What Jews Can Learn from Facebook

Published: 
Feb. 27, 2012

Source: Haaretz

 

Rabbi Joel Seltzer of Temple Emanu-El in Providence, Rhode Island, reflects on how the Facebook phenomenon could help us create a twenty-first century life of prayer by making our prayers more like our Facebook profile.

 

He writes:

"And so as you read this, I want you to join me in imagining a twenty-first century life of prayer by asking the question, “What if our prayers became more like our Facebook profile?” What if instead of having 560 friends, you only had one: One friend with a capital ‘F’. Do you think we could learn to be as open and honest with our G-d as we are with our Internet friends? Instead of being known by the world, wouldn’t it be nice to be known by the Author of the world?

 

I believe it is time to make our prayer life more like our Facebook life. In fact, think about how often our Facebook posts are similar to moments of profound prayer. That picture we take of our ripening tomatoes on the vine. That picture of you and your partner at the top of Machu Picchu. The indescribable sadness which overwhelms us upon hearing the news of a loved-one’s passing. That picture of our child that makes us stop, pause and thank G-d that something so perfect, so beautiful, so intensely inspiring could ever have come into our lives. These are moments of Facebook brakhot, of blessings to G-d….

 

And they are moments of triumph and joy when we recognize that there is no greater experience in this life than sharing a profound level of gratitude with the Creator of our ever-expanding universe, “Who hast kept us in life and hast preserved us, and hast enabled us to reach this season.”

 

For these prayers, God surely presses the ‘like’ button."

Read the entire post at Haaretz

Updated: Mar. 04, 2012
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