Blog Hamincha

Okay - word has finally hit that there will be two additional "grand gatherings" -- one for men and one for women -- and held in English, to boot.

R' Matisyahu Salomon is going to be speaking to men on Tuesday, and women the following Sunday. There will be some other speakers, too, but I don't recognize or remember their names.

The Rov of my shul, Rabbi Erblich, presented the news and urged us all to attend. He was remarkably even-handed about it, in my opinion. He classified an all-out ban on the Internet as a "גזרה שאין רב הציבור יכולים לעמוד בה" - a decree that most of the community cannot abide by. However, there's no question that there are dangers inherent in using and possibly abusing the privilege, especially for children and young adults.

So, R' Erblich said, we don't know what the answer is, and the issue seems impossible to address, but we must try regardless. "A Jew tries to reach the unreachable," he said. And if rabbonim and community leaders are suggesting a massive gathering, he concluded, we should feel obligated to participate. Coming together to address the question is a good idea.

So now I feel, both for my own edification and for my intrepid readers, that I should go. But I have some very pressing deadlines this week, plus two Bnai Mitzva who are hitting the home stretch, so I may have to score the tape.

Later in the day, in talking with a neighbor, I learned what Yeshiva Darchei Noam's policy is - and it's quite similar to the policy I outlined in my initial post.
1. Install filters.
2. Keep the machine in a public area of the house, NOT in the child's room.
3. Supervise the child at all times.

Except for the last item, which may not always be feasible, I think this is a perfectly reasonable policy to put in place for yeshiva kids. Kudos to R' Horowitz for putting it together.