March 19, 2025

The Digital Predator: How Modern Tech Scatters Our Jewish Soul

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What ancient enemy understood our modern challenge better than we do? "Pizur HaNefesh" – the scattering of the soul – lurks in our pockets, ready to pounce on any Jew seeking spiritual growth. This powerful teaching, passed down through generations of Torah scholars, identifies our smartphones as perhaps the greatest threat to Jewish spiritual focus today.

When we carry devices that fragment our attention across countless digital distractions, we become "everywhere and somehow nowhere." This scattered consciousness makes genuine prayer impossible, Torah study superficial, and prevents us from being fully present with our children and families. For Jewish youth especially, how can one discover their authentic self when endless digital alternatives compete for their attention at every moment?

Most striking is how this modern struggle was prophetically described in Megillat Esther. When Haman describes the Jews as "mefuzar u'mefurad" (scattered and dispersed), he inadvertently offers us profound insight into our current condition. When we know more about designer brands and sports teams than books of Tanakh, we must confront this uncomfortable truth. The solution requires courage – delete unnecessary apps, reduce screen time, and consciously redirect our attention toward what truly matters: family, prayer, mitzvot, and spiritual growth. By fighting Pizur HaNefesh, we reclaim our souls from the predator of distraction and strengthen our authentic connection to God and tradition. Take a moment today to examine what's scattering your soul, and make the changes needed to refocus on what truly matters.

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Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com



Chapters

00:01 - Pizur HaNefesh: Scattering of the Soul

00:43 - The Phone's Destructive Influence

01:46 - Haman's Definition of Jewish People

03:36 - A Call to Refocus

Transcript
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00:00:01.600 --> 00:00:17.977
The predator that lurks in the bushes ready to pounce upon the Jewish youth and to any hopeful and self-improving God-seeking Jew, is something called Pizur HaNefesh.

00:00:17.977 --> 00:00:21.585
Literally, that means a scattering of the soul.

00:00:21.585 --> 00:00:30.725
I have this mesorah, this tradition, handed down to me by the current Gadol Hadar and my great Rosh Yeshiva, the man who connects us back to her.

00:00:30.725 --> 00:00:32.750
Of Meir Hershkowitz, who connects us back to her.

00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:34.502
Of Aaron Cutler, my Rosh Yeshiva.

00:00:34.502 --> 00:00:43.947
His name is Reb Nosson Stein Shalita, and he has educated over and over our yeshiva, that phone in the pocket.

00:00:43.947 --> 00:01:10.891
What it can truly cause and the havoc that it can truly wreck is Pizor HaNefesh, Because it's impossible to ever be totally at davening if your brain can be scattered, scattered, if there can be a total mefuzor u'mefurad, a breaking up and having your soul divided up into be a million different places at one time.

00:01:10.891 --> 00:01:23.409
It's hard to focus on Torah, hard to focus on mitzvot, hard to have a Jewish youth really find himself when he can find everything else in the world in his pocket Pizor hanefesh.

00:01:23.409 --> 00:01:32.481
Hard for a mom or a dad to be there entirely with their children if they have the ability in their pocket to be everywhere and somehow nowhere.

00:01:32.481 --> 00:01:40.128
Pizor Hanefesh, scattering of the soul, and we know that Tanakh it speaks to us.

00:01:40.128 --> 00:01:45.402
In every single generation, every Possack gold extraordinary.

00:01:45.402 --> 00:01:46.524
And in Megillus Esther, in every single generation, every Pasek gold extraordinary.

00:01:46.524 --> 00:02:10.080
And in Megillus Esther it just slapped me in the face that there's a Pasek and Paragimel that, literally, if you imagine it to be Haman educating us about our own worst enemies and how to overcome this predator, you literally hear a Musser schmooze from Haman and this lesson coming forth about Pizar HaNefesh, vayaymer, haman L'melach HaHashverosh.

00:02:10.139 --> 00:02:13.807
We're talking about where Haman's trying to convince the king to eradicate the Jews.

00:02:13.807 --> 00:02:21.507
Listen to how he defines the Jewish people Yesh, no am echad Mefuzar u'mefurad.

00:02:21.507 --> 00:02:36.287
There's a nation, the Jewish people, one nation, but they're scattered, but they're scatterbrained, but they're involved in so many different things About the other cultures.

00:02:36.287 --> 00:02:45.313
They know more about designer brands and college basketball teams than they even know about the books of Tanakh.

00:02:45.313 --> 00:02:51.312
But they should know that their laws they're different.

00:02:55.879 --> 00:03:16.372
But because of their scatterbrainedness and their obsession with every other brand, culture and Gentile fad, they don't follow kings, the Melech, malchei, hamelechem, god, hakadosh, baruch Hu, the omnipresence, eternal ordinances and LaMelech Ein Sheva LaHanicham.

00:03:16.393 --> 00:03:36.372
Hence, horribly, as we hear this, pasuk Paragimel, pasuk Ches, Haman says it's not even worth it for the king to keep the people around because they're just so involved in Gentile culture and so scatterbrained and never present on their learning, never present on their children, never present on what it is that truly matters.

00:03:36.372 --> 00:03:51.650
A harsh bit of Musa for all of us to take home, because when the greatest scion of evil, the nefarious foe, haman, describes us, he really does a very brutally honest job.

00:03:51.650 --> 00:04:00.507
And to say that we are so scatterbrained and involved in a million different things should cajole us to take a moment to focus on what's important.

00:04:00.507 --> 00:04:06.947
Delete every single app that is pulling us into the things that have no true value to us.

00:04:06.947 --> 00:04:11.323
Delete all the extra time and moments and think about what it is and where we're spending and how.

00:04:11.323 --> 00:04:26.788
We're so pulled into a million different areas, and let us refocus on family, children, prayer, mitzvot, mitos, self-perfection, self-improvement and serving of the B'nai R'oilam.