From a talk by Rabbi Shmuel Brazil
The abuse of the internet in my opinion fosters the holding back of spiritual rain that nourishes the building of the Bais Hamikdosh. I am not even going that way of the internet and the very serious dangers involved. I am referring to very subtle and almost undetectable restrainer of spiritual rain. I am referring specifically to the heimish sites where we receive the news tidbits of the Jewish and non-Jewish worlds. It is not so much the news that is my problem, but rather the comments on these stories and on supposedly mailbag letters with the hot and controversial topics that are unfortunately a sad portrayal of the achdus of Klal Yisroel.
The animosity and vicious condemnation that is written from one insulting commentator in response to another, or to the article itself, are many times mamesh blasphemous and a tremendous shame to our people.
When the issues involve our gedolim or chareidim in Eretz Yisroel, which seems to be the hot commentary topic presently, it is poshut sickening to see the negative and derogatory self-righteous comments voiced about them and other commentators.
Get it straight. These websites are a business and they are here to make money from you. The more the Roman arena of gladiatorial commentators become bloodier and juicer, the more people “hit” the site and consequently the richer these sites become. These sites can become as wealthy as they want, but not at the expense of Hashem and Klal Yisroel.
Your two cents of damaging sinas chinam is read by thousands of Yidden instantly, and remember, once posted, you cannot retrieve your comments. Your distorted opinions of gedolim or defending them are available instantly throughout the globe together with your immature condescending name callings and epitaphs of your fellow brethren.
Who says the goyim don’t hit these same sites and read your reactive emotional comments, allowing for an instant chillul Hashem, maybe even to millions?
In this comment arena, we have all three reasons why the מטר is not descending while, on the other hand, the reign of terror, anti-Semitism, and the rain of nuclear power’s threat to us as a nation is increasing from day to day.
If you don’t have anything intelligent or constructive to say, then don’t hang out your personal animosity agenda of dirty laundry towards another Yid, nor be the representative of Klal Yisroel. Believe me when I say that there is more to gain by refraining from writing one’s poisonous negative comments in a public forum than you are going to accomplish by correcting wrong and distorted hashkafos of another frum Yid by posting them.
Refer back to what we wrote on Parshas Pinchos and make sure of the fact beyond any doubt that you are not the kana’ee individual who walks around holding that spear in one hand while turning to your commentary site with the other.
