Charidy Fatigue

Have you heard about this amazing online sensation called Charidy? You can run intensive 24-hour fundraising campaigns where donations are matched by others to 'gear up' or multiply the giving power. It's all or nothing - either they meet the target and the matching donations kick in, or ... you don't want to imagine. And you can use social media to spread the word!

Mivtzo'im? There's an app for that!

While many Haredi and Chassidic communities continue to reject modern technologies, the Rebbe always maintained that the "ultimate purpose for which these new technologies were developed is that they be used for holy purposes". This position dated back in the 1960s, when the Rebbe pioneered broadcasting of Torah and farbrengens around the world. Melbourne people of my generation may remember the "hook ups" during the 1970s, when the shul was filled with people listening to the Rebbe's words live. I recall the elter chassidim standing, eyes closed in deep concentration, absorbing the Rebbe's message. For out-of-towners during a time when air travel was far more difficult, this was one of the few ways to stay close to the Rebbe.

Selfies and Yeshus

This site is about the challenges of being a chossid in the modern world. The advent of digital social media has changed the world and the way we engage with it (so much so that I'm writing a book about it). A changing world will always tend to clash with a conservative movement and belief system like Judaism. As Chabad chassidim, we believe all of these technological advances can be keilim to help us make the world a better place and to spread the light of Torah and chassidus. The new tools certainly can do that - however they are so powerful that they can be used both for positive and negative purposes, and can cause much good and much bad. The challenge for us becomes how to use them well, and how not to get caught up in many of the cultural ills that they enable and even foster.