In an open letter, the Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Yehuda Leib Shteinman
shlita, laments the spiritual decline in our generation and
points out the necessity for self-reflection.
"The generations are in sharp decline, and our sorrows grow from day
to day," he noted. "The gemora in Sota 49 says the curses upon us
multiply from one day to the next. This may be because of bad things
such as television, cell phones and Internet — all of these have
claimed many victims."
HaRav Chaim Kanievsky also issued a call he sent to the women's
gathering in memory of his wife Bas Sheva Esther Kanievsky o"h.
"In addressing the mitzvah of removing evil from our midst, [we must]
remove the Internet and similar devices Rachmono litzlan, which
are the elixir of death for Yiddishkeit. Certainly all who help to
remove it and avoid looking at it are fulfilling a big mitzvah and may
they merit all good for so doing."
In another open letter HaRav Kanievsky spoke in stark terms about the
dangers of the Internet. "Regarding the device known as the Internet,
which has claimed many victims, the Chazon Ish zt"l ruled that
drafting girls into the military was a matter of yehoreg ve'al
ya'avor, and this destructive device is much worse, and certainly
this too is yehoreg ve'al ya'avor."
The Rabbinical Council for Communications Affairs has distributed a
leaflet that presents the basic directives for the proper use of
Internet and various high-tech devices without being exposed to
undesirable contents.
A few weeks ago a gemach was started to help laptop owners
completely disconnect their computers from the Internet based on
directives from gedolei Yisroel because every portable computer
sold today contains a wireless modem that can connect to the Internet
without any cable, even inadvertently.
The heads of the gemach report that since it opened just weeks ago
over 1,000 people have asked their representatives, located across the
country, for help in disconnecting their computers.
To contact the Rabbinical Council for Communications Affairs, dial 02-
538-1858 and for the gemach call 1-599-50-22-00.
