Irrational Darkness
Tech Tribe Dispatch #18
Think:
I often speak about the positive, redemptive potential of the Internet: How everything in this world is here for a purpose, and that it is our job to take the neutral status of the web and use it for good - revealing its positive core.
And it’s true. I even have a TED Talk about it (stay tuned!)
But sometimes, it all seems so black. Reading the racist, evil screed of the person who attacked Chabad of Poway over Shabbat and the end of Passover, killing a congregant and wounding the Rabbi and two others, the warped sense of right and wrong that permeates the web comes into full focus. The deranged conspiracy theories, meme-based ironic antisemitism and frightening hate . . .
How have we allowed ourselves to build a society in the aether that can so viciously destroy?
The solution lies in how we view ourselves and those we encounter online - and off -
when we realize that our actions aren’t merely cast into a void, but that rather there is “an Eye that sees, an Ear that hears, and all your deeds are recorded in a Book.” We exist as part of a greater purpose in this world, and only truly recognizing that Divine mandate to do good - understand that our actions have consequences within the grand fabric of Creation- can we hope to be able to elevate our experiences online.
We need to see the humanity in those around us and feel compelled to illuminate the world . . . This approach is the key to our response.
WE MUST SPREAD LIGHT!
Do: This Friday join us for a special #FirstFriday meal in memory of this past week as we #SHARESHABBAT. Just moments after the attack, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein spoke to his community, as his hand wrapped in his Tallit continued to bleed:
“We are going to stand tall, we are going to stand proud of our heritage. If a little light can dispel a lot of darkness, then many lights can truly illuminate the whole world.”
Listen: The haunting lyrics of Mikitka - a Jewish folk song that combines Ukrainian, Yiddish and Hebrew.
Watch: Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein’s heartfelt words yesterday.