By Rabbi Dovid Abenson

Dear readers,

After more than forty years in the field of chinuch, I would like to share an aspect of my work that I consider distinctive. In a certain sense, I feel a connection to Rav Avigdor Miller zt”l, the great gadol of America, whose influence remains profound. Rav Miller’s effectiveness stemmed from his willingness to speak the truth without compromise. He was not dependent on any institution and thus could freely address issues as need be, without concern for losing a position or salary. It is this freedom that I find particularly inspiring and relevant to my own approach.

Similarly, as one who works independently, this allows me to write, speak, and express my perspective openly, without fear that honesty might threaten my livelihood. I have spoken with mechanchim and even gedolim who, though they wish to speak candidly, are constrained by the realities of their positions. That is why I write. My work is l’shem Shamayim for the sake of Klal Yisrael and the strengthening of Jewish education. When silence risks our children’s development, our schools, and the integrity of Torah education, someone must speak.

As we see today, when Gedolim speak about the challenges facing Klal Yisrael, certain subjects are addressed openly and repeatedly. Much is said about the internet, individuals who openly defy Torah values, and outside ideologies. These are real dangers and deserve attention. Yet when it comes to some of the most fundamental and painful issues within Jewish education itself, the silence is often striking and I am privy to this regularly. When there is an opportunity to hear from gedolim about education, which affects the institutions themselves, it is frequently ignored.

One striking example of where we have gone wrong is the issue of homework. Rav Mattisyahu Salomon zt”l stated unequivocally in his writings that there should be no homework. Period! “A school is meant to be a place of learning; a home is meant to be a refuge, a place where a child’s heart is filled with love, calm, and family connection” (A Heart Full of Love, pp. 79–83).

I personally raised this point with a menahelah of a Kodesh department. “Rav Salomon was clear: children should no longer be given homework.” The response was astonishing. She turned to me and said, almost defiantly, “That doesn’t apply to our school. It applied only to him.”

This is not a minor oversight; it is a systemic failure in Jewish education. Today, the overwhelming majority of frum schools assign homework including Kodesh homework despite the complete absence of any mesorah for such a practice. Homework is not rooted in Torah or Chazal. It is a foreign import, originating entirely outside the Jewish world. Around 1905, an Italian educator, Roberto Nevilis, introduced homework as a punitive measure, a way to discipline students who misbehaved or failed to pay attention in class. From there, the practice spread across Europe and was eventually absorbed wholesale into modern schooling, Jewish schools included, with little thought and no scrutiny.

Today, homework often functions as an admission of failure. It is the easy way out—a substitute for inspired teaching, active engagement, and accountability during school hours. Instead of fixing what happens in the classroom, we shift the burden onto the home, turning family time into an extension of school and eroding the very refuge a Jewish home is meant to be.

Rav Mattisyahu Salomon zt”l was a rare exception in his clarity and courage. He publicly insisted that no girls’ schools should open in Elul until every girl had a school to attend. These statements were not quiet comments; they were powerful, uncompromising, and carried weight. Such direct leadership on core chinuch issues is exceedingly rare. Yet the lesson is clear: without courage to implement change based on Torah guidance, even the best intentions are insufficient. Leadership must not fear discomfort or controversy when children’s education is at stake.

At the time of the Asifah, there was a real concern about internet technologies entering homes. Some institutions responded by banning them entirely but they did not provide any alternatives. Simply blocking access is a negative solution. That alone does not solve the problem.

Similarly, today we face a challenge with the internet. It is here to stay; simply banning it is not an option. While companies provides excellent filters that are professional, effective, and necessary, they are not sufficient on their own. What is needed are constructive solutions that allow the internet to operate in a kosher, Torah-guided way such as kosher AI, filtered content, and properly structured frameworks.

I recently spoke with someone those companies about this. I acknowledged the importance of the work they do, but I posed a simple question: is the internet itself the main problem, or is it the lack of meaningful alternatives? If access is blocked, what are people offered instead? He agreed completely, admitting that this absence of alternatives has been the greatest failure from the start. During the original Asifah, the message was absolute: don’t use it, ban it, stay away, and rely on companies to block harmful content. Yet no parallel vision was established, no structured plan for kosher alternatives, no investment in creating a Torah-guided digital world to replace what was removed.

Moshe Rabbeinu, speaking for Hashem, declares: ‘הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת נָתַתִּי לְפָנֶיךָ… וּבָֽחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים’ (Devarim 30:19)“I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse…and you shall choose life, so that you and your offspring may live.” Hashem gave us the gift of choice.

Moshe Rabbeinu taught us to guard our eyes, not to close them in the absence of a kosher path. The outcome is predictable: not obedience, but confusion. And that confusion is precisely what we are now witnessing. Institutions stopped access but offered no constructive path forward. That is not the way of Moshe Rabbeinu. The Torah gives us free choice Bechira. We have the choice to do good or bad. Understandably,a child who sees something inappropriate is exercising that choice but forcing prohibition without guidance and educating why, is not Torah leadership.

Today, many children are immersed in the internet in some format and schools tell them what they can and cannot do, and filters may or may not exist. Over the past fourteen years, some alternatives have emerged. Jewish music platforms, kosher content initiatives, and limited broadcasts have proved successful, often reaching Jewish communities across the globe. These initiatives were created by ordinary people who showed foresight and courage, and they deserve genuine credit.

But the real question is unavoidable: why did this take fourteen years? These platforms should have existed from day one parallel to the warnings not a decade and a half later as damage control. When I asked a representative from those companies why this was not done earlier, he conceded that the idea had been raised and rejected as too expensive. I replied that the failure is clear. You can ban, warn, and frighten but we are not Amish. The Amish retreat from the world; they avoid technology entirely. If they need something, they simply rely on someone else who engages with the modern world. We, however, live fully within it. Torah demands disciplined engagement, not avoidance. We cannot pretend the internet does not exist; we must provide real, Torah-guided alternatives so our children can learn, explore, and grow safely.

In January 2026, an Asifah in Lakewood convened to address the dangers and efficiencies of artificial intelligence. The irony was unmistakable. Enormous effort went into analyzing risks, issuing guidelines, and urging caution but the outcome remained incomplete. Warnings were given, vigilance encouraged, yet no meaningful alternatives were provided. The focus was entirely defensive: what to block, what to restrict, what to guard against. Without constructive, Torah-guided solutions, even a serious gathering can only mitigate the problem temporarily.

Why did Rav Ashi and Ravina compiled the Gemara? The rabbis faced a crisis they did not know what would happen to the Klal Yisroel after the Destruction of the Second Beis HaMikdash. Without organizing the Torah and its teachings, much would have been lost.

This is why we must think boldly. We should engage the leaders shaping the digital world, people like Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Sundar Pichai. Not to fight them, but to collaborate. A truly kosher platform, kosher media space, or kosher AI built with clear moral boundaries, transparency, and accountability would serve not only the Jewish community but also be a Kiddush Hashem. It would show that Torah values are not afraid of technology but insist on guiding it.

To be continued…………..

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Tel/WhatsApp: 848-367-1740
Email: [email protected]