“Is There a Good Way to Walk Back a Leniency?”  

The Question

We’ve previously allowed our kids to read some secular kids’ books with careful review, but as the children get older and kids’ reading material evolves even more, we are less comfortable with it. Is there a good way to walk back a leniency, and enforce it, because things have changed? How should we explain it?

Rabbi Yerachmiel Garfield

WE DON’T HAVE TO PRESENT IT AS JEWISH VS. NON-JEWISH, BUT AS A  MATTER OF WHAT BRINGS US CLOSER TO THE RIBBONO SHEL OLAM  VS. WHAT DISTANCES US

Imagine that many readers already have strong opinions and clarity regarding this topic, and my words are not directed toward them. Rather, I am addressing those who genuinely struggle with this issue and are seeking a new way to view the challenge. To them, I suggest the following.

Perhaps it would help to reframe the entire discussion. Instead of viewing the issue as Yiddish versus non-Jewish books, we could approach it with different language: books that bring us closer to the Ribbono shel Olam versus books that distance us from Him.

When we take such a perspective, it becomes much easier to distinguish between the types of books we feel comfortable with and those we would prefer to avoid. We can explain to our children that books geared toward younger readers often focus on wholesome, family-oriented themes that naturally reinforce the values we hold dear. However, as people grow older and leave childhood innocence, many teen and young adult books unfortunately no longer reflect the values we seek to uphold.