SYNERGY Newsletter Online
Judaism and Technology
Alyson Adler is director of youth and informal education at North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, New York. This article is adapted from her “Youth Celebration” sermon and was published in the synagogue newsletter.
Recently, Jason Calabretta, one of our J.tel (Jewish Teen Experiential Learning) teens, participated in the March of the Living Trip to Poland and Israel. This trip is a moving, two-week experience, with teens from around the world visiting the death camps in Poland and spending one week in Israel, all in the company of a Holocaust survivor. Nine years ago, I traveled on the same trip. Although the activities on my trip were the same, I had a very different experience than Jason did, because he had something that I did not have: a BlackBerry.
While on the trip, Jason would send me updates from his BlackBerry every few hours, sharing his experiences. We also shared a message sent from his cell phone with candidates running for next year’s J.tel board. Unlike Jason, I had to wait until I got home to tell people about the trip. Back in my day, there was no such thing as BlackBerry Messenger or sending pictures from a cell phone. The only phones I used were pay phones. I had one cell with 100 minutes in case of emergencies only.
Although we know about many of the virtues that come along with technology, lately the media has been bringing to light some of its troubles. After discussing these stories with parents, they ask if we are planning to speak about how to be safe on Facebook, or if we are going to teach about “sexting” and the dangers of sending pictures of yourself to friends. We have and will continue to run programs about using social networking and text messaging in a responsible manner.
On the other hand, many times we lose sight of technology’s benefits — such as the ability to stay connected through Internet social networking. At the end of my trip, I did not see most of the participants again. In fact, we are just now beginning to reconnect through Facebook. But Jason and others like him have the opportunity to remain connected with friends as soon as their trips have ended.
After participating in such Israel trips as NFTY in Israel, Taglit-Birthright Israel, and youth group events, young Jews are able to maintain these Jewish communities long after their trips are over. Some groups start even before the trips leave, giving participants an opportunity to get to know one another before their journey begins. These types of connections help create lifelong friendships and deepen their connection to Judaism. And there is something inherently Jewish about these communities — after all, Rabbi Hillel reminds us that we should not separate ourselves from the community. Whether reminiscing about the trip or wishing someone L’Shanah Tovah, this is the new way to stay connected with Jewish friends.
I envision a time in the near future when we will have every child’s and teenager’s e-mail, R.S.V.P.’ing for events on our website will be the norm, college students will receive regular text messages from us to check in, and technology will be at the forefront of how our synagogue connects with this generation and those to come.