Now we can now turn to a third article of interest. This one was written based on a class given at Stanford University in 2005 from Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh entitled, “Scientific Progress from the Geocentric to the Heliocentric Descriptions of the Solar System.”
While I encourage you to read that article, I thought to quote these two paragraphs:
“…as we have mentioned, there was no dispute between Torah and science as to what revolved around what. According to the Holy Ruzhiner, there must have been some change in the way the tzadikim (righteous persons) in Copernicus’ time served God that affected the way science perceived the universe…
Through their service of God, the tzadikim who diligently study the higher perspective of the Torah (Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism), succeed in raising themselves out of the lower, egocentric perspective on reality [i.e., an earth-centered, geocentric solar system] and begin to see how God perceives the world [i.e., a sun-centered, heliocentric solar system].”
What Does All This Mean For Us?
There have been a few progressions to the logic, so let’s try and explain it step by step.
The first level is where we appreciated the shift in consciousness from peddling products to content and information. This then led us to recognize the primacy of content marketing over product marketing, a shift which has prompted brands to begin hiring talented writers and journalists to promote their brand. Today hiring a top-talent journalist is even more essential than hiring an expensive marketing agency to create flashy billboards, display ads, TV commercials, etc…
When we think deeper into this discussion, we also begin to redefine what is at the center of our content solar system. Previously perhaps we thought that Yahoo!–with its links to all sorts of content–was the epitome of an internet hub or portal site. And Google–although the content on the homepage itself is intentionally sparse–a portal site because their search algorithms lead visitors to billions of other sites on the internet.
But we are now entering a new era where being the first site to visit is not enough. This is the inner reason why Outbrain and Taboola have been successful. Not because it has allowed The New York Times, CNN, Time, and other clients to turn their sites into greater portals for other interesting content. The inner reason, as with the reason that top-talent journalists are now being hired by brands, is that people expect the site at the center of the content solar system to somehow contain more genuine and authentic content.
This is what Rabbi Ginsburgh called in his class the shift toward a more spiritual perspective on the universe. Whereas the “egocentric perspective on reality,” earth-centric, sees only products and ads created to promote these products, the spiritual perspective places the tzadik, the truth promoting “sun” at the center.
Torah Journalism
With these thoughts in mind we can now turn to the title of this article: What is Torah Journalism?
Take for example the battle over promoting the truth about Israel and Operation Protective Edge to the world. As we know, there is no shortage of leftist media outlets that seek to distort the news. When then should our Torah response be?
The first thought to keep in mind is that since the Jewish people are called “a light unto the nations,” and since public consciousness is shifting toward reading genuine content instead of flashy marketing, then the very best thing we could do is make sure our news reporting is in accordance with the Torah. It is one thing to explain CNN’s bias during a CNN interview as was recently done. But a better result would to become a more attractive, more light-filled source for news. Assuming that the people have begun waking up to the truth, now that they have begun to search for genuine content, where should they turn? This should be the Jewish public’s first concern. To increase the light emanating from Jewish media outlets by aligning ever-closer to Torah ideals. For instance, Rabbi Ginsburgh recently stated: “In time of war, it is unethical for a nation to endanger the lives of its own soldiers in order to ensure the safety of inhabitants in enemy territory, after having been warned to evacuate.” Publicizing statements like these from Torah figures are much preferred to attacking left-wing media outlets. Again, the presumption is already that the public is awakening to the falsehood of these outlets. The most effective way to speed up this awakening, however, is not through attack, but through increasing the light that we emanate. Even if 99% of news sites are not currently promoting news in accordance with the Torah, the 1% of Torah-true light wins out every time.
