It says K’Ish Echad B’Lev Echad – “As one man with one
heart”. In other words - it is about
Achdus. The lack of which I consider to be one of the most important issues
facing Judaism. Even the name of the newly created organization behind the Asifa is misleading: Ichud HaKehillos - United Communities.
Understanding the Asifa in this way explains a lot. As
I have said many times the issues being raised by the promoters of this Asifa
are real. And the fact that they have now by default admitted that the way
their concerns were handled in the past was mistaken is definitely a step in
the right direction.
But as I also said in a recent post I finally figured out
what was so troubling about an event that dealt with a problem that I agree
needs dealing with. It was the idea that this Asifa was going to present a
unified attitude about the value of the internet. That is clearly how it is
being promoted. By characterizing it this way they are saying that all segments
of Klal Yisroel would agree to it.
That is clearly not true. There are legitimate differences among Orthodox
groups about the value of the internet. The people sponsoring this Asifa are still
on the same page they were on before. If they could they would still ban it. I
am pretty sure that is how it will be presented.
I will never forget overhearing one prominent Charedi Rav –
a Kanoi to be sure - spitting every time he used the word internet in a
conversation he had with a Charedi Baal HaBos standing a just a couple of feet
away from me. They still have this attitude. But they now realize that they
have wasted their breath in trying to somehow ban it from even their insular
environment. So they have come around to the idea of safe use with the aid of
filters and various other ideas.
The safe methods of use to be promoted are not that different from methods used by
other communities including non Jews. They have many of the same kinds of concerns Orthodox Jews do. Solutions like filters have been obvious to many of us long before now and are already in
place in many homes – religious or otherwise.
So why the need for an Asifa? Why spend ,millions of dollars on
promoting the obvious? Because they want all of Klal Yisroel to be on board not
only with the need to filter out porn and the like, but to have the same negative
attitude as they do. K’Ish Echad U’BLev Echod.
To that end they would love to see their sold out attendance consist of a wide cross section of Orthodox Jewry – from very Modern Orthodox to very right wing Chasidic. From YU to Satmar. They would love to see a huge number of Kipot Seruga along with the velvet ones. Black hats, fur hats, and no hats (…just Kipot). The idea being Achdus in not only in solutions but in attitude. They want to teach us all to spit (at least in our minds) when we say internet even while conceding the reality of its permanence in our lives.
To that end they would love to see their sold out attendance consist of a wide cross section of Orthodox Jewry – from very Modern Orthodox to very right wing Chasidic. From YU to Satmar. They would love to see a huge number of Kipot Seruga along with the velvet ones. Black hats, fur hats, and no hats (…just Kipot). The idea being Achdus in not only in solutions but in attitude. They want to teach us all to spit (at least in our minds) when we say internet even while conceding the reality of its permanence in our lives.
Make no mistake about it. This is a Charedi driven event and
they have no interest in presenting a more positive view.There will be nobody
standing up there telling the audience about all the positive websites
available – or as Dovid Teitlebaum suggested on his blog that the internet can be
incorporated into all systems of Chinuch to make learning more exiting. His views have brought him tremendous grief rom the right!
The focus instead will be on Kedushas Yisroel and how the internet is destroying it. And though it would be best to avoid it, it no
longer can be. Nonetheless it should still be seen as the biggest single
obstacle to Kedusha in our lifetime.
This is not Achdus. This is no more Ish Ehcad B’Lev Echad
than an Agudah convention.The pictures in the 5 Towns Jewish News of Ichud HaKehillos planning
session in Lakewood says it all. (page 22 - available only in pdf)
If they really wanted to claim Achdus, these pictures would
look a lot different. And no doubt so would the program they will present.Had they invited some Modern Orthodox rabbis to their planning sessions they might have promoted it differently. And no doubt so too would be their program.
Those who will be attending this event should listen very carefully to what is being presented. Will it be the all negative Charedi view of the internet? I hope not but I doubt there will be anything positive said about it. If there is - I will be pleasantly surprised.
Everything I have heard up till
now spells the ‘spit on the internet’ attitude that Charedim have always
had. And the more modern Orthodox Jews attend, the more they will be
able to say that this is the unified approach of all of Orthodox Jewry.
