Those who are sensitive to this shift sense a world in limbo between two opposite states. To paraphrase the terminology of the writer above, should we embrace the latest technologies or return to a more simple existence without so many beeps and buzzes?
In another recent article called “The Rise of Data Natives,” that author writes how the younger generation fully expects the world to “seamlessly adapt to them and their taste and habits.” While the younger generation is already immersed in technology (which we warned about in our Oculus Rift article), the Gen Xers remember what is was like in the good ol’ days of vinyl records and family time, thus leaving the millennials in the middle.
Learning the New Torah of Mashiach
Where do we go from here? Although our context is Torah and religious observance, surprisingly we initially favor the leftist approach. Start the revolution through peaceful rallies and protests, then eventually (maybe today) the whole status quo and system will change for the better. But instead of encouraging anarchy and the absolution of law, the intent should be the establishment of a new and more just one. The problem then is not with the futuristic mindset, but that this mindset is usually more anarchical than anything else. In order for public uprisings to be beneficial, the proper system needs to be present.
Left to one’s own decision-making, it appears that there are only two choices: either fully immerse in technology and other future trends, or revert to a “slow cooker” lifestyle by shutting down (or abstaining from) social media accounts or the internet for a period of time.
Which approach is correct? Immersion or abstinence? If we are happy to live a quiet life, especially one spent learning Torah free from the distractions of the modern world, while such study is meritorious it doesn’t yet include the Reish Lakish approach to life. The lesson is that while there are tzadikim that are not connected with the current flow and ebb of the world around them, the camps are now shifting as we approach the coming of Mashiach, and peaceful public uprisings have begun to take front and center stage.
Although we still have this duality between abstinence from or immersion into the modern world, as mentioned in the Oculus Rift article, what is lacking is the proper context for this immersion. Politically, this can be compared to a revolution that doesn’t have a clear message as to what new law or system they would like to see enacted. All they know is that the current situation is not good, so they are endeavoring to overthrow and topple it.
How do you create something new without dissolving the old? This is what the sages called the “new Torah” of Mashiach. We know for certain that the Torah is eternal (e.g., no “new testament”). So what then does this “new Torah” consist of?
Rabbi Shneur Zalman stated “there will not be a second giving of the Torah,” meaning that all new teachings must always truly be founded on the Torah as it has been transmitted and developed from generation to generation. The Torah that was given by God at Mt. Sinai already contains all the new teachings and understandings of all the generations up to and including even the deepest revelations that will be taught by the Mashiach.
On the one hand, there is a new world of Divine revelation ahead, but at the same time, the same Torah that was given at Mt. Sinai remains eternally. What terminology does society use to depict this interplay between valuing the treasures of old, while embracing the new? It relates to the struggle depicted by the millennial up above. What should we explain to her and that generation? That indeed you should immerse. But immerse in a future that includes the receiving of the Torah anew, the leap of Nachshon ben Aminadav in our present generation, and not an immersion like that of the Egyptians in the Red Sea.
