tevih

Any intelligent, objective and developed human being can view anything he should so wish on the Internet and not be effected by it for the worse

You’re both naive and in denial. I would expand your statement to include all of life – not just the internet. The internet just makes it easier to view things. Can you imagine a kid seeing his mother beaten bloody in front him? Does that not affect him? It’s clear that would affect anybody. The fact is, that even though you can remove yourself from a situation to the point where you don’t feel empathy for an actor who gets beaten, it still affects you. Anything you experience, see, hear, taste affects you.

lol re your story!

I am, too. My filters didn’t block The Verge, so it must be OK! :)

lol

You should read the article.

Obviously, buying something doesn’t equal respect. But a set of rules and guidelines can only tell you to Do something or Don’t Do something…

Why is it not excluding men from the women’s events? It’s so silly that everybody interprets the exclusion as being from men to women.

All you self-righteous atheists, just chill out and have some respect! Before posting comments on the evils of judaism, women’s rights, and sexual repression, why don’t you do a little research? I mean, more than just reading CNN and The New York Times. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut and respect other people who have a different view on life than you!

I am an Orthodox Jew, currently writing this comment while being on The Internets (GASP!). I have 100 page PDF of the slides of the event, my children go to “ultra orthodox” schools, and yes, at my wedding, somebody was jumping on a table being held by 20 or so other people. (That’s not a requirement in our religion, but it makes the wedding more fun. Someone also lit his hat on fire.)

There were 3 reasons for the event being male-only:
1. to make sure the widest range of orthodoxy attended, because they couldn’t rent out every stadium in NYC
2. to make sure that the extremer ends of orthodoxy (some hassidic sects) attended they didn’t want to give them any excuses (they might say they won’t attend if it was a mixed event)
3. The issue of pornography is largely a male issue (don’t even try arguing that one…)

Now, you may not have a problem with pornography. Maybe you’re OK with having a “loose” relationship. Maybe you think marriage is only between a man and a man. Whatever. Your call. However, in Judaism, the only reason for a relationship is for marriage, and that relationship is sacred. There ARE all sorts of other bad things on the web, too, as evidenced by the constant headlines pointing to craigslist killers, facebook bullying, predators, and the like.

You can’t possibly have children and think porn is OK for them to see. And then you should ask yourself, “Why is it OK for adults?” An adult has the right to choose what they want to do, but to be morally honest, that’s a fair question to ask.

Additionally, there’s an incredible amount of ignorance in certain portions of orthodox society. My brother in law is a rabbi at a Jewish high school and told me fellow rabbis were shocked when they learned that, although their school internet is protected/filtered/controlled, they didn’t realize that students’ cell phones went through the cell network and were therefore completely unprotected.

For some reason, it’s completely fine when a work’s IT department filters the web. Everybody understands that if you’re supposed to be working, you shouldnt’ be looking up inappropriate content. Judaism takes the same approach to life- we believe that we have a job to do. Wasting time in and of itself is considered inappropriate. (One of the reasons why Facebook is frowned upon.)

So in order to protect the things that we hold sacred and important in our religion, there needs to be both a level of education and then a plan for action; figuring out how to protect ourselves and our families – and our religion.

You don’t like it? Fine, don’t be “ultra orthodox.” And people who don’t like it leave, and many do. It also might be interesting to note that “ultra orthodoxy” (I hate the term, and find it silly, which is why I put it in quotes) is a growing sect. We are also very present in the world of tech. But some of us need some more education on what this stuff is all about.

So put away your pitchforks, tone down the rhetoric, and respect that some people choose to live their lives differently.

p.s. – for those that think orthodox jewry doesn’t respect women, I dare you to see how many non-Jewish men buy their wife (or girlfriend) flowers and sing to them every week. Also, there are commands on men to buy their wife jewelry every holiday. (And you know how many holidays we have!)

The fact that men and women are different makes some people uncomfortable. Deal with it. Judaism looks it in the face. No matter what you say, men and women ARE different, no matter how many body parts you glue on or cut off. (And there are well known books on the issue – “men are from mars, women from venus” is the obvious reference here.) Judaism also shows the most respect to BOTH genders, and it’s not an issue of equality, but role. I so wish I didn’t have to buy so much jewelry! But I’m also glad I don’t have to go through child birth.

I’m glad that Judaism chooses to confront issues and come up with plans. There are MANY nations in the middle east who block the web completely in the name of religion (true, and power). The Amish disregard all technology. It’s actually quite progressive that Judaism is dealing with it.

Lastly, for the conspiratorial-sounding ending of this Verge article, the filtering companies that have sprung up in the Orthodox community have been created by Orthodox people for the sole purpose of meeting our strict standards. It makes sense that they would be advising rabbis on how these things work.

I hope this post was worth the time I spent writing it.

judgment