A new letter from Rav Shmuel Kamenetzky shlit”a and signed by Rav Elya Ber Wachtfogel shlit”a, Rav Malkiel Kotler shlit”a, and Rav Yosef Harari-Raful, urges schools and yeshivos to prohibit smartphones, including filtered ones, on their premises.
“The possession of smartphones in the hands of roshei mosdos, mechanchim, and mechanchos is something that leads innocent talmidim and talmidos who cannot distinguish between one smartphones and another, introducing an air of permissibility into their hearts which are struggling with the test of our g eneration,” the letter says.
“Although the possession of this device can be very beneficial for a school’s needs, and it can seem to be for the purpose of a mitzvah, nevertheless, the benefit is outweighed by the loss in regards to the chinuch of the next generation in holiness and purity,” it notes.
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32 Responses
Baruch Hashem. We need our Gedolei Yisroel shlit”a to lead Klal Yisroel.
I’d it a one size fits all ruling? Aren’t children from different homes and lifestyles, different environments and backgrounds affected differently? I would guess that the out of town day school is not in the same plateau as Torah Vodaas and Chaim Berlin.
It would be smart if all the chachomim would hold back their comments in deference to these great mean.
men
I’d it a one size fits all ruling? Aren’t children from different homes and lifestyles, different environments and backgrounds affected differently? I would guess that the out of town day school is not in the same plateau as Torah Vodaas and Chaim Berlin. Satmar and South Shore are not alike. The South Shore rebbi needs to object wholly differently than our local Yeshiva Ktana of Passaic.
There is an ever bigger problem with cellphones in that they are intrinsically unsafe. Agencies that have approved cellphones through the years, have varying tests, all of which cater to the telephone industry.
The better science is suppressed by both industry and government, though concerned citizens and other parties have been making inroads to insure public safety by protesting lax regulations and encouraging fiber-optic broadband, not Wifi (or 5G).
Why did it take them a full generation to realize that such a letter is of utmost importance and necessary. We have to thank a few extremely righteous askonim that pressured these Manhigim to finally write such a letter.
217 years till 6000, you are worrying just about phones is about as insane as not having a shabbos….Move to Israel….
While not every Yid struggles to maintain holiness and purity, every one of these devices emits radiation that can damage genes and cause brain tumors, an issue that will worsen with the rollout of 5G, which you should oppose wherever you live. Every device also conducts surveillance while in private places, transmitting that personal information (images, sounds) collected unbeknownst to users to data storage centers generally under the supervision of perverted goyim. So, one size should fit all. These devices never should have gained acceptance. With that said, no one should smash these devices with hammers, since they also contain toxic carcinogenic chemicals released when crushed.
A very big Ashkenazi Posek once said that maybe the reason that during world war 2 the Sefardim were saved from hitler ימח שמו maybe it was because they were very careful in Shul not to shmooze. I am sure there were other reasons why they got saved but maybe the ” not shmuzing” in Shul maybe that helped a lot.
Let’s try it out and see if it works. It doesn’t cost any money.
This is the most pressing issue for Klal Yisroel now? Smartphones? Forget about inflation, tuition, assimilation of our less-affiliated brethren. Nah. Smartphone is really the crisis of the day.
By the TU convention this question was publicly asked and Rabbi Goldberg from Telshe said the same point. I assume it’s not a coincidence this letter came out now.
Siddur app, YU Torah app, Torah Anytime App, All Daf, Jewish music. I’m absolutely not getting rid of those opportunities by disposing my smart phone.
I find this solution as totally incomplete.
Children are far wiser than we assume .
Just to ban it from Schools and public places etc.
Children / pupils will look at us as double faced .
יהודי ברבים וגוי בבית .
Isn’t that hypocritical ?
To ban it alltogether is impossible, not living in reality .
Rather teach train how to be used wisely .
Kids for sure dont need it
“Waaaaa!!! Smartphones!!! Waaaaaa!!! Waaaaa” cry a river!!
What about all the bochurim smoking on ave M? What about the Yeshivishe oilam excessively drinking alcohol? What about the “coffee hock” culture in Yeshivas that consist of multiple cups of coffee a day, cigarettes, Lashon Hara, and unhealthy eating habits? What about ”Frum” women dressing like zonos? Address ACTUAL problems!
The average Yeshiva bochur is addicted to Gashmiyus, but they care about SmARtF0nEs more than anything else.
You can be a disgusting Ba’Al Taiva as long as you don’t have a smartphone. Noted!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Maskim to the letter.
But I would like to know who really wrote this letter. Reb Shmuel shlita is not writing letters these days.
“While not every Yid struggles to maintain holiness and purity,”
what a shmendrick. name one that does not struggle ive never met one
Yabia omer yes the nesayon of kedusha is the most pressing issue facing this generation
I’m curious how many of these opinions come from people who don’t have smartphones. If you consider this issue so important you have to set yourself as an example to the community. It’s not enough to call out yeshivos and Rebbeim.
Comments on the comments:
emesayid – Our manhigim need to do that without pressure from askanim. Here, the issue was real and sensible. But there have been too many instances in which one askan, perhaps with a partner or two, exerted pressure on Gedolei Yisroel to do their bidding on issues they labeled as Torah based. And tragedies resulted. Who is the next ban?
Schmendrik – Take your meds and get some good sleep. Your paranoia about carcinogens is laughable. Except that the laughter would go on while you still continue to suffer from your mental illness.
Yabia Omer – nowhere do letters like this suggest that other issues are not problems. This letter addresses one single issue. Go ahead and disagree if you like, but it is responsible for our gedolim to address each problem as it is brought before them.
justasec – You are truly wise. Anything that sounds like a ban or an issur is a proven waste of time and effort. Smartphones are already in every home. Have them appropriately filtered. And we should be training our youth the proper ways to use the scientific and technological advances.
SfaradiGamur – I would express it differently. Smartphones can indeed be problematic. But the problems do not begin with the device. They start much earlier, and there is a greater role of having our chinuch based on restrictions and punishment rather than imbuing our youth with sense of awe and love for Hashem. When they feel disconnected, they are apt to seek other avenues of gratification, and one such option is the cyber world accessed by a smartphone. It is the bochur or girl that is inadequately anchored that goes to the devices, not the smartphones that puish them off.
To Safardi:
I don’t believe that you are a real Sfardi Gamur.
You are not saying the truth.
I happen to be a real true Sefardi Tahor.
Your comment about how women dress is a complete and lie Gamur.
Ask your Rav ( if you have one) what happens to a person that lies and says something terribly negative about another person and he is obviously trying desperately that a punishment should be on the way, what happens to this guy who wants so much that another Yid should get punished?? Ask your Rav (if you have one) what happens to the person who started this whole messy lie.
My message to all the women who read his comment: relax-stay calm- this guy I don’t think we will see any more nasty comments from him. I don’t mean today or tomorrow , I mean in the future. Hashem does not punish people instantly, Hashem waits maybe the guy will do ” Teshuvah”. Again I am a Sefardi and that guy does not represent Sefardim.
May Hashem help him to wake up quickly.
To the person who made a nasty comment about women:
What happened to the Mitzva of
הוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות
“to give a person the benefit of the doubt”
“judging another Yid in a favorable manner”
Oh I forgot, you did not like that Mitzva, so you simply deleted it permanently.
The reform & conservative have a Mehalech of ” pick and choose”.
I personally made a decision (on my own) to no longer have a smartphone and I have seen tremendous סייעתא דשמיא in my personal and business life.
It took me years to take the step and I pray to Hashem to give me the strength to continue and to never judge others however when I see statements like “while not every Yid struggles to maintain holiness and purity” or “comparing smartphones to excessive drinking and smoking” or “I’m not giving up the opportunity of having the Siddur App” or “comparing Yiddishkeit issues with inflation” and so on, I can’t help myself but laugh as I see my previous self giving the same excuses and answers and we all know deep down that it’s just being untruthful to yourselves.
If people knew how dangerous (physically, emotionally, ברוחניות ובגשמיות) a smartphone is, they would have done all types of due diligence before purchasing one and if the decision would be that it is impossible to go on without it, they would have put every possible safeguard in place.
A smartphone is in someone’s pocket. It goes wherever you go and people tend to become bored and browse (kosher things) and then a great idea of “let me check this out (also Kosher’ish)” pop’s into your head and I don’t have to explain how far that can take a person down the rabbit hole.
True, some people have very strong filtering settings and they may truly never be able to get to anything that is not 100% Kosher however then your dump friends decide to send you a WhatsApp of a חתן כלה, and the picture may not be as Kosher as you’d like it to be which automatically (quietly) triggers something that Hashem put into every person’s brain. Saying that it doesn’t affect you would be silly.
Speaking about חתן כלה pictures, it’s ironic how when a not-so-Kosher picture is sent around, only the people who zoom into the כלה get the chance to say נעבעך while they keep on zooming into the picture ensuring they haven’t missed a spot.
People share “ANYTHING” on WhatsApp. It has become the norm for a man to post a picture of a woman on status when we say (or are at least supposed to say) twice every day ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם.
Other things to consider are children and your surroundings. Since I gave up my smartphone, I know of a few people who also gave up their smartphones and their answer to anyone who asked was that “they always wanted to give it up but they couldn’t get themselves to do it and after they saw that I gave it up, they took the courage for themselves”. (For those who might say, I’m not Hashem’s police or anything along those lines, the sad news is that כל ישראל ערבים זה לזה if you like it or not).
Bottom Line: A smartphone is a big deal and decisions about them shouldn’t be taken lightly. Most importantly, “Don’t Lie to Yourself”…
Totally agree (not that these gedolei hador Shlit”a need my haskama).
However, what makes these gedolim think that roshei mosdos are looked at as Mechanchim, and role models, when the majority of them are regular baalei batim that happen to run the finances of Mosdos. At least in Lakewood, where I live.
Do they act in general as role models???
Smartphones are a huge distraction. If you go out in public today, whether in the street, at offices, waiting rooms, or public transportation people are glued to their devices. It’s such a waste of time. The early 2000s (when it was just cellphones) was so much better.
To Just a Guy:
Hashem should send to your family lots and lots of good health.
Hashem should send to the entire klal Yisroel lots of good health.
I personally decided to give up my smartphone as everyday use. You can’t just fully give it up in one go as there is many things that people will say they need. I’m talking about being honest with yourself and the things you actually need. True a flip phone has nothing and is very hard to text with and do anything with it but it limits the distractions and keeps you focused that when you need to use your smartphone it’s just for what you need and not just in your pocket like a part of you wherever you go.
I have started with a filter. It’s a start.
Wow. This must be the most pressing issue of our times. I mean what were to be if our children living in unsafe homes found out there was help out there?!
That would be terrible! Smartphone – bad. Internet – bad. DCFS – bad. Anything not withing the community – dangerous and bad.
This attitude is precisely why when many of today’s children struggle to find their place in our rigid mold they drop everything and turn to drugs and other addictive substances.
Imagine being a kid a bit out if the box, or a kid growing up in an abusive home and all your taught is that everything outside is bad. You feel trapped within the community but you have nowhere to go because the outside world is all “bad and dangerous”. Now imagine that without any internet access to resources. I can imagine anyone would fall apart. The internet is a tool it can be used for its resources or abused, that’s up to each individual. Let’s not create a society of children trapped in a vaccum. It ends bad, I’ve seen it first hand.
Just a guy is not just a guy. Takeh, don’t lie to yourselves
Today’s (Nov. 8) Wall Street Journal has an article about a elite prep school that banned smartphones. It seems that not only Yidden realize that a smartphone doesn’t not belong in a school, for either students or faculty.