to avoid writing something unseemly (Bereishis 7:8). The Torah states “min ha’beheima asher einena tehorah” — from the animal that is not pure” instead of just saying, “Ha’beheimah ha’temei’ah — the animal that is impure.” Many extra words are used by the Torah to teach us this important lesson — not to sully our neshamos by cursing.

The Midrash attests to this on the verse in Devarim (23:10), “When you go out to war, guard yourself from every evil matter.” How does the Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 24:7) define evil matter? You guessed it — “unseemly words,” referred to in Hebrew as nivul peh.

TORAH PROHIBITION

The Midrash seems to indicate that it is a Biblical prohibition whether in war or not in war — it is just that it is more common in wartime or in the soldier’s barracks rather than in the typical social structure or setting to which the Torah generally speaks. The Machzor Vitri (424), one of the foremost students of Rashi, writes that the prohibition is Biblical.

There may be a different source for a Biblical prohibition, too. The Torah tells us (Devarim 23:17), “Lo yireh becha ervas davar—There shall not be seen within you an unseemly thing…” Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmani in Vayikra Rabbah (24:7) rereads the words to say “ervas dibbur” instead of “ervas davar.” The verse now reads “There shall not be seen within you an unseemly statement — namely “improper speech.”

NOT HARMLESS

Aside from the Torah prohibitions mentioned – there are repercussions to nivul peh that we want to avoid.  It seems that it is not just an innocuous, harmless little activity. The Gemara in Shabbos (33a) tells us that because of the sin of nivul peh, great problems come. Harsh decrees are promulgated, the youth die young, orphans and widows cry out and are not answered. In other words, the repercussions are rather serious. The Shelah (Osios Shin Shtika 24) writes that nivul peh is the avi avos ha’tumah — the ultimate source of impurity.

The human soul reflects the Divine aspects of mankind. In contrast, nivul peh reflects the nefesh ha’beheimis, the animalistic aspect of mankind.

The bottom line is that cursing emanates from and reflects the lowliest aspects of human behavior.

Avi Avos HaTumah

The reason cursing is called “avi avos ha’tumah by the Shelah HaKadosh is that such activity undermines holiness, both of oneself and of others. The Gemara in Kesuvos (5b) instructs the others just how they should react. The Gemara states that fingers were created like straight tent pegs for a reason — so that someone who hears nivul peh can place his fingers in his ears to blot out the sound.

The Midrash tells us that the Jews in Egypt reached the 49th level of impurity, but even then, they did not succumb so low as to use nivul peh (Pesikta Zuta Sh’mos 6:10). They did not change their language implies, according to the Midrash, that they did not change their manner of speech either. We see how serious such activity truly is.

From a Torah perspective, the issue is impurity. Man was created in the Divine Image and possesses a cheilek Elokah mi’ma’al — a Divine section from Above. Cursing and the uttering of profane words darkens and sullies that Divine section from Above that we all possess.

Reduces Life

It also reduces our pre-designated life spans. The Gemara in Niddah (16b) states that even if one had a lifespan of 70 years, nivul peh can turn it around in the wink of an eye.

EXPOSURE TO UNWHOLESOME INDIVIDUALS

The fourth reason is that it exposes our children to predators.  Also, the default setting to these accounts is public – which means that predators are clearly present.  There are predators that are highly trained at luring the innocent into very difficult challenges, and often – they fail.  These predators, unfortunately, exist both outside our communities and sometimes, rachmana litzlan, in our own communities.  Why place our children in what amounts to a holding cell for a level 1, level 2 and level 3 offender’s registry?

There is also the issue of having unwholesome friends.  The Mishna in Pirkei Avos 2:9 discusses the repercussions of this.  Many of these “friends” or followers are anonymous.  Is this not terribly scary – that only the police have a chance at identifying who these people may actually be?

The fifth reason is that it is a gateway to other potentially deadly trends.  Recently, a TikTok video demonstrated a prank one can do where two friends demonstrate how to jump up to a third friend who stands in the middle between them. It is called the “Skullbreaker Challenge,” and originated, it seems in South America.  When the third friend jumps up, the other two kick his feet out beneath him knocking him down on the ground.  Often the one being pranked can hit his head.  This has led to two deaths already and has prompted an official in Israel to ban the App entirely.

ADDICTION

The sixth reason is that kids that use TikTok more often than not suffer from an addiction to it.  For many, the daily use is upwards of two or three hours a day.  The Gemorah in Yuma 86b explains that Rav Huna says in the name of Rav – when a person does an aveirah and repeats it – it becomes permitted to him.  Rav Shalom Shwadron explained that Rav Elya Lopian understood this phraseology as an addiction.  When one has an addiction – one pursues it without regard to morals and what is right or wrong.  They just pursue it.  The evils of addiction are manifold.

CONCLUSION

For these six reasons mentioned above, it is a no-brainer that the App should be deleted from all phones in the house immediately. Like everything in regard to parenting, it should be done with love, and respect for our children, but also firmly.

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