Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Wired Into Someone Else's Dream

Substack

The first time I realized my phone was casting spells on me was when I was supposed to be waking into the sacred miracle of existence—and instead I was hunched over, absorbing pixelated outrage, anxiety, and distraction before my coffee even finished brewing.

In that moment, I didn’t feel sovereign.

I didn’t feel wise.

I didn’t even feel fully human.

I felt like a trained lab rat, wired into someone else's dream.

Let’s be clear:

Phones are not neutral tools.

They are portals.

They are spellbooks.

They are scrying mirrors—not only reflecting our reality but actively rewriting it, hijacking it, colonizing it.

Our ancestors would have recognized them immediately.

A black mirror that speaks in many tongues, flashes images to capture the will, drains vitality, and shapes the mind without consent?

That would have been called what it is: sorcery.

Today, we use softer language.

We call it "staying connected."

We call it "being informed."

We call it "keeping up."

But what it very often is, behind the gloss and branding, is spiritual mugging.

Each morning, millions of people wake up and unconsciously lay their sacred, freshly risen energy on the altar of the algorithm.

They offer up their first thoughts, their moods, their creative life force.

Not to G-d but to an empire built on monetizing their attention.

And the empire, well-versed in the art of invisible warfare, feasts on that offering.

Be a Partner in the Pulse of Beis Mevakesh Lev - For almost 20 years, B’chasdei Hashem, this space has been a home for seekers—a place where Torah is accessible to everyone, everywhere, without a paywall. We’ve shared over thousands and thousands of pages of learning together. But to keep the lights on and ensure this library remains free and growing for the next generation of Mevakshei Lev, I need your partnership.

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[Donate via PayPal/Zelle: alchehrm@gmail.com] Thank you to my beloved friends for standing with me.

We recently reached the milestone of 14,000 shiurim. Of course that means 14,000 expressions of thanks to Hashem who is Everything while we are just conduits. 

Also - thanks to all those who helped me be a conduit.