Asifa Highlights

Looks like Fred and I have the same friends. He's published a lengthy account of the Monsey Internet Asifa, one I also received this morning via email.

You can read it here.

My thoughts: It isn't clear that Monsey has actually banned the Internet, and some of the other emails I've seen this morning insist that no final decision has been made. However, it's clear from the account that Fred's published, that Rabbi Matisyahu Solomon of Lakewood thinks it should be banished from our homes. His argument? "One kid will contaminate the others." This troubles me.

My own kids go to a black-hat school, and there's no doubt that they have been contaminated, but not by the Internet. Like all little kids, they came home with words they never heard in our house, and they've also picked up the causal racism and bigotry of their classmates and teachers. There are also kids in that school with parents who posses vulgar manners, parents who talk non-stop in shul, and parents who demonstrate knee-jerk disrespect for all forms of scholarship.

Why doesn't the mashgiach express his concern about those types of contamination?

I also think that banning the Internet demonstrates unfair disrespect to the parents. A lot of lip service is paid by professional machanchim to the idea that parents and schools are partners. And, no partnership succeeds without trust. We trust that they haven't hired child molesters to teach our students. We trust that the instructers are qualified and certified. We trust that the cirriculum is well-rounded and complete.

Is it really too much to expect them to trust us not to let our kids spend their evenings gazing at naked ladies?