Israel bans imports of Apple iPad Is it good for the Jews?
JERUSALEM – Israel has banned imports of Apple Inc.'s hottest new product, the iPad, citing concerns the powerful gadget's wireless signals could disrupt other devices. So think twice about traveling to Israel with an Apple iPad tablet.
Tablet Torah Thoughts
After having dug to a depth of 1,000 meters last year, French scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1,000 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors had a telephone network all those centuries ago.
Not to be outdone by the French, English scientists dug to a depth of 2,000 meters and shortly after headlines in the U.K. newspapers read: "English archeologists have found traces of 2,000-year-old fiber-optic cable and have concluded that their ancestors had an advanced high-tech digital communications network a thousand years earlier than the French."
One week later, Israeli newspapers reported the following: "After digging as deep as 5,000 meters in a Jerusalem marketplace, scientists had found absolutely nothing. They, therefore, concluded that 5,000 years ago Jews were already using wireless technology."
Our Communal Wireless Connection
Parshat Tazria/Mezorah describes a skin disease called "Tzara'at." The Talmud says this is a spiritual malady that comes when someone speaks Loshon Hara - speaks negatively about others.
In addition to the skin disease, the person afflicted with Tzara'at has to spend one week in isolation - living on the outskirts of the community, and warning others to keep their distance from him.
The commentators explain that this punishment is "measure for measure." The speaker, having "put down" another person in the eyes of others, effectively distanced and separated that person from the community. So now the speaker, by spending a week in isolation, will experience for himself what it's like to be separated from others.
We hear so much today about "Jewish unity." The world today is at a crucial time in history. Now more than ever, let's try to keep our speech on the up-side remembering our wireless neshomo connection we all have with each other.
Our Neshomo iWi-Fi Connection with Hashem
Every time we mention the Almighty's name with love, we are connecting with eternity. We are not merely in the physical spot where we stand or sit. We are between two eternities: The eternity before this moment, and the eternity after this moment. We are connecting with the Infinite. Whenever we say Hashem's name, we should bear in mind that: "He is the Master of all that exists. He always was, He always is, and He always will be" (Shulchan Aruch 5:1)