Texting is also responsible for a new feeling of loneliness among older people. Zaidie and Bubbie may not be familiar with this new gibberish and even if they spend time learning how to text they may still have difficulty; at a certain age people can have arthritis in their fingers and in general not be all that dexterous when it comes to typing tiny letters and numbers.
I can still hear the voice of my saintly father, HaRav HaGaon HaTzaddik Avraham HaLevi Jungreis, zt”l, saying, “If you have something to discuss, never do it on the phone. Speak to a person face to face so they may see kindness and sincerity in your eyes. Let them bask in the warmth of your smile and feel your words entering their hearts.”
So what does all this have to do with family infighting, greed, and jockeying for position? It should be self-explanatory. You cannot hurt the feelings of a computer. You cannot bring tears to an iPhone. It becomes quite easy to turn our backs on those who are near and dear to us. We do not even recognize them. They are not part of the technology that consumes our lives, occupying nearly every waking moment.
Once upon a time the Jewish home was a mikdash me’at –a sanctuary in miniature. We must try to recreate that sanctuary so that peace and harmony will prevail in our families.
Obviously not every family is affected the same way. Each mishpachah has its own dynamics. But the values and the principles of our forefathers’ sanctuary must be absorbed by all of us if we are to have warm, united families. If we don’t do this, how can we hope to be a people cemented by Torah values and love?
As I write these words we are in the midst of the Nine Days – a time of terrible historical catastrophes for our people. But in the here and now we are experiencing an ongoing catastrophe that is consuming our homes, our families, and, ultimately, our people.
We have suffered so much. It’s time to wake up and reinvent ourselves with the power of Torah and love.