The Vizhnitzer Rebbe, who asked his chasidim just before Chanukah to give him their smartphones for the duration of the yom tov, said on motzei shabbos that he will have a private meeting with every chossid that gave in their smartphone to discuss the dangers it poses to them.
“For many years we have been fighting against the unclean vessels (smartphones) that destroyed many people,” the Rebbe said. “In recent years, a heter has been issued for livelihood purposes and several other reasons that it is permissible to possess such devices. But today it is no longer possible to meet these excuses of livelihood and work.”
Kosher smartphones have destroyed hundreds of Jewish homes, and everything must be done to save klal yisroel from them, the Rebbe said.
The Rebbe said that over the course of Chanukah he heard “shocking stories” that have occurred due to “kosher” devices.
“Because these devices are “kosher” people can have black socks and a white beard and go to the mikvah, and they have no problem holding these devices,” the Rebbe said. “If you know what I know and what I’ve heard recently, you will not be able to endure it.”
“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts,” the Rebbe said repeatedly.
“We have to go to war with it with all our might – it’s not easy,” the Rebbe continued. “We have to put out all the fires that have spread until we reach all the people who are affected. And we will fight against this fire from all directions.”
The Rebbe said that he wants to establish a new committee for technology that would include Rav Yitzchok Isaac Tobias, the rav of the Vizhnitz kehilla in Beit Shemesh, Rabbi Greenbaum, the rav of the Vizhnitzkehilla in Haifa, and Rabbi Efrayim Newhouse to analyze the use of filtered smartphones among chasidim.
“If one truly needs a smartphone for his parnassah, then he needs it,” the Rebbe said. “But the hours spent playing on phones, why is it necessary? If you have some other reason to be on it, such as for a medical need or some other need, it’s understandable. But your reason has to be a true need.”
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16 Responses
The entire frum world (especially yeshivishe) needs to take notes
Yes, let’s all live backi in the shtetals too!
People need to become better Yiddn. Its not the smartphones. Its the sadness that that we have no one to look up to. No guidance with love to our Tatte in Himmel. Its an empty world. Our leaders sre all busy with shtisim and the chasidim see thru them.
Its not the smartphones. Its the emptiness that is screaming so thats where the vessels get tricky.
GO AFTER THE SOURCE. ITS NOT THE SMARPHONES. Its that our children and the דור are not seeing what we shld. We live in a world that appreciates riches and Torah isn’t the “in thing”. So of course the generation falls.
We need to adress the core problem which isnt smartphones.
I get more Torah learning done with my smartphone than I did in Yeshivah
So lemme understand, so b4 smartphones, the was no giluy aroyos??
Ahem
Hail to the CHIEF
Best To throw them in garbage
Shishoim yoim to Purim
It might also help the general cause if people would study or read more of the incriminating research showing the significant health risks posed by wireless devices, and how more and more people are leaving their cellphones on ‘airplane mode’ whenever they can – checking for messages intermittently. They are also ‘hardwiring’ all other wireless devices that it’s possible to do this with (using cable connections instead of WiFi), and opting out of ‘smart meters’ with utility companies.
on thurs. eve before chanuka i decided to clear my head & get focused on some more learning & items at work that should’ve been done weeks ago. here is what i did i made a simple chart with 262 boxes each representing an hr. , my plan was NO TO BROWSING, yes to any internet nec. ( bank , google maps , jm music app…) i did it , i felt fine , less distracted, & it was easier than i thought .. today is my first day back and i will try to limit to 20 min a day news browsing…
one more point as i checked off the boxes each day or several times a day , i said hodu lashem each one represents an hr of life that hashem has given me
Ask any Rov or therapist who deals with shalom Bayis in frum communities … infidelity is taking place right next to the unsuspecting eyes of a spouse by manner of a smartphone.
Here is an email from TAG that i think should be publicized:
Clarification
In recent weeks there have been various advertisements published in local circulars as well as via email blast lists marketing a smartphone which is being promoted as kosher and fully in line with proper hashkafic values.
Being that those ads featured the TAG logo and promote the product as recommended by TAG, we have a responsibility to clarify our position on that and similar devices.
While TAG employs the top filters on the market, it is generally correct that a presecured device is a better option than TAGing a regular device. However, any smartphone, including a presecured smartphone, is not ideal and is always a second choice compared to a flip phone.
TAG follows and promotes the daas Torah of the entire spectrum of Gedolei Yisroel that smartphones should be considered with utmost caution and seriousness only when needed for business purposes. Smartphones should never be purchased for general convenience.
The TAG Team
“and [in addition to limiting wireless mode on their phones hard wiring their devices] are opting out of ‘smart meters’ with utility companies.
Lastword: Actually, only the dummies are opting out of smart meters used by electric utilities. As of the end of 2020, EIA reported over 110 million customers had installed “smart” electric meters. Forty two of the 50 states had reviewed the so called “evidence” of adverse health effects of smart meters and nonetheless approved their installation based on findings they posed no risk. These 42 states include some of the most “red”, right-wing conservative jurisdictions in the country that are otherwise very skeptical of “technology”. Those “opting out” in some states actually have to pay a surcharge to reflect the incremental cost of having the utility send out a “meter reader” each month.
I think people need to be a little more honest with themselves about smartphones. You do not need to be chassidish or even chareidi to recognize the tremendous problems posed by smartphones. if i would venture a guess, i would say 95% of smartphones users have used their smartphones as an aid to serious halachic violations, not the least of which is loshon hora. That is the religious side of the argument and its an easy one to make if people were more honest with themselves. in addition, smartphones have created a 24/7/365 work schedule, has allowed unhealthy habits to fester and permits people to live inside their own heads for far too long.
as a realist i recognize that we need to figure out a way to live with them but we are not doing a good job of it as of now. so to challenge this wise rebbe or anyone else when he shines a light on a serious problem is a foolish thing to do, as far as i am concerned.
Here are some other important quotes on this topic:
Rav Shmuel Halevi Wosner
“Surfing without a filter violates the prohibition of ‘Yichud’. There is absolutely no excuse not to have an Internet surfing filter on one’s home computer. Not to do so is to violate the commandment, “You shall not put a stumbling block in front of a blind person.”
Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski, MD,
“It is perfectly possible that while monkeying around with the Internet, you hit a button and there’s a pop-up of an inappropriate scene. You weren’t looking for it, but it happened. You have exactly 3/10ths of a second to turn it off. And if you wait for 4/10ths of a second, you may become addicted. That’s how severe it is. It’s one of the most powerful addictions. Day after day after day I get letters and calls from people who say, “what can I do to save myself?” because they have fallen into this addiction and it has taken them all the way down. It has ruined more marriages than anything, ruined families. It’s been terribly destructive.”
Rav Yosef Viener, Rav of Kehillas Shaar Shamayim, Monsey
“There is no single problem facing the individual in Klal Yisrael and communities at large than this. I hate to sound pessimistic – but if you have unrestricted Internet in the house – Internet that is not both filtered and reported, I would say there’s a higher than 90% chance that people have already stumbled in your house. And if it hasn’t happened yet, there’s more than a 90% chance it will happen.”
I think people should stop driving cars because they may crash people should stop using knives because they may get hurt people should not use the sink because they make it burns from the hot water
@besalel
Well written.
Couldn’t agree more!