A

Cyber Spot reviews and Web site addresses are now on JN Online:
wwvv.d.etroirjewishnews.corn

WWIETreife•Com

Can Orthodox rabbis rein in Internet temptations?

his hip blazer and black kippa looks
like a cross between a Silicon Valley
entrepreneur and yeshiva student.
may not be practical, but
"Put a 16-year-old in front of the
many say it is correct.
Internet and you know where he will
go. It could change an entire genera-
AVI MACHLIS
tion."
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Judging by the severity of the
Internet ruling, the rabbis seem to
Jerusalem
agree about the potential impact of
hen Dov Heller was a
the Internet on the traditional lifestyle
young Chasidic boy, he
of the insular Orthodox community.
recalls, he was unable to
The ruling urged Jews to do anything
resist the urge to play
possible to prevent connecting to the
computer games at his father's print
Internet. It warned of a "terrible
shop.
threat" to Jewish sanctity.
Today, the clean-shaven, but still
It also declared that computer
observant 23-year-old Heller owns PC
games are off limits. At PC Plus, there
Plus, the only computer store in
are some games on the
Jerusalem's haredi (fervently
shelves, but none of the
, —, ,,,
Orthodox) neighborhood
-\ 4.
highly graphic and often
of Geula.
violent titles that are popu-
Just beside the stairs
lar with secular children.
leading up to his store,
Instead, customers can
devout shoppers pass by
choose from an array of
four huge posters signed by
Torah software products,
a battery of 29 rabbinical
as well as specially
sages, declaring the Internet
Should the Internet
designed multimedia CDs
to be the greatest menace
with Chasidic music and
be controlled
ever to face Jewish culture.
rabbinic tales bearing titles
and by whom?
The decree, says Heller,
such as "The.Psalms That
has not hurt business since
Give your opinion on
Saved Dad."
most customers comply
JN Online at
The notices also include
www.d.etroit
with the ruling and use
a
number
for the special
jewishnews.com
computers and the Internet
beit din (religious court)
strictly for business.
on computer-related issues,
However, Heller is well
which has received hundreds of calls
aware of the Internet's lure and does
since the ruling was released.
not think the ban can be enforced.
Established a few months ago, the
"They could enforce prohibitions
court's jurisdiction is to decide what is
on television because you cannot hide
prohibited and permitted, said Micha
an antenna on your roof, but this can-
Rothschild, the court's general secre-
not be stopped," says Heller, who with
tary, but not to
enforce the decree.
"We do not invade
people's privacy," he
said. "but we do
advise institutions
how to behave."
Some sages, includ-
ing Rabbi Ovadia
Yosef, spiritual
leader of the fer-
vently Orthodox
Shas Party, did not
sign the ruling.
Some observers
speculate he may
realize that the

A call to avoid the Web

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