We live in a century of upheaval, and teachers, parents, school administrators are often overwhelmed by the new dangers that youngsters are exposed to, which they themselves were not exposed to.

Parents, in their youth, were not exposed to the new means of communication, mobile phones and the internet that are around today. How are they to manage these new dangers?

We live in a society which is more and more permissive, and where there is less and less shame with regard to moral standards. A great contemporary master said that Tzerfat (France in Hebrew) has the same letters in Hebrew as pritzut (immorality), and indeed, the President of the Republic does not set an example to the contrary!

If the street with its advertising images, and with the way people are dressed, is a nisayon, (ordeal), it is certainly even worse when this problem enters our home via the internet.

There Are Two Ways to Deal with the Problem

Either by external or internal constraints.

The first step is to make sure not to leave a child alone with the internet. One of our Rabbanim said that the laws of yichud must be applied to the Internet. A man may not isolate himself with a woman who is not his, and in the same way, we must not isolate ourselves with a dangerous object that may provide nisyonot. Sometimes parents do not have the strength to care of their children, and they thus use the internet as a means to 'occupy and distract' their children. Would you take your children to Church to distract them? We must find another solution. Some people recommend placing the family computer in a very visible and central place, such as the living room, but not a room where there would be a problem of yichud. This brings order and discipline into the home.

But there is another way: from the inside. Rabbi Wolbe z”l said that there are two approaches to education: Binyan (construction) and Zerach (planting or sowing). A wall for example, is built by a mason. He adds rows of bricks, one on top of the other. It goes up fast. But when one plants a seed, it grows, but it is an organic growth, slower, but from the inside. It is the tree itself that grows.

In Torah, the same principle applies. Discipline is necessary, it is an external construction, but growth from the inside is necessary too.

It is HaKadosh Baruch Hu who created the Yetzer Hara. Why is it so strong? So that we rule over it! But how? Through the Torah. It is by showing our children that the Torah is not only a duty, it is a pleasure, that gives us an immense satisfaction, and fills us with happiness. Our joy is found in a good limmud, in the spiritual chasing of the envy of an illusory satisfaction in perverted domains.

The Malbim explains that Hashem created very varied species of animals to teach us different wisdoms in life. This idea made me think of an octopus! If we walk by the sea, and curiosity tempts us to see what lies behind a rock? Suddenly, the tentacle of an octopus comes out of this hole and clings to our arm. The suckers do not let go! What a horror emerged from that rock!

This is the way to look at the internet. We serf on the internet for something, and then suddenly, if we did not install appropriate filters, a foul image comes up, which poisons us!

A person who strengthens himself in Torah will be alert. He knows that this world is full of pitfalls, and he will not possess a curiosity that can be catastrophic. If one has (Chas Veshalom) stumbled, it is only through the Simcha of Limud HaTorah (joy in the study of Torah) that the impurities will disappear. The Yetzer Hara was created to strengthen one's Torah. The thirst for Torah is the true inner remedy for all unhealthy temptations. If you know a little Torah by heart, a walk or an excursion has a different dimension!

As the holiday season approaches, these dangers are increased, but is it not the moment, too, to increase our love for the Torah, and to renew a warm and affectionate dialogue with our children? If we succeed, we will have protected our children from seeking satisfaction elsewhere. This approach is perhaps harder than the first, but more solid, and it is through our tefilot that Hashem will help us in this direction.

Internal education is a daily effort. The Gemara teaches us that the Yetzer Hara is renewed every day, and it is thus every day that we must discover the ruses of our enemy. But we will have succeeded in our mission if we understand the value of this effort

In Yeshivot, Mussar is studied every day (in general). Rav Yisrael Salanter said however, that it is not reserved solely for Yeshiva students. We could almost say the opposite: It is the people who live in contemporary society who are exposed to the modern media and who thus have a greater duty to examine themselves in the light of the Torah's morals.

The Mesilat Yesharim explains, in his introduction, that one must remember every day the bases of this teaching. The Chofetz Chaim, in the Mishna Berura, says that nowadays (in 1920) it is an imperative obligation. He who is not alert, risks, without realizing it, becoming negligent of the mitzvot, and having less Yirat Shamayim (fear of Heaven), and this may cause him to transgress serious aveirot. This is the great danger of the internet.

Here is what to do: urgently: to direct everyone, young people and adults, old people and children, towards the Happiness of Torah Study, and keeping Halacha.