COVID-19 and Moshiach

Here's a prediction for the most uncertain of times: you will see a lot of memes and comments about Moshiach in the coming weeks. Many of them will draw tenuous links to current events based on various commentators and midrashim. They will interpret pesukim about yetziyas mitzrayim and prophecies of hope and redemption from Yeshaya and others in ways they have not been interpreted before. Some will throw in an apparently compelling gematria or two to spice things up (no offence to the gematria-lovers out there).

There are many ways to think and talk about Moshiach. Now more than ever, it's important to find the right ways to do this, and to be wary of the ways that can cause confusion.

When will the Mic actually Drop for some people?

Disclaimer: I have watched one Mic Drop segment - from a cousin - and it inspired me to write an article about the nature of emunah and fallibility of humans.

Publicly sharing our innermost secrets and our darkest moments is all the rage these days. Of course it's 'best' if you've survived some adversity, but that's far from a prerequisite. Social media encourages us to put ourselves 'out there' and live a life of conspicuous consumption that borders on exhibitionism. Those who speak out are applauded as brave, and sometimes raised to hero status.

Is that the Jewish way? I'm not sure. The blessing of mah tovu oholecho Yaakov was that everyone's tents were arranged so that no-one could directly look into each other's tent. Nowadays, the walls of our tents have been ripped away.

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!

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.