Before the Redemption......

 פ' בא תשפ"ו

Based on droshos by Maran HaGaon Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita, Gaavad of Yerushalayim. To receive these weekly divrei Torah email ravsternbuchtorah@gmail.com 

Internet 

Before the final redemption, the situation of the Jewish nation will be the same as it was before the Exodus from Egypt. Just like then, the Jews were steeped in the 49 levels of tumah, so too before the coming of moshiach will the tumah in the world increase on an unprecedented scale. The Internet is the tool of the evil inclination to entice us to contaminate ourselves before the coming of moshiach. It is forbidden to use unfiltered Internet, since it has the status of complete giluy arroyos. 

The very possession of a device with unfiltered Internet is forbidden, as it says “and you shall not bring an abomination into your house” (Devorim 7:26). Such a device is a veritable time bomb, which can explode at any time, and has in fact already destroyed Jewish families. It is not even a matter of understanding why the Internet is so harmful. Suffice it to consider the consequences of exposure to the Internet. Many families have been broken through it and therefore we cannot allow it.

If someone is aware of another Jew who uses such a device, it is forbidden for him to keep quiet. It is a greater obligation for him to intervene than it would be if the other person were to be drowning in a river, since “he who causes another to sin is worse than he who murders”. Therefore, saving someone’s soul from the clutches of such a device is a greater mitzvah than saving his physical existence.

One must keep a distance from workplaces using such devices. Furthermore, one should keep away from an individual with such a device, no less than one avoids the company of a person with a dangerous infectious disease. In both cases, it is irrelevant whether the person with the physical or spiritual defect is to be blamed personally for his predicament, regardless of that factor, one is obligated to avoid becoming contaminated physically or spiritually.

Those with parents or relatives possessing such a device must be aware that it is nevertheless forbidden to use it. Even one exposure to a forbidden sight fills the person with tumah and creates prosecuting angels. In the future, he will regret his inability to overcome his curiosity or desire. 

Those who need to use effectively filtered Internet devices in their workplaces must take the advice of rabbis who are very familiar with these matters, and receive their approval. However, they should not use even such devices in the public arena in order not to dampen the aversion others should feel for the Internet in general. 

Those who are able to avoid Internet devices altogether should be commended. Moreover, even those who need to use properly filtered devices in the workplaces should bring them into their houses only if absolutely necessary, and, in any case, they should not permit other family members to use them, warning them not to waste their time on them.

Parents are obligated to ensure that their children do not have any contact with the Internet. They must explain to them that these devices are the epitome of tumah. They must examine who their friends are, and where their children are circulating, because sometimes children befriend innocent-looking friends who may be immersed in the tumah of the Internet. Above all, one must beseech Hashem with many prayers to be saved from these destructive devices.

Someone who has been affected, even greatly so, by this tumah, should never despair. However hard it may seem to overcome an addiction, Chazal have told us that anyone who seeks to become purified merits great divine assistance.

The main reward awaiting us in the future is for overcoming trials and difficulties. May Hashem assist us down here in this world in this regard, so that above He may accelerate the coming of moshiach.