By Yossie Strickman, as told to Bayla Hersher
Meir Kaplan, a 22-year-old from a home where technology use is discouraged, buys a smartphone with the guidance of his rebbi. In addition to having Yossie filter the phone, Meir asks Yossie to bridge the communication gap between him and his father, a rosh yeshivah. Yossie calls Rabbi Kaplan and emphasizes how the phone could potentially help Meir by meeting the needs that were behind his request. Rabbi Kaplan commits to supporting his son’s decision, but just a few weeks later, Meir asks Yossie to call his father again.
Meir’s request to speak to his father took me by surprise.
Before I could formulate a response, he rushed to explain.
“Everything has been great since you spoke to him, really.”
