And it shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth, but he awaketh, and his soul is empty; or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh, but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite–so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. (Isaiah 29:8)

Our society is sick and a remedy does not seem close by. Here is a quick test to see if you are ill:

1. Are you someone that, as Walter White, Bryan Cranston’s character on Breaking Bad, saw his brother-in-law Hank get shot in the head thanks to Walt’s actions, develop a sinking ache in their gut?

Did you also not give a second thought to the news late Saturday that a Palestinian terrorist shot a 9-year-old Jewish girl who was playing in her front yard in the West Bank town of Psagot for no reason at all?

2. Are you someone who is still fuming over your most recent loss in Candy Crush?

Did you also glance over the newspaper section that reported two 20-year old Israeli soldiers murdered in cold blood over a three day period last month by Palestinian gunmen?

3. Are you someone who feels proud that they had a hand in electing the first African-American President, the single greatest accomplishment of the civil rights movement, a man who spent the week of the government shutdown and Palestinian terror throwing his two cents into the ring on whether or not the Washington Redskins football team name was offensive?

Did you also choose to block out that the President continues to push Israel to reward the people who are uncivilly murdering innocents and a culture where offense caricatures of their forefathers are not met with national conversations but indiscriminate bloodshed?

If you answered “yes” to the prior half of any of these questions and “no” to the latter half you may want to see a physician.

The devastating truth is that what happens on our TV, computer and smartphone screens have become the isolated reality of our lives. Anything outside of the scope of these daily digital agenda-setters is simply not important enough for society to do something about. Thus, Israel, one of the largest technology giants in the world is suffering mightily due to the very technology and culture it is creating.

Homeland is an American adaptation of the Israeli television show Hatufim, about the return of captured soldiers. It would appear that more people are concerned for the fake lives of Nicholas Brody and Carrie Mathison than that of the people of Southern Israel, pounded by rocket fire day-in and day-out.

Internet messaging is a brainchild of Israeli innovation and communication through Facebook and Twitter has become part of the daily social routine. Therefore, clever hashtags are taking a priority over the plain words of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly, proving historically that Iran is a genocidal regime with no intention of abandoning its pursuit of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

This is not to say technology, television nor Israeli culture is the problem. It is us, the global society that has allowed this disease to grow and spread.

Fortunitly, as the well-known Jewish principles states, G-d always creates the antidote before the affliction. Perspective is a lesson that should be taught in every classroom and spoken about at every dinner table across the world. Speak to your children about what is really important in life. Show your co-workers that you really care about a safe free world for all people not just the ones who live behind the glass wall in your den.  Express your dissatisfaction to your government when their actions do not measure up to their words and the allow lives to be destroyed for the price of reelection and liberal accolades.

All of these things can be done with the help of technology and culture if harnessed properly but ONLY with the proper significance.

If you currently rally against Israel, take a step back and challenge yourself to inspect the facts as you currently accept them. If the pain and suffering of the Israeli people is not of consequence to you at all, perhaps opening your eyes and your hearts to the Jewish State that has overcome all odds will expand your horizons.  The internet and television are fantastic mediums to accomplish these feats.

There is an oft-repeated debate over the status of the ‘Modern-Orthodox’ Jewish community in America. Many say that in today’s world the term ‘Modern-Orthodox’ is an oxymoron that cannot be reconciled. American Jews are either choosing to be modern or orthodox with no middle ground. In his thought-provoking blog ‘Think Judaism’, Yitzchak Sprung reviewed a book called “Sliding to the Right” by Dr. Samuel Heilman. In it, Sprung elucidates, “Dr. Heilman quotes Dr. Haym Soloveitchik as saying that Modern Orthodox Jews might learn a lot of Torah, but we don’t know anything about the high culture we purportedly think is important. Instead, as Heilman points out, we are more likely to engage in a middle class pop culture, which is a little hard to defend in excess.” Not just the Jewish people, but every citizen of the world should strive to take the cream of the crop that modern culture has to offer us. This means focusing more on chemistry than the Kardashians and culture more than Katniss Everdeen.

While the Jews have always survived and will continue to survive, the people of Israel would greatly benefit if the civilized world would choose to adopt the higher concepts of culture, as would the adoptees themselves.

There are people working to develop apps, shows and programs that will make this world a better and safer place but we must play our part. The first step to recovery is admitting we have a problem and boy do we have a problem.

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