Holy And Yet Not Holy

Recently, I have been discussing the Internet. We continue. It is THE issue of our generation.

I lived in the Old City in the Jewish quarter, known as the Rova, for over 20 years. That is the HOLIEST place in the world. Hashem "lives" there:). I wanted to as well. I no longer live there. I must admit that to a certain extent it was a disappointment.

Case in point: There is a grocery store there that sells food. Fine. But they are open all night and the television is on. Most families in the Rova don't own television sets precisely because they don't want their kids watching. So their innocent little Moishe enters this store and is exposed to all of the lovely educational lessons that TV has to offer. Gilui Arayos, Shfichus Domim and Avoda Zara. All of the biggies:).

This establishment also has Internet. For only a few shekels, pure innocent children can have unlimited, unsupervised Internet access. All he has to do is type in three letters [the last one being "x"] and he will be instantaneously exposed to filth of such dimensions that it makes Times Square look like a Chasidishe Shteibel by comparison. The owner of this establishement was approached by the Rabbonim of the Rova and asked to cease and desist but he refused [so I am told by an inside source]. So parents invest years in order to educate their children and in minutes it can all go down the drain. Kids go to this place. In the Rova - kids go off the derech.

Everywhere kids go off the derech. Meah Shearim, Benei Brak, Monsey and Lakewood. But the Rova, for this and other reasons, is particularly scary.

I hope my kids never went into this place but I can never be sure. Where I live now there is Baruch Hashem no such thing. Of course, a kid can get on a bus and go anywhere and isn't under constant supervision as he gets older. One has to educate his children about the dangers of Internet. But still, if only seconds away from one's house dwells the Satan, it is frightening.

I love Hashem and I love His holy city. But I can no longer live there. It is really too bad.