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Whatsapp foruse with non frum Jews and gentiles only in Ger.



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do you have a Smartphone
yes   
 76%  [ 135 ]
no  
 23%  [ 42 ]
Total Votes : 177



francine




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 10 2016, 8:35 am
New technology takanos in Ger

I was wondering how American readers would understand this.
Can anyone understand the difference between communicating via Whatsapp with a Torah Observant Jew and anyone else?
Personally I kind of see it as a way to insure real communication with people in our community and to prevent Whatsapp from becoming a social medium and just using it for business.
What do you think?
It sounds like a good idea to me- but honestly I don't have a Smartphone so I don't really know what its all about...
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chanee




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 10 2016, 8:51 am
I really don't see Whatsapp as such an issue as to differentiate it between 2 types of observant Jews or anyone else. In Whatsapp there is regular texting/ communicating in a way you can know if the other person read or heard your message and there's groups where you can't always control what you will get to hear or see wtv. Then there's stalking when someone has your number in their contact list to follow your online move. Honestly, you can control your privacy to the same level of regular texting if you know your groupmates and control your setting to the right privacy level. It's not like other social sites where you can always see what others post publicly to others.
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BrachaBatya




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 10 2016, 2:43 pm
I can't imagine life without a smart phone at this point!
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tryinghard




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, May 10 2016, 2:58 pm
I don't view or use whatsapp as any different than texting except that you can more easily have groups
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yo'ma




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 5:17 am
I agree that I don't see anything wrong with whatsapp, but I'm not ger, so I don't have to be concerned about their takanas. The thing that I don't understand is why they have a takana to only see videos on a projector, not a computer. Who has projectors nowadays?? Again, not my concern, but it was posted, so I read it.
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 5:30 am
yo'ma wrote:
I agree that I don't see anything wrong with whatsapp, but I'm not ger, so I don't have to be concerned about their takanas. The thing that I don't understand is why they have a takana to only see videos on a projector, not a computer. Who has projectors nowadays?? Again, not my concern, but it was posted, so I read it.

Maybe that's the idea...
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yo'ma




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 5:32 am
DrMom wrote:
Maybe that's the idea...

The article specifically said wedding videos. I just didn't write that.
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DrMom




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 5:38 am
So, Ger chassidim can only use whatsapp to communicate with non-Jews and non-observant Jews?

So if I am a Ger and I am part of a whatsapp group, and another observant Jew joins the group, I must leave the group? Or can we both participate as long as we don't actually send messages?

What if I have a brother who goes OTD? Before he goes OTD, I can't whatsapp with him, but afterwards I can?

This rule seems so odd and fraught with strange situations.
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Chayalle




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 7:10 am
I dunno, are Ger people allowed to have computers?
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treestump




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 7:11 am
Chayalle wrote:
I dunno, are Ger people allowed to have computers?


Ger is actually pretty technology friendly; I have a friend who sends to Ger and the kids use computers in school from first grade and on, I think. They also have a computer at home and it seems to be the norm; I think they are required to have a filter, however.
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francine




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 11:42 am
A Gerrer Chossid posted an incredibly powerful response to the keness - as his good bye post to his WhatsApp group.

This is a short excerpt:
Yesterday the takanos fell upon me like lightening on a clear day. In the beginning I was upset, but after a couple hours of thought, got a grip and said- one minute what's at stake here? What am I weighing? The promise of the Rebbe that whoever takes this on will be zoche to בני, חיי, ומזוני- against WhatsApp? Facebook? Instagram?

I hit my head against the wall and said, "are you for real?" Aren't you willing to trade in Olam Hazeh for the promise of בני, חיי, ומזוני from such a holy person?

What do we have in this world already other than to marry and raise a generation after us that will follow in the footsteps of our ancestors? What do I really want my child to grow up in a virtual world? To grow up in Facebook? That he should go to cheider with a selfie stick? That he should learn to pose for pictures all day? That he should constantly check in with the whole world updating them where and who he is?

I am also embedding the link if anyone wants to see the whole thing. He actually understood that differentiating between business and socializing is a good thing as far as the use of technology goes.
The Response of a Gerrer Chossid
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WhatFor




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 12:34 pm
It says you may not send to chareidi, only to non religious or not Jewish. What about non chareidi?
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francine




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 12:50 pm
Whatfor asked
It says you may not send to chareidi, only to non religious or not Jewish. What about non chareidi?
(How do you indent/ highlight that?)
When it mentions charedi it is in Israeli terms- basically anyone who is part of your social group- who would be in your shul or send their kids to your kids school is what's meant by charedi I think. In Israel things are very black and white- either you identify with charedi rabanim and vote charedi (or decline to vote) and hence you are charedi. Or you may defin eyourself as charedi leumi, dati leumei, etc.
In America people don't really bother with such definitions do they?
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Maya




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 1:03 pm
francine wrote:
A Gerrer Chossid posted an incredibly powerful response to the keness - as his good bye post to his WhatsApp group.

This is a short excerpt:
Yesterday the takanos fell upon me like lightening on a clear day. In the beginning I was upset, but after a couple hours of thought, got a grip and said- one minute what's at stake here? What am I weighing? The promise of the Rebbe that whoever takes this on will be zoche to בני, חיי, ומזוני- against WhatsApp? Facebook? Instagram?

I hit my head against the wall and said, "are you for real?" Aren't you willing to trade in Olam Hazeh for the promise of בני, חיי, ומזוני from such a holy person?

What do we have in this world already other than to marry and raise a generation after us that will follow in the footsteps of our ancestors? What do I really want my child to grow up in a virtual world? To grow up in Facebook? That he should go to cheider with a selfie stick? That he should learn to pose for pictures all day? That he should constantly check in with the whole world updating them where and who he is?
]

This is only relevant if you really believe that the rebbe can guarantee you children, long life and money if you give up texting to frum Jews. I daresay most of us in the rest of the frum world don't believe that.

Also, his child is going to grow up in a virtual world whether he likes it or not. It's 2016, the trends won't reverse, only become more prevalent and impossible to live without.
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myself




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 1:15 pm
A women in my neighbourhood is Ger and she often shares how very against computers their Rebbe is. Both her and her husband have kosher phones however since her husband requires text for work (I imagine email too but she didn't specify) he was allowed to have a phone with a filter in the office only and it remains in the office out of hours.
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sequoia




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 1:53 pm
Sublimated fear turns into love. Whether it's a secular dictator or a rebbe, OF COURSE he wants what's best for us. Of course we should obey even when his commands go against common sense. Of course he knows best.
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groisamomma




 
 
    
 

Post Wed, May 11 2016, 2:23 pm
I'm with Maya on this. Any rebbe can dispense promises freely, the real kuntz is whether they're willing to give up their own long life, children, and financial security to guarantee yours.

Yeah, I thought so.
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francine




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 12 2016, 12:06 am
I realized that I copied the wrong part of article- while this Chossid's faith in his Rebbe is impressive that isn't the part that spoke to me as I am not chassidish and can't really relate 100%.
But what did impress me- really impress me is his honesty- his ability to look himself in the eye and reassess his actions and attitudes. And to practice hisbatluss even when it is very very hard.
See the excerpt below:


In truth yesterday's keness struck deep within me. It held up a mirror before me pressing me to decide - how do I want to live my life from here on? Without a doubt I can say that I partied, I enjoyed, got addicted. But maybe the time has come to begin a real life. Maybe the time has come to have a life with some internal quiet without being addicted to my cell phone?

Let's be honest with ourselves. How many hours a day are we stuck on our phone? How often do I make up to meet friends for coffee, or we go out somewhere and everyone is stuck on his phone and there is no one to talk to? And each one of us is writing to the same WhatssApp group- when in fact we are sitting right next to each other?

Ever see 4 people travelling in the same car- and each one is busy with WhatsApp? Let's not lie to ourselves. Let's admit the truth. We are addicted.

Anyone who thinks that I am a gibbur- that my Rebbe says something and I change my entire lifestyle in a second- is living in a movie. This is going to be hard. Very hard.


Gerrer Chossid gives up social media
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Rutabaga




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, May 12 2016, 1:41 am
I don't get it.

Are people addicted to their phones? Sure, but that's not limited to WhatsApp. I spend much more time on Imamother than on WhatsApp.

I think it's weird to ban WhatsApp to communicate with frum people but not with everyone else. I only communicate with frum people via WhatsApp. I belong to a couple of groups for my children, such as class mothers, and I participate in family groups. They come in really handy when someone needs to know the homework assignment or check that there's no conflict when planning a birthday party.

As for family WhatsApp groups, they make us feel a lot more connected to family members that are separated by distance and they're practical as well. We recently had a family crisis that necessitated a lot of coordination and required frequent updates. It was so much easier for the person on the spot to post to WhatsApp and reach everyone at once and for others to chime in as needed.

I'm sure there's potential for abuse of WhatsApp as there is for many things, but I don't think this takana actually addresses the problem.
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