B'H
Rabbi Arush spoke on Shabbos Chazon, during Shalos Seudos. According to reports (my husband was not there himself, and since it was Shabbos anyway, did not record of course) Rabbi Arush was extremely upset, saying (again, paraphrasing a report):
A terrible new thing has been created – the IPhone and Smartphone. Now, anytime the Evil Inclination puts into a man’s heart, he can sin, the Internet walks around with him and tempts him. If only I had 10 men in the Yeshiva who had completely nullified all their teivot (lusts, desires), I would have been able to make a man KNOW that he is sinning with his Smartphone, whenever this happened. At least he would know it was wrong and have a better chance at fighting his Evil Inclination. Alas, I do not have 10 men, and therefore, he does not even realize that it is wrong…
Now, do not take this as an insult to the men of Rabbi Arush’s Yeshiva, Chut shel Chessed, G-d forbid. What Rabbi Arush is demanding is an incredibly high level – to have not one lust come up, ever, in any situation. Even a man who ever feels a lust for anything, even once a year, and stomps it completely is not on this level. The men in the Yeshiva are certainly working incredibly hard towards this goal, and as a whole the Yeshiva is an incredibly holy community, but alas, not 10 of them have gotten there yet.
So why do I mention it? Two reasons:
<![if !supportLists]>1. <![endif]>To remind us of the dangers of the Internet.
I blog on the Internet, so obviously I don’t believe it’s wholly evil. I do believe it is something like the Klipat Noga in Kabbalah – it is not good nor evil specifically, but leans towards evil and must be used very, very carefully. There is no doubt that an Internet filter of some kind is absolutely required by halachah, and if a man is on the Internet, either his wife must be able to (and do it!) to monitor his usage on a regular basis, no less than once a month, or he must use a kosher Internet filter which will filter and monitor him if needed.
Even if it’s kosher, it still must be used carefully – how many hours to people waste away with silliness on Facebook or Twitter? I myself have to fight this Yetzer – it is just oh so easy to take a 5 minute break, that ends up to be an hour, and my entire day is messed up because I took time I didn’t have. Why is it so addicting? Because it’s mindless and easy. OK we’re answering people’s important questions on some group. But are you achieving your purpose in life doing so? If the answer is no, the amount of time must be carefully watched to make sure it makes sense.
I blog on the Internet, so obviously I don’t believe it’s wholly evil. I do believe it is something like the Klipat Noga in Kabbalah – it is not good nor evil specifically, but leans towards evil and must be used very, very carefully. There is no doubt that an Internet filter of some kind is absolutely required by halachah, and if a man is on the Internet, either his wife must be able to (and do it!) to monitor his usage on a regular basis, no less than once a month, or he must use a kosher Internet filter which will filter and monitor him if needed.
Even if it’s kosher, it still must be used carefully – how many hours to people waste away with silliness on Facebook or Twitter? I myself have to fight this Yetzer – it is just oh so easy to take a 5 minute break, that ends up to be an hour, and my entire day is messed up because I took time I didn’t have. Why is it so addicting? Because it’s mindless and easy. OK we’re answering people’s important questions on some group. But are you achieving your purpose in life doing so? If the answer is no, the amount of time must be carefully watched to make sure it makes sense.
<![if !supportLists]>2. <![endif]>To remind us of how everything we do affects the world.
Just imagine – if there were 10 men like this, they would have such power! That every man would always know he is sinning, every time, without becoming complacent. That is power!
Nothing we do is lost. Every minute of personal prayer, Tehillim, Torah; every time we light Shabbos candles or put on tefillin; every time a man guards his eyes, and a woman dresses modestly, and they both guard themselves only for their spouse; every word of emuna, and every time we refrain from speaking lashon hara or slander…we don’t know the power of holiness we are putting into the world! We don’t know how every time we talk to someone else about emuna, some other person is strengthened and comes a little closer to Hashem.
We are fighting a war against evil. This IS the war of Gog and Magog according to Rebbe Nachman. An individual cannot see the war going on, nor can they see the outcome of each battle. And if they lose, but pick themselves up and do teshuva, and grow a bit humbler knowing they cannot be successful in coming closer to Hashem without His help – that is a battle won!!!
Slowly, but surely, every one of Hashem’s warriors is fighting their little battles, and one day, G-d willing soon, when Moshiach comes – Moshiach is going to show each of us just how much we accomplished, and how with what seemed to us as a little battle, we wiped out entire armies of enemies.
Just imagine – if there were 10 men like this, they would have such power! That every man would always know he is sinning, every time, without becoming complacent. That is power!
Nothing we do is lost. Every minute of personal prayer, Tehillim, Torah; every time we light Shabbos candles or put on tefillin; every time a man guards his eyes, and a woman dresses modestly, and they both guard themselves only for their spouse; every word of emuna, and every time we refrain from speaking lashon hara or slander…we don’t know the power of holiness we are putting into the world! We don’t know how every time we talk to someone else about emuna, some other person is strengthened and comes a little closer to Hashem.
We are fighting a war against evil. This IS the war of Gog and Magog according to Rebbe Nachman. An individual cannot see the war going on, nor can they see the outcome of each battle. And if they lose, but pick themselves up and do teshuva, and grow a bit humbler knowing they cannot be successful in coming closer to Hashem without His help – that is a battle won!!!
Slowly, but surely, every one of Hashem’s warriors is fighting their little battles, and one day, G-d willing soon, when Moshiach comes – Moshiach is going to show each of us just how much we accomplished, and how with what seemed to us as a little battle, we wiped out entire armies of enemies.
