The scene plays itself out in shuls all across the world each and every shabbos.The baal koreh begins to lein. He makes a mistake and he dosent just get corrected, but gets pounced on by certain individuals. They will yell out for no reason even at words that were pronounced correctly. That in essence is what the bloggers are. They stand guard doing nothing while listening to someone lein, someone living his life proactively going about his business. Rabbonim and organizations go about their way being constructive and doing good, and then the bloggers are there waiting for that small mistake, that little hiccup and there they go pouncing on someone elses missfortune.
We all have a bit of blogger in us
. However, the sole purpose of some of these blogs is just to take someones mistake and broadcast it while capatalizing on yenems cheshbon. Not all blogs are like this. B''H recently there is a movement for lashon free blogging right leaning with healthy debate, yet having respect and kavod to the gedolim. Unfortunately there is an imbalance as there are still many blogs that are left leaning and bashing gedolim and frumkeit. We have to counter them, refute them, and make them irrelevant.
. However, the sole purpose of some of these blogs is just to take someones mistake and broadcast it while capatalizing on yenems cheshbon. Not all blogs are like this. B''H recently there is a movement for lashon free blogging right leaning with healthy debate, yet having respect and kavod to the gedolim. Unfortunately there is an imbalance as there are still many blogs that are left leaning and bashing gedolim and frumkeit. We have to counter them, refute them, and make them irrelevant.
A reason for the imbalance is simple. The Torah and yeshiva community are not active on the world wide web. We are not putting our best and brightest resources to blogosphere. They are learning in botei medrash instead or other askanus. The more MO crowd does have their top talent on blogosphere, which creates an unfair imbalance. We must counter it but not with our yeshivaleit. The frum newspaper editors should establish an online forum and website with the right torah hashkafa.
I think that blogs in general are the single best deterrent to bad behavior we have today. Blogs keep people in power on their toes because they know one false step could bring 1,000 blogs of ruin crashing down upon their heads...
ReplyDeletePretending blogs don't exist or constantly belittling the agendas, integrity, and impact of all bloggers in general is not productive.
I'ts a deterrence for a politician, not for a rav or the Torah.
ReplyDeleteIt will take some time, but eventually the Frum blogs will abound. Chadash Asur Min HaTorah is the mindset which keeps many potential Frum bloggers away.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, you have the problem of Bittul Torah.
Why not compile a list of Kosher bloggers and add them to a side blogroll. You can visit my blog for some ideas. There have been other bloggers on my sidebar who gradually got liquified when their blogs ventured into LH waters.
See this post.
I once heard a vort from a chashuva rav when he moved on to a yiddishe block but with one goy. He said the following. I think its great that we have a goy on the block because his presence will make sure that everyone else cuts their grass and keeps the noise down. Same thing with blogs I feel. Blogs are like a single goyishe family living on a yiddishe block. He keeps everyone in check.
ReplyDeleteVery good point, I've started to blog for this very reason. We can't let the haters and the cynics be the only voice out there.
ReplyDeleteThe analogy is incomplete. Think of it this way: the ba'al koreh walks onto the bimah and announces that he doesn't need a gabbai because he never makes a mistake. Then when he does and people start shouting out to correct him he announces that they didn't hear him correctly or that they're wrong.
ReplyDeleteNo one should be criticizing the rabbonim doing good work. It's the one's that aren't but pretend they are that need to be called to account.