Bnei Brak – Just as the new iPhone 5 was being unveiled on Wednesday, one man was striking a blow against all things Apple.
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A rabbi in Bnei Brak, known as “the preacher of uprightness,” invited dozens of his students to an iPhone-smashing ceremony at a synagogue in the city’s Pardess Katz neighborhood.
First reported by Devorah Ginzburg on haredi news website Lada’at, Rabbi Lior Glazer began by delivering an impassioned sermon on ethical behavior, a traditional theme in the Jewish month of Elul leading up to Rosh Hashana.
During his tirade, given from behind a table with an iPhone sitting on it, the rabbi inveighed against anyone possessing the popular smart phone.
“A religious person who owns this impure device is an abomination and a disgusting, vile villain,” Glazer said.
He then gave an account of a man who had purchased an iPhone, which “ruined his life” and on account of which he got divorced from his wife.
At the end of his sermon, the rabbi recited a brief prayer requesting that God defeat the nation of Amalek, an ancient enemy of the Israelites and Jewish people used as a catchall for evil in general. He then proceeded to smash the offending iPhone with a hammer in front of his audience until it was left in pieces on the table.
Haredi leaders have frequently denounced smart phones and the Internet because of the open access it provides to pornography, as well as sources of information beyond the strict confines of the ultra-Orthodox world.
Back in February the radical Eda Haredit communal organization posted pashkavillim, broad printed notices, around Mea She’arim in Jerusalem banning iPhones, Android smart phones, BlackBerrys and similar devices, declaring that they have brought a “spiritual holocaust and “seriously endanger the holiness of the House of Israel.”
And in May, haredi leaders in New York staged a rally against the dangers of the Internet to an ultra-Orthodox lifestyle, attended by 40,000 men at the city’s Citi Field stadium.
Many haredim have “kosher” cellphones which have no Internet connection and cannot send or receive text messages.
Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post
Gee, I send text messages to my wife if I am running late and for business. ouch!
Is a video of this ceremony posted on YouTube? I’d like to watch it on my iPad.
Why not sell them to bring some money for Tzedakah? No one said you had to buy everything that might lead you of your path in Torah
Such a waste, instead of smashing these expensive phones they could have sold them to goyim and used the money to buy food for a poor family. But of course that wouldn’t have been as dramatic and garnered as much publicity as having an audience watch him pound the iphone into smithereens.
The semicha of any so called rav who would blame a divorce on an “Iphone” should be quesitoned….maybe from the Mesivta of Chelm?? Why do these clowns get so much publicity with such nareshkeit? At least at the aseifa recently, they framed the issue with a modicum of logic. This guy is a real busha.
Gosh this is strange.
Hope it wasnt the new 5…….
Hope its in Youtube..
what about the 1000’s of yidden who thanks to the iphone make money? app developers, resellers and a whole bunch of other things
I am so pleased that Rabbi Glazer (or his followers) is so rich that he can afford to destroy a very expensive phone without any compunction whatsoever.
Decades ago when telephones appeared people said men and women would be privately talking. Such a shame yes? I don’t understand why we don’t teach responsibility instead of resistance. I know my iPhone records every move I make on the Internet. And there is a bigger recorder in Shomayim that records every move we make. Anyone can live in a cave. Let’s get real and let’s get responsible.
Yes, nobody got divorced 5 years ago when the iPhone didn’t exist!
I heard he smashed the iphone 4 because he was getting the new 5
What about the thousands of yidden who learn and do dad hayomi on the dvices who otherwise would not. I suppose one guy who can’t control himself and gets divorced outweighs that. No personal responsibilty. My phone made me do it. I think a guy down the street from me used his car to go buy an iPhone. Let’s ban cars for all. Get a life already. Go learn and grow up.
So Ba’al Tashchis doesn’t apply anymore?
I am charedi and have chosen to use a kosher cell phone, my Rebbe only suggested it, he did not demand or accost anyone if they did not.
The sarcastic talkbacks to this article were great…the humor was a wonderful laugh.
Sell the iphone to goyim for money to help poor people ????- Do you people think fanaticism has common sense???? REALLY!?!?!?!?!?!
Burning books was not okay…but smashing iPhones is okay.
IPhones are responsible for divorces? My heavens, how much worse can this ignorance get. Selling them to non jews and using the money for tzedaka would be better, but that would mean they were reasonable and thought about their actions. We cant have that now,can we
Someone recently showed me a teshuva (I forgot from whom) but it was from one oth leading gedolim about 150 years ago. In that teshuva he writes how the new modern era of the “ban” (the train) is destorying our society. It is ruining shtetl life and allowing innocent youngsters to simply hope on to a train to the big cities thereby resulting in bad hashpas from the street. This too shall pass.
lol this is so ridiculles like others said why make such a dramatc issue just collect these iphones from whoever wants to get rid of it and sell it , give the money to some poor family for rosh hashanah what a big kidush hashem that would have been.. And blaiming an iphone for a man getting divorce dont you think that this man does not need an iphone to help him do what he did and get divorced he would have done whatever he did even without a iphone or computer.This rav certanly has a very big yetzer harah to make bad out of everything.
This is such a kiddush hashem. Finally someone who is saying what we are all thinking!
Instead of using brains to figure out how to use the devices only for good. Give shiurium about shmirad einayim. Talk about how we have to only use the devices for tzedaka chesed and learning. Come with with creative ways. Talk to people like adults. So the nations of the world see wow look how these people are adopting this technology I want that for my kids too. Instead u smash iPhones the world laughs thinks u crazy Jews grow up and Jews themselves just redicule you. Great.
Yes indeed. Life was pure and perfect before the I-phone.
“A religious person who owns this impure device is an abomination and a disgusting, vile villain,” Glazer said.
funny never heard such talk about child molesters, crimnals, people who where convicted of massive financial fraud, smuggling and so on
these so called holy men need to get their priorities right
Guess he was ready to upgrade to the iPhone 5. Probably stormed into the Apple store with the pieces and demanded warranty service
“He then gave an account of a man who had purchased an iPhone, which “ruined his life” and on account of which he got divorced from his wife.”
So if I find someone had the same result from a regular land line phone then I presume that would also make it an abomination and that everyone should get rid of it? You can call all sorts of places using one. What about supermarkets. If we find that someone was led astray because they met someone in a supermarket, perhaps we should osur those too?
It is irresponsible of a Rav to allow anyone to get off so easily and blame his bad behavior and his divorce on a cell phone. He should know better and hold him accountable for his many actions against his wife and for not taking his responsibilities as a husband nd obligations of shalom Baylis seriously. Blaming a failed marriage on a cellphone is a cop out andwill only guarantee tat hill have another failed marriage in the future because he is now cured! The cellphone is destroyed there he is now capable of being a good husband. Does anyone see any logic in that?
And that’s shy you don’t go to a Rav for marriage counseling.
Talk about misdirected aggression.