"To Assemble and Stand for Their Lives" • A Gathering Against the Dangers of

Gathering Against the Dangers of Technology ○ Words of Inspiration from the Rabbis ○ Song and Melodies ○ The Central Address from the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a ○ Signatures within the Inner Sanctum

"The internet is Amalek (the archetypal enemy of Israel)!" As is known to all, our teacher the Rav shlit"a (may he live long and good days) warned and alerted everyone as far back as 1999 that a Holocaust would come upon the Jewish people, and it would not be a physical Holocaust but a spiritual one. This is the internet and the iPhones that have consumed every good portion of the Jewish people. He who desires life must guard his soul and the souls of his children from this technological advancement that leads directly to Gehennom (purgatory). Twenty-six years have passed, and the grim reality today hits everyone in the face. While those who merited to listen to the advice of the Tzaddik to protect themselves merit a calm and peaceful soul, those who did not merit this walk around like the "living dead," their souls scarred to the root. Torah, mitzvos (commandments), yearning, longing, and closeness to Hashem (God) seem further than ever for them.

But in the past year, something happened. As the Tzaddik said: The Satan (adversary) is more experienced and veteran than all, and he brought the most predatory device of all—the 'Xiaomi' [filtered smartphone that can be bypassed]. From the outside, it appears to "stretch out its hooves" and say "I am kosher," but inside it is the lowest depths of Sheol (hell)! Due to this great evil, several energetic avreichim (married Torah students) in our holy community took it upon themselves to replicate what occurred at the Chanukah gathering for the youth groups this year, when the Rav shlit"a asked the boys to sign a commitment deed to distance themselves from all the dangers of technology. Because of this, they launched the "Ashreichem" (fortunate are you) campaign for the avreichim of the Shuvu Banim community and all those who take refuge in the shadow of the Tzaddik. To gain momentum, with the blessing of the Tzaddik, it was decided to hold a gathering on the auspicious day of the eve of the 14th of Adar I, Purim Katan (the "Small Purim" in a leap year), after the evening prayer in our Beis Medrash (study hall), to awaken and strengthen the great need for distancing and abstaining from the dangers of technology.

The gathering was opened by Rabbi Itamar Raphael shlit"a, who, with his eloquent speech, explained the importance of distancing oneself from technological tools and how much this can save souls from destruction. After his words, the band broke into songs of joy, specifically Purim songs, and our people (Anshei Shlomeinu) danced in stormy circles with immense joy and enthusiasm. After the singing, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Galinsky spoke, also strengthening and awakening the crowd regarding guarding against the dangers of technology. After his words, until the entrance of the Rav shlit"a to the gathering, the band played songs of emotion and spiritual awakening.

The Rav shlit"a opened his holy address with holy fire against the dangers of technology. During the lesson, the Rav went into great detail about how a person who falls, Heaven forbid, to the lowest depths, loses everything dear to him, and even the children of an internet user will be sinners. During his words, the Rav shlit"a said that today, Amalek and Haman (the villain of Purim) is the internet. He added that the real war is against the internet, and the real Hamas is the internet, which causes all the disasters and all the murders, may Hashem protect us. He also said that the reason hostages are still being held in Gaza is because not everyone has yet strengthened themselves to break their Xiaomi devices. During his words, as is his holy way, he integrated other topics: how Haman became enslaved to Mordechai, the Song of Deborah and the stars that fought from heaven to assist the Tzaddik, and the dispute between the Rambam (Maimonides) and the Ramban (Nachmanides) regarding the law of the people of Shechem who were sentenced to death by Shimon and Levi.