Dear Friend,
As I rip the last month off my calendar and expose a fresh year, I think back to how I imagined this era twenty years ago.
Flying cars! Self-tying shoes! Virtual-reality holograms! Hoverboards! Teleportation!
This is supposed to be a breakout period for technology, and indeed there have been many major technological trends on the cusp of going mainstream, such as 3D printing, wearables, and even driverless cars.
But at the risk of being termed a neo-Luddite, I have to say that while all this technology has enabled us to live a futuristic life, it can come at the cost of living a present life. A close friend just had it with the distraction of WhatsApp last week and gave it up entirely. He has not looked back (or down) since.
Although our devices can be used for good and even holy purposes, let’s set a time to put them away, look up, and really connect with the people that matter. Learn some Torah together, light a fire in your fireplace and have family/couple time, or just enjoy each other’s company (read here why this is a special year to do this).
Let’s not forget that the man makes the technology, not the other way around.
Moshe Rosenberg,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
