Israel – New school year – new regulations: Senior rabbis in the haredi-Sephardic public, headed by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, urged yeshiva students to avoid electronic and cellular devices that allow watching movies or surfing the internet.
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In notice published on Thursday, the rabbis claimed these were “street debauchedness” that must be rejected in favor of the yeshiva and studying at the seminary.
“We heard of small, new devices that let you watch movies and surf the internet, heaven forbid, and reach all sorts of foul places – in one instant a man can stumble and fall, heaven forbid, to the bottom of the pit,” read the notice.
“Therefore,” the rabbis added, “We urge to keep as far away from these dangerous devices as possible, keep restraint and beware.”
The heads of the esteemed Sephardic yeshivas and members of Shas Party’s Council of Torah Sages called on the “charming young men” to be strengthened by the Torah and devote every free moment to study it “with desire and joy.”
The rabbis noted that this message is especially important in days when “we hear about daily disasters that are hard to contain”, and stressed that the Torah protects and rescues its followers.
The rabbis further warned that nowadays, the streets are flooded with both new and old debaucheries that may prevent a person from devoting himself entirely to the study of the Torah, which may lead to a slippery slope.
In their notice, the rabbis recommended the students to keep practicing the Torah diligently, and remember that it is the Torah that serves as the best advocate ahead of the Day of Judgment.
Out of curiosity how many people are reading this article on a smartphone?
Its a major problem for all students. The rabbis have to keep talking againt these things. It doesn’t let a kid learn,it totally blocks his head
iPhone here
It’s already out of control. People are addicted to these devices and walk in the streets like zombies with their heads bowed and their eyes and fingers glued to their Blackberrys or iPhones. I see people playing with them in shul in the middle of davening and krias HaTorah which is such chutzpah; they certainly wouldn’t dare do so if an important dignitary was in front of them but have no problem while standing before Hashem. They even drive while texting which not only endangers their own safety but can also cause serious injury or death to other drivers and pedestrians.
VIN is so much better on a smartphone
“I see people playing with them in shul in the middle of davening and krias HaTorah which is such chutzpah”
7- Are you certain they’re playing with them? I’ve seen a number of people with siddurim and chumashim loaded onto their smartphones using them as a substitute. They’re even better when going places with a nusach you don’t usually use (davening in a shiva minyan, for example), but they certainly do look bad.
Nothing beats the new iPhone4. This is a battle the Rabbonim simply cannot win as computers, Internet and smartphones are simply now facts of life. With Smartphones available on the net from China for less than $100, soon everyone will have one.
If you don’t have a TV or internet in your home, it is hypocritical to have an iphone.
Boruch Hashem for Hacham Ovadia! It is a major bitul Torah for a bocuhr in yeshiva to play with such a distraction, and too much temptation for them as well. Best to keep them in the hands of married men only, with a smart phone net filtering service, or text email and apps only.
If you take away the kid’s Iphone, he will find something else. Not that its so good, and not that R’ Ovadia doesn’t have a point, butr why do mechanchim spend so much time studying the technological intracacies and screaming to parents about them, when all it is is a yetzer hara that will direct the kid who we just took away his smartphone, to a bar, theater, or nightclub?
As Shlomo Carlebach used to say, dont teach children to condemn. Teach them the right way.
When I went to yeshiva (Litvish), radios were banned. It was a good idea since we were in yeshiva to focus on Kedusha and not on the distactions of the outside world. When you go out into the “world” you can broaden your approach, but the time in yeshiva is special. The more one can extend it, the better.
#7 : “I see people playing with them in shul in the middle of davening and krias HaTorah.”
Even allowing for the possibility that these dysfunctional men doven and follow leining on their smartphones, your shul shares the blame. Such baheimastige behaviour would never be allowed in my shul. The one who would attempt to do so will be asked not to or leave. And the old standing rule in our shul/beis medrash: if your phone rings during dovening or shiur, it gets confiscated for 24 hours. You can try to explain that you must have it back for your work/business, to no avail, you will have to come back to reclaim it exactly 24 hours later. So you see, there is a way to effectively deal with behaviour that so rightfully annoys you.