Our World Today

We live in a society that is very cohesive, and in our modern age each and every individual will find himself tied up in certain respects with the uniformity of society. For example, no one today will be so primitive as to wash his clothes by hand instead of machine, or to go without a refrigerator and other electrical appliances and preserve his food in salt, and read at night by candlelight. Similarly, nobody today in society can communicate efficiently without the use of a telephone, and it is considered unlivable to be without running water.

Today's society has discovered many different ways of cutting down the necessity of manual work and replacing it with machinery. The effects of this have been

1. considerable increase in production and efficiency, and

2. more leisure time for humanity as a whole.

But this is only the beginning.

In our world there is a constant wave of newer inventions and modifications that greatly enhance the progression of society in more convenient and efficient means. Wind-up clocks are by now old fashioned. Pocket calculators take no batteries anymore, they are all solar-powered. Yesterday's new up-to-date computers are hardly in use anymore. Written communication is done from one end of the world to the other in a matter of seconds through faxes and e-mail. In this respect we may see ourselves superior to the generations before us. We may wonder how only 100 years ago running water and electricity were considered luxuries hardly available to the public. Travel then was chiefly done by horse and buggy. Our world is certainly much more advanced than theirs!

However; if we look more carefully into things, we will see that although these progressions may be quite striking indeed, the internal lifestyles and mental struggles that we face today have not gone through such improvements. In fact, the mental state of affairs in today's world may be quite severe indeed. What is happening to the family life in today's most "progressive" societies? These are the places that suffer the world's highest divorce rates; and even among those couples that stay together; many, even the majority of them will confess that they are not "happily married". Which drugs sell the most in the pharmacies today? Those that are supposed to control mental stress!! In which society do we find such soaring crime rates among the populations,widespread use of narcotics, and the older generation so subservient to the younger one?

The truth of the matter is that these problems all existed in the previous generations as well in some form, but on a much smaller scale. Family problems existed, but they did not get out of hand so easily and the families stayed together. Mental stress existed, but it was on a lesser scale. Ironically enough, it seems that the improvements and progressions of society today have indirectly led to the disintegration of our more vital and moral values, and the effects of this are causing a significant amount of havoc in today's world.

This did not have to be the case intrinsically, it is rather the result of the mismanagement of moral values by society today. This was all foretold to us in the Torah that man's basic tendency is negative, and left uncontrolled it would lead towards destruction. (This all began with Adam’s sin, after which he was punished that he would have to work the land to get food. This punishment was meant for his own good, because after this episode G-d knew that it would lead to immorality and corruption for man to be left alone without a constant occupation and a sense of responsibility.)

In truth, everything that happens in our world has a vital purpose to it, and modern advancement is no exception. It gives us the ability to be productive large-scale and more effeciently, to expand our knowledge and thereby view the world in more accurate perspective, and for society to function more cooperatively globally. From a Torah viewpoint the communication advancement has made available much more Torah than was ever available in past centuries. In addition, the modern industrial revolution has made available much more free time to learn with. The modern revolution was given to the world in order for mankind to break out of the narrow-minded mentalities and prejudices of the past so that they be ready to accept G-d's kingdom more fully when it becomes revealed in the future. In past times the majority of mankind has lived in societies that were for the main part ignorant and regimented, and were thus more gullible and easily swayed by new movements. Today; however, people are much more knowledgeable and more set in their ways and beliefs. Therefore; when the truth becomes revealed in the future, it will have a much deeper impression on humanity as a whole.

Back to the above:

The developements of today have benefitted mankind considerably, but they have also caused a decrease in the natural amount of control that is over us (which is meant for our own good). This has led to the corrosion of moral structure.

In essence, yesterday's problems are today's problems and today's problems are yesterday's problems simply on a more sophisticated level. The external facets of society have changed remarkably but the internal difficulties have not only failed to improve but have escalated remarkably. This is all because of the decline of moral values and the lack of control of society which have brought mankind to a stage where he becomes unable to efficiently utilize the bounties of modernity productively, nor to create an environment that runs positively and cooperatively.

Phsycologists will try again and again to find cures for these ailments, but they overlook the cause. All of these ailments come from the suffering of the human consience due to the constant pursuit of sensual gratification, and the inability to ever reach it. The only real way to cure this would be to create an environment that is geared more towards work and cooperative involvement, and less towards lust and self- gratification; but this can only be brought out through the Torah, otherwise any such movement will inevitably fail.*.

In truth; if society was able to use all of the bounties of modernity productively, the problems of society today would ultimately vanish. Because of their misuse; however, we have a well-understood concept today, which is that people all need a time and place for recreation, where they can just "leave it all" and simply relax. Vacations, retreats, and worldwide tours are all a common feature of today's life. Perhaps we can say; to some extent, that this is a normal trend, and today's convential ability to travel would accommodate such recreation. After all, why be bound to the same surroundings day after day, if you have an alternative? Even if they are good surroundings, human nature is to want to see outside of one's own environment. However, in today's world there just doesn't seem to be any end to this concept of "escape". People are constantly trying to slip into imaginary worlds, to forget about life and its problems. Television, movies, computer games, and to a large extent today's music are constantly active, looking for new forms of fantasy, simply to make one feel that he can "escape" his regular surroundings.

Now why is this? What is it that they must escape? Why must life be so pressurized in our most advanced society, to the point that people are literally able to throw away millions of dollars just to find some form of "escape" from it? Isn't this the "enlightened" age? Why today of all times, do people so quickly become bored of their pastimes, and constantly search for new ones?

We obviously must say that today's "advanced" lifestyle is still in somewhat of a need of meaning, and until this is sufficiently taken care of people will constantly pursue ways of escape from it.

How different are the ways of the Torah from the trends of modern society! The Torah does not hide itself from reality, but faces it directly! The Torah puts meaning into life, and gives one a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

Once one is able to see meaning in all that is in the world around him, he will readily be satisfied with his life and will be able to reciprocate accordingly (by following the dictates of the Torah). As the Chazon Ish** said, "When one's intellect becomes able to recognize the truth of G-d's presence, there immediately enters in it a boundless joy!" ( I am reminded of the fact that in Old Latin [from where our present day English originated from] there are eight different words denoting warfare, and only one word denoting tranquility. In Hebrew; by contrast, there are at least ten terms implying joy, and only one or two words denoting warfare.)

The way of the Torah is that each and every single thing that G-d created has its own integral place in this world of ours, thus there is no real need to "escape" anything. (It is understandable though, that one will occasionally need to take a break in order to refresh himself. According to the way of the Torah, this will also have its place, and if his intention is for the sake of the Torah itself, then it in itself becomes a Mitzvah.)

All of the world’s sciences have a starting point in the Torah, if one is only able to trace it (the Torah) far enough. This is evidenced by the fact that many Torah scholars, most notably the Vilna Gaon***, (and more recently -the Chazon Ish) were known for their expertise in the world’s sciences as well. The world has marvelled at their quick grasp of these studies as well as their unique ability to discover solutions to the perplexing quandries of the times. It has been recorded that the Vilna Gaon was able in his youth to solve one of the most perplexing axioms of the scientists of his day. More recently, the Chazon Ish has been famed for his medical advice, including a hand-written diagram still in existence today, explaining a complex operation that medical experts of the time were still unclear regarding the effective manner to perform. The Vilna Gaon himself said that all secular wisdom is found in the Torah, and is needed to help us understand the Torah.