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SOCIAL COMMENTARY GENERAL INTEREST

Rabbi Chaim Navon
R
abbi Chaim Navon

Being a No-Man

ne of the greatest messages the groundbreaking is good. The Torah television. But it is important to limit it,
Torah has brought to the world illustrates this in Parshat Noach, when exactly for this reason. The computer
Ois that not everything that can the advanced technology of Migdal and the internet are excellent servants
be done is allowed, not everything Bavel casts disaster upon humanity. if you control them, but they are cruel
that exists is good, and sometimes it’s Technology can certainly be good. masters if they control you.
permitted to forbid. This is what the Chazal teach us that G-d gave Adam “The Social Dilemma” ends with a
Eitz HaDa’at, the Tree of Knowledge, the gift of fire, which is the basis of our call for governments to intervene and
teaches us: having a shiny, good-look- technology. Human beings are called restrict internet companies. This is
ing, tasty fruit in front of me does not upon to enhance the world through a disappointing conclusion. It is not
mean I’m allowed to eat it. good technology and to avoid bad the government that eagerly turns on
Even today, this lesson still contradicts technology. your iPhone in the morning. We are
the pagan intuitions of mankind. It As Religious Zionists, we sometimes responsible for ourselves, and we are
opposes three common claims. First sneer at the Chareidim’s attempts to responsible for our children. Since our
of all, the Torah refutes the idea that curb what they see as harmful tech- children don’t need this sophisticated
everything natural is good. This is an nology. They seem like King Cnut the tool for vocational purposes, and since
assumption that modern ecology wor- Great, who was so proud he thought he they have a lesser ability to resist its
ships. For example, look how the food could stop the ocean’s tide, but drowned temptations, the first step is to push
giants assume that we too agree that when the tide refused to be swayed by off their entry into the world of the
natural = good, and so they add small his decree. Technology is not a steadfast internet. Their teachers too need to
bits of what was once fruit to their law of nature. It is a human choice. Even wean themselves off communicating
yogurts and sell it as natural food. if we laugh at the Chareidim whose with students via WhatsApp.
However, the Torah teaches us that – children snuck over to the neighbors Psychologist Jonathan Haidt showed
as in most things – good is not always to watch television, the average time a that people in our generation who
natural, and natural is not always good. Chareidi child spends watching TV is at receive a smartphone in middle
least 90 percent lower than his Religious school are more likely to suffer from
The second claim the Torah refutes is Zionist. It is possible to discuss whether an extreme increase in depression and
that everything beautiful is good. The it was necessary to ban this technology,
Eitz HaDa’at was a “delight to the eyes,” but it’s incorrect to claim it’s impossible. anxiety and a steep decline in healthy
social relationships. Some smart people
and yet it was prohibited to eat from it.
In 1965, Israel’s Minister of Education, Steve Jobs said that computers are have asked me how I can forbid my
child from having a smartphone when
Zalman Aran, banned the Beatles from like bicycles for the brain. The docu-
performing in Israel, so as not to cor- mentary “The Social Dilemma” claims I use one myself? But we also have driv-
ing licenses and our children don’t.
rupt Israeli youth. Shulamit Aloni tried that today’s internet technology has
to overturn the evil decree, and asked completely disrupted this equation. We love the Torah that tells us to say
Aran: “How can people who wrote the As opposed to bicycles, the internet “yes” to good and to life, and we are
song ‘Yesterday’ be so corrupt?” With- responds to you and actively tries to grateful it teaches us to sometimes say
out relating specifically to the Beatles, entice you to use it more and more. “no.”
she was wrong. Plenty of gifted artists Sophisticated algorithms remember
are less than ideal human beings and, every action you ever made on the inter-
regretfully, there is no connection what- net and bombard you with tailor-made
soever between beauty and purity in messages every time you surf the web.
this world.
Because of the dominance of internet
And the third claim the Torah technology, it’s impossible to reject it Rabbi Chaim Navon is a renowned author
refutes is that everything new and completely, as the Chareidim did with and educator.

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