Internet, Rabbis and Tradition: Useful Access with Boundaries
Why some rabbis express concerns
Concerns about internet use can include inappropriate content, wasted time, modesty, harmful speech and weakened family relationships. Different rabbis and communities respond differently. Some recommend broad restrictions; others distinguish among purposes, users and settings. It is misleading to assign one position to all rabbis. The question is often not simply whether a technology exists, but how a person uses it.
Rabbi Moshe Goldman: how the tool is used
In his Chabad.org essay Is the Internet Evil?, Rabbi Moshe Goldman discusses the internet as a tool whose moral significance depends on its use. This is a documented example of an approach that does not reject the technology itself. It is not blanket permission for every website or activity. Reading the complete essay is better than treating a short description as a personal religious ruling.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and access to learning
In a 2017 video about his renewed website, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks encouraged using information technology to broaden access to Torah learning and conversation. The video and transcript are available through The Rabbi Sacks Legacy. His educational argument shows one positive use of technology; it should not be expanded into an invented ruling on every social platform, device or family circumstance.
Chabad and other institutions are online
Chabad.org publishes articles and video classes. Its account of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Kazen describes a pioneer of Jewish online activity. Peninei Halakha makes Rabbi Eliezer Melamed's works accessible online. These are examples of actual educational practice, not evidence that every rabbi permits unrestricted browsing. Printed study and digital resources can reinforce each other.
Learning from rabbis through video in the United States
The Brooklyn-based Rohr Jewish Learning Institute offers online educational material and a YouTube channel, myJLI. Recorded talks let viewers learn outside a lecture hall and revisit an explanation. They demonstrate that Jewish video learning is part of American Jewish life; this article does not invent a statistic about how many people use it. For systematic study, follow a course and check the teacher's context rather than relying only on short clips.
Practical boundaries
Choose the material before opening a platform, make time for discussion and keep personal questions separate from general lectures. A family can set clear expectations about devices, notifications and supervision. A filter is an aid, not a substitute for education. Someone seeking a personal halakhic ruling should explain the intended use to a rabbi rather than asking about the internet as one undifferentiated activity.