The Orthodox Jewish world continues to seesaw back and forth about the pros and cons

of the Asifa on Technology at Citifield in New York that was shown in communities

around the world. Debates abound on the best Internet filters, blocks and technological

band-aids to repair the dangerous environmental influences of the outside world.

Let’s ban or block the Internet and suddenly our children will be less distracted, our

communities more heimish and our learning and davening more for the sake of Heaven

instead of rote blabbering to get it over with.

In 1944, Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler said in Strive for Truth (v.3, p.143) “Human beings

believe, in their arrogance, that if they continue developing the world on the basis

of ever expanding technology they will eventually achieve an environment that will

afford everyone unlimited gratification of the senses and a life of ease and pleasure.

So long as people remain "takers,” their efforts will inevitably be directed toward

selfishness...”

With the advance of technology and the ease of availability, the temptation of distraction

has become a daily struggle for Jews across the spectrum to remain upright even in

their own homes. But the Internet is only part of the problem. Go into almost any shul

today and you’ll find congregants reading their emails on their cell phones and leaving

davening to answer their phones, tallis over their heads and tefillin perfectly squared.

Attend any d’var Torah, graduation ceremony, wedding or bar mitzvah and you’ll find

people distracted with texting.

The real problem is chutzpah and selfishness, and parents are teaching it to their

children by their own actions, and then wondering what went wrong.

Rabbi Bachy asserts in Duties of the Heart: "Their evil inclination induces them

to abandon the spiritual world wherein lies their salvation… it makes self-adornment

more attractive to them… it impels them to gratify their desires for self-indulgence…

until they are sunk in the depths of its seas."

In the rush to satisfy our thirst for instant gratification, information and acceptance,

we’ve created a Jewish society devoid of cohesiveness and spirituality, full of chutzpah

and apathy. As Rabbi Dessler predicted 68 years ago, “They persist in thinking that

soon, very soon, they will hit the right formula, and if not in this generation, then in

the next, universal happiness will come. And so they bring up their children to study

nothing and think of nothing but technological advancement…” (Strive for Truth, pg.

152).

It seems that children and adults 68 years ago were also steeped in the excesses

of technology, although it was not as insidious as it is today. Unfortunately, Jews today

are becoming apathetic robots. In their quest to look frum with their starched white

shirts and impeccable Borsolino hats and in keeping up with the Goldbergs, they have

truly collapsed into a materialistic society, all “for the sake of Heaven.”

Consider the case of Yaakov, who goes to the store to buy a pair of expensive shoes

on sale at a chain department store known for its lenient return policy. There he meets

his friend Shimon, who has just bought the same pair of shoes Yaakov wants. Shimon

relates to Yaakov that he “purchased” the $300 pair of shoes for only $200 by switching

the price tag while no one was looking, and that Yaakov can have them for $250, thereby

saving him $50 while Shimon makes some money on the deal.

Shimon is proud of himself and Yaakov gets a bargain.

Where I come from, this is called stealing.

Or consider the practice of Reuven going to an outlet store to buy fancy white

shirts for Shabbos, in order to sit and learn in one of America’s finest yeshivos, where he

wouldn’t dare stand out wearing a blue shirt. Lo and behold, Reuven ends up at the

local Nordstrom return counter, telling the clerk the shirt is imperfect and he wants to

exchange the shirt or get a refund.

Why would religious people, steeped in Torah learning, resort to lying and stealing?

The Orchos Tzaddikim in Sh'ar Hasheker says, “Alchemists turn copper into

gold where even the experts cannot tell the difference. So it is with the mind of the

charlatan. He rationalizes and justifies his lies until they appear even to him as truth.”

Alan Morinis, in Every Day, Holy Day wonders, “What could possibly cause you to

vary from the truth? Probe your motivations and you will encounter some other trait

like envy or laziness - seeking its own satisfaction. You deviate from the truth when

some inner trait wants to bend reality to its own purpose” (p. 344).

As you see, envy fueled by chutzpah and engineered by selfish materialism causes

people to steal and lie, all for the sake of Heaven -- so they can join the “in-crowd” and

look like everyone else with fancy shoes, exquisite hats and starchy, imperfect white

shirts.

Not surprisingly, the men and women that Rachel Shteir, author of The Steal :

A Cultural History of Shoplifting, spoke to, also presented different views on

shoplifting: The men sounded as if they saw themselves as heroes in video games; one

described the excitement of racing through the aisles of Target, outwitting the sales

staff, security people and cameras.

People want to feel good about themselves. They want to be seen in a respectable light

by their friends. When this can be accomplished without deception, people are usually

honest.

Yes, the Internet and hand-held technology are to blame for seriously deteriorating

the holiness of Jewish society, destroying relationships and distracting us from what

is truly our purpose in life, to serve Hashem by doing HIS mitzvos. Even secular

psychologists, who once were technology advocates, are now decrying the lack of one-

to-one communication and the compulsion to check our hand-held devices in spite of

danger, social awkwardness and rudeness.

Fortunately, there are mitzvos in addition to guarding our eyes. Number Eight is, “Thou

shall not steal,” and Number Nine is, “Thou shall not lie.”

What is the answer? Another type of filter. We cannot expect people to live in caves

and never have access to the outside world. Our computers need filters desperately,

but what’s next -- putting filters on women’s heads so men will no longer be tempted

to look at them in the street? No. The answer is to filter our own minds and heads by

becoming role models for our children in shul, at home and in business. By dressing

properly ourselves, by understanding that being holy is about respecting ourselves

enough to feel good about our own personal strengths, instead of looking outside

ourselves to the latest styles, gossip and news for validation. The answer is bringing

up our children to understand that they have a God-given soul, and direct them to

understand their strengths instead of teaching them that what they do will lead them

straight into Gehinnom. To teach our children from a very young age about God, faith,

trust and the privilege of being God’s chosen people, not a nation that has to rely on the

whims, customs and fads of others to feel good about ourselves: This is truly the test of

our generation.

Allan Katz, M.S. has a Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, working toward licensure
and his certification as a Certified Sex Addiction Therapist with the International Institute of
Trauma and Addiction Professionals. He is the author of Mask in the Mirror, a motivational
book for healing from sexual compulsivity. (http://allanjkatz.com). He is the moderator of the
U.S. hotline for religious Jews suffering from sexual compulsivity and Internet addiction as well as
a phone group leader with Guard Your Eyes.com. He delivers lectures and workshops nationwide
to schools, synagogues and organizations who want to spread awareness and protect their members
from this epidemic. He can be reached at [email protected] or at 901-359-8299.