You Get A Book! And You Get A Book! And You Get A Book!
Tech Tribe Dispatch 133
š” Think:
In 1987 the Rebbe urged Jews around the world to mark the 5th of Tevet as a festival of Jewish books. In the annals of Jewish history, the people of the holy book never had a holiday specifically devoted to the acquisition of new holy books. What changed? The following is based on a conversation I had during a chasidic gathering last night, with noted Chasidic scholar Rabbi Elie Matusof.
Historically, printing books was incredibly expensive. As recently as the early 1980s, printing with the hot metal typesetting process was common, slow and expensive. Only with the rise of digital printing could a truly affordable system be used at scale.
As such, a holiday dedicated to owning books could only really work in the modern era.
Obviously, however, this no mere cause and effect relationship, but rather a deeper expression - addressing a need for the era.
If I can speculate, then perhaps the Fifth of Tevet is the spiritual inoculation to the digital era.
At a time where everything is online - where weāve outsourced our knowledge repository to distributed databases and algorithmically indexed searches, there is something profoundly centering about holding a paper book in your hands.
By filling our homes with physical, future-proofed knowledge ānot prone to format obsolesceā we transform where we live into a dwelling of profound spiritual knowledge.
That is something to celebrate!
Take part and get your own books. Iāve collected Twelve Essential Jewish Books to Inspire Your Mind and Uplift Your Soul
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