Internet Ups & Downs

A Significant & Unique Benefit to Living in Eretz Yisrael

The Surprising & Liberating Result of Severe Internet Limitation

The War for Your Brain

A Short Note before Saying Good-Bye Again

These are questions asked by Rav Moshe Chaim Luzatto in his masterpiece: Da'at Tevunot.

Rosh Hashana 5783

This story was told by R’ Yosef Panet Shlit’a, Rav of Beis Medrash Meor Hatefilla in Boro Park, on Shabbos Shuva.

This story happened to a mispalel in his shul on this past Rosh Hashana 5783 [September 26-27, 2022].

​The Doeihu staff reached out to Rav Panet to get a firsthand account of this powerful story.

Following is what Rav Panet shared:

Rosh Hashana night after Maariv, everyone filed past to give and get a l'shana tova.

In the crowd before me was also R’ Yankel (*not real name). After I wished him a l'shana tova, he looked at me with pain-filled eyes and asked me to give him a bracha for parnassa tova [a good livelihood] as well.

I know R’ Yankel who is part of my kehilla for many years. He has a few successful businesses, and to top it off he has a large Amazon selling business.

I knew that in the past he was doing very well, but from his tone and expression I realized that something was going on.

He doesn’t usually ask for such a bracha, and especially not in such a manner.

I watched during the Rosh Hashana davening the next day he wrapped himself deep in his tallis and davened with unusual kavana as if oblivious to the world.

Noticing his pain and worry, I decided to approach him right after Rosh Hashana and ask him if he needs any financial help for yom tov, or if there is anything else I can do.

Before I even opened up the conversation, R’ Yankel told me that he wants to share a personal story.

He said,

“The Rav knows that I have a large Amazon account from which I make a nice parnassa. A few weeks ago I got an email from Amazon informing me that due to suspicious activity on my account they were not going to give me access to the money from any transactions on my account. In other words, I could continue selling without earning. Whoever is in this line knows that if Amazon shuts you down, trying to get them to reopen your account is like talking to a brick wall.

"I had a huge bill from all the merchandise that I had bought for the coming season, which I started to pay off with my side businesses. But while sales were continuing on going, money was not coming in, aside from the fact that Yom Tov bills were piling up. I was in a huge dilemma.

"Finally, I managed to get a zoom conference meeting with Amazon for the Monday before Rosh Hashana. The meeting showed me what I was up against. They drove me crazy about minor details, asked to see very many documents and proof, and nitpicked wherever they could. They were not here to help me out at all. I thought that, after all the documents I showed and the questions I answered, that I had proved my innocence and proof of identity, but they felt otherwise.

"They decided that they can only open access to the money in my account if I send them every invoice from every transaction I ever made on Amazon from day 1. After that, I met with a major Amazon consultant in this field to see what steps I could take to save my account. He explained that usually when they nitpick on every invoice, they are not satisfied with what they get. Apparently, what they want to see and the way that our community does business doesn’t mix well. He told me to send what I have and hope for the best. From his tone of voice, it didn’t sound like he expected good results.

[Note: The "way our community does business" means we aren't available on Shabbat or chagim to deal with business issues & orders. I've heard before that Amazon penalizes anyone who isn't available to deal with issues within 24 hours, and a lot of shomer Shabbat sellers struggle with this. This goes back to how the Internet hates boundaries: hi-tech-hates-boundaries.html — MR]

"I was watching my whole business come crashing down. I was shipping out goods and not getting back any money for a few weeks now. To continue this way would bring me to bankruptcy. I decided that I would first do my best to daven for a good new year on Rosh Hashana and send in my documents only after making that hishtadlus.

"Now the Rav knows what was behind my request Rosh Hashana night. With all I was going through, I was barely holding myself enough together to make a seudah. ”

R’ Yankel continued,

“Rosh Hashana morning it happens to be that I daven Musaf in a different shul. Before tekias shofar, the Rav got up and gave over some divrei hisorerus [words to ignite spiritual arousal]. Particularly, he spoke passionately about technology and the importance of filters. He ended by encouraging everyone to make a kabbalah in the area of technology at whatever level they are on. I was very inspired, knowing what I was up against and the yeshuah that I needed, and I made my kabala right then and there to install a filter on all my internet devices, and as well to fully block Instagram (*see Editor’s note below)  with the hope that this would bring a yeshua to my business.

"Yom Tov passed in a daze of fervent tefillos. I davened harder than ever before in my life. And then came Motzei Yom Tov, terrified about what I am about to go through.

"An email from Amazon was waiting in my inbox…. I opened it with trepidation to find good news! It said that my account had been cleared and they were going to forward my money very soon. The email had been sent the first day Rosh Hashana at 1:07 PM. Exactly the time that I made my kabala before tekias shofar!”

Rav Panet concludes,

“The story is not yet over! One day later, R’ Yankel went to Tag to fulfill his kabala and he got a call as he was sitting in the Tag office. It was a buyer who he was after for a while and never was able to get him to buy from him, but today the buyer reached out to him, and wanted to place a huge order. It was clear to R’ Yankel that the immediate turnaround in his company came about as a result of his kabala in technology.”

* * *
 
According to halacha and the ruling of all Gedolei Yisroel a filter on a computer is a necessity.

Therefore, even if one does not need a particular yeshua one must put on a filter.

However, when people hear such stories it’s like a wink from heaven, a sign from Hashem that this is the right thing to do.

​These stories give people chizuk to overcome what gedolim are saying is the challenge of our generation. וממנו ילמדו וכן יעשו.
 
(*A note from the editor: Instagram itself cannot be filtered, therefore having it open is considered having unfiltered internet. And, as mentioned many times, one "must" put a filter on all internet devices, which means that keeping the Instagram app (site) etc. regularly open is assur - because it is open, unfiltered internet (and leads directly to immodesty).

Droshos - Be Yourself

 (This class was delivered in a Beit Midrash called "Od Yosef Chai [Yosef is still alive]," and so, the talk is centered on this section in the Torah.)

How is it that the Torah writes Yehudah's words to the viceroy of Egypt (Bereshit 44:20) that Yosef was dead?

In fact, it was untrue, so it should not be written in the Torah.

The answer is that in depth, there was a kind of death.

Yosef's whole essence was kavod (honor). When he was born, Rachel named him Yosef, because "Hashem gathered in (asaf) my shame."

The opposite of shame is honor, so Yosef's essence was honor. Likewise, he was the conduit for the Torah of Yaakov, and by revealing that Torah, he caused Yaakov's honor to be manifest. When he was sold as a slave, his personal honor and that of his father were no more, and thus, his essence disappeared, so he was as if dead.

When he became viceroy in Egypt, he was again in a position of honor, and then, indeed, "Yosef is still alive."

As long as Yosef was alive, the kavod of Yaakov was manifest.

After he died, the kavod disappeared, and the enslavement of Israel began.

As long as we had kavod, there could be no galut (exile). The removal of kavod is identical with galut.

Geulah (redemption), though, is more than just a return of kavod, and Yosef also symbolizes the higher level of gathering in and transcending the concept of honor.

To illustrate, to shame a person is tantamount to murder, because the soul is equated with honor (Tehillim 30:13).

But if a person's essence is really only honor, a disgraced person should die, because his soul, his kavod, disappears.

Rather, a person is more than his kavod. The inner essence is even deeper than kavod. Kavod is deep, but it is not the deepest essence of a person.

Kavod only relates to others, but does not exist at all when one is alone.

When a person lives only with kavod, he is only focused on the relationship with others.

Yet one must focus on his own essence.

We don't only mean that one should not do things for the sake of honor.

Kavod means to be focused on the outside, and the inner life requires one not to focus on outside entities.

The gemara states that rebbi did not look outside of his four amot (cubits).

The depth of this is that he did not look beyond his own place, his own existence.

Looking outward means that one leaves his own personal world.

Each person is unique, with his own world.

When a person envies another, even another person's positive qualities, he is looking outside of his own world if he only wants the qualities because he sees them elsewhere.

The proper way is to attain a level because of a personal awareness of the value of the level.

You might see people acting a certain way, or read about it in a book.

But you should attain your own recognition.

The gemara states that if not that the Torah were given, we would have learned alacrity from the ant. But where does the Torah teach us the quality of alacrity?

The answer is that we now have an inner light with which to learn such values naturally.

The Rambam (De'ot 6:1) writes that one must live in the desert.

You can live with other people and yet be as in a desert.

One can live on his own, without copying anyone else.

The true life is when you build your own way of life with your own personal understanding.

This is the depth of "Yosef is still alive" even now.

When he died, in other words, when his level of honor disappears, the kavod is gone, but this new level is higher than kavod.

On this level, one lives based on his own awareness.

The influences in this world are very strong.

The values are all wrong and our thinking can become distorted.

The proper way is to discover the truth on your own.

Then you will receive your own life from your own neshamah.

​Then you will merit being like Adam before the sin. He had no one to emulate other than Hashem.

The Geulah will come when we don't copy others, but live from our own discovered truth.

What Elul Gives Us That Other Months Don't

In Elul, every step you take towards Hashem is rewarded with a certain level of Divine Providence not normally found during the rest of the year.

There’s a direct response where we can feel Hashem allowing Himself to come into our life. 

There are different ways to draw close.

Part I of the Teshuvah Process

To begin the process, make a history of your life:

– Break it down to segments, such as early childhood, later childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and middle age.

​– Focus on the smaller units of time where the critical stages in your development took place.

– Set aside a half hour or an hour to ask yourself,
“What were the important events that took place in my life at this time?”

Don’t intercept with judgment calls because then your narrative will become self -centered and less honest.

If you do this year by year, a sense of what is and isn’t important will emerge.

Part II of the Process

The next question should be,
– “How did I respond to these events?”

– Visualize yourself experiencing it all over again.

– Then ask,
(1) “Did my responses get me closer to where I wanted to be or did it take me further away?"
(2) "What was I thinking when I made these choices?"
(3) "Why did I make that choice?”

– Try to find patterns in both your good and bad decisions.

Sometimes your good deeds may have been prompted by the need to escape or for idealistic motives. Your slip-ups may have been caused by desire for social acceptance, or fear or ignorance.

You may discover that your good side was driven by the desire to be part of something larger than yourself, or in order to know the truth, or to ease your conscience. 

"Middot are neither good or bad, It’s what you make up of them"

All this self- introspection is meant to lead you to your middot.

Middot are neither good or bad, It’s what you make up of them.

The Gra teaches that life is about perfecting ones middot.

“Tzadik v’ra lo” refers to someone with difficult middot.

When he succeeds in conquering or turning around his bad middot for the good, he becomes a tzaddik.

In Elul, every step you take towards Hashem is rewarded with a certain level of Divine Providence not normally found during the rest of the year.

There’s a direct response where we can feel Hashem allowing Himself to come into our life. 

Your Right to Cross at the Crosswalk However & Whenever You Want?

Things You'll Never Hear People Say...Except to Girls & Women to Deny Them the Basic Right to Self-Preservation

Let's Encourage All Females to Conduct Themselves with the Same Self-Preserving Sensibility of Crossing a Street