"Rabbis are the rock stars of Jewish life," says Jewish Journal Editor Rob Eshman.
At the top of the Jewish social circle, the best rabbis get access to the best information. People feel it a privilege to share hot scoops with their rabbi, all in the name of what’s best for the community.
Rabbis have a hechsher to share the information as they see fit, usually doling it out to their rabbi friends and most important congregants. This is not lashon hara, this is talking shop and acting in the best interests of the community.
If I were to retail the same information, I’d be accused of speaking lashon hara.
Before blogs, many important would be kept quiet.
Now that blogs are here, information is shared more democratically. One does not have to be powerful to get the scoop nor to share the scoop with everyone. One can just tune in to a good blog.
Hence, the better the information blogs have, the less power rabbis have. They no longer control information flow and they no longer control their own image.
I’ve just finished rereading parts of my memoir from 1997-1998. I can hardly breathe. Each paragraph is like a punch in the gut. I was living so much on the edge and now it is a decade later and I’m still on the ledge. I’ve been given a second chance. Making it is so close yet failure is just a step away. One wrong move and I plunge. A wrong move in the opposite direction and I sacrifice all my good work for pleasure of getting along. Must stay strong and balanced between my commitment to Orthodox Judaism and my commitment to blogging.
