It is in FUNDAMENTALS of our belief that no one falls in the pit if he DOES NOT CHOOSE to fall in the pit! Satan has exactly the power we give it to him! Hence, a corrupt salesman is corrupt NOT BECAUSE OF MONEY, but because he was corrupt all along - the money is just a mere catalyst for exposing his true face! Only in Christianity, the power of corruption is transferred to objects (money) or persons (women, Satan)! Hence, Satan is perceived as an enemy of G-d (and in Judaism, he is merely a "district attorney" whose function is to test you - book of Job is a good example of this attitude!). So - what? Is Shas and Yosef proposing that out there are "evil thing that will corrupt our young souls of our good boys"? And they could "incidentally" stumble upon "dirtyteens.com" or "yourkinkyneighbour.com"? ("Oh, the mobile is to blame! I was just looking for materials for my papers for topic of zinut, honorable rabbi!") I cannot believe that they could actually proscribe this advice!

get you some thick, extra-dark sunglasses and it will be harder to see those non-religious girls trying to tempt your pure soul. and it makes looking at your smart phone pretty near impossible. i'm sensing the beginning of a trend.

Not allowed to use phones with internet. Not allowed to wear red. Not allowed to be part of the 21st century. These people are no longer wanting Israel, they want Iran. Put the women in burquas and keep the men educated only so far as they can read Torah and obey a Rabbi with 17th century ideals. At some point for the Haredi and Sephardi Rabbinate the modern world will need to become a part of their lives and the lives of their cult followers. Hopefully it wont be too late.

We have seen it during WWII , when millions of torah laws followers were murdered . And they had'nt any 3rd generation phones , not even a very old one

....a NOLA jazz man! Give him a sax and he would fit in real well on Bourbon Street!

"We heard of small, new devices that let you watch movies and surf the internet, heaven forbid" We have IPHONE since january 2007... It takes 3 years and a half to ear about something??????

With that hat and garb, it would have to be Mardi Gras....

I find it sad for this Rabbi to openly state that his charges can't judge right from wrong, and can't say "no" to temptation. How does he expect that they develop any kind of character, if they're not ever confronted by choices? Should one wonder how the Rabbi knows of all the bad stuff in cyber space or simply assume that he's hearing about it in lurid details from those lost souls at the bottome of that pit?? Show me a Catholic priest, who constantly rants and raves ever so knowingly against pedophilia and I suggest that somebody take a real close look at the guy....

cause brain cancer. Cell phone towers emit that radiowave (same radiowavelength as brain cells so it kills brain cells) and it is destroying the ability of honeybees to find their hives. When the bees are gone, who will polinate the plants and fruit trees? People will have to become diddlers, diddling flowers with paint brushes to polinate them. 80% of the hits on the Internet are to porn cites, so the problem of being corrupted by cellphones with that capability is real. Not protecting one's eyes from corrupting pictures leads to sexual downfalls. That leads to missing out on the true joy of life which comes only from doing things God's way. One man one wife monogamous and virgins at marriage and married for life is the greatest joy because that has the highest blessing from Yahweh.

This man hardly represents a large portion of religious Jews, nor does his opinions create State policy. How is this like Iran, again? If he wants to "warn" his own flock of followers about the ills of smartphones, then so be it. Somehow, I doubt his opinions will touch your life personally.

of course it takes 3 years longer for non-haradi information to permeate from the outside world. Rather then seedy Internet sites, my guess is he wants followers to avoid reading other religious schools of thought. He's essentially drumming up business from perpetual customers for his yeshivas.

are two different things and cite two very different personalities. One who avoids all temptations to the point of avoiding 97% of humanity and technology simply lock themselves in time and retard any spiritual and mental growth. Conversely, the one who trains themselves to adhere to a morally high path and, upon seeing a potential risk, makes a conscious decision to avoid it, is of higher character. The Kabbalists state the same in a story about situation where money is left out on a table. Who is the one highly regarded by G-d....the man who avoids stealing the money, or the man who steals it but then returns it? The latter because they came to learn a lesson and have growth of character and morals.

they do not exist

No wonder Judaism is in trouble. It really needs to get into the 21st century, not the 1st. You'd think all Hashem needs is for people to devote their lives to performing the riturals just so specifically instead of worrying about actually doing the work that needs done. Too much show, not enough go.

it is now 2010 AD and not 2010 BC. That's 4020 years difference, things have happened.

funny how religious pompous jackasses like Ovadia Yusef love to dress in these fancy outfits with funny hats, to give rulings on mundane things like cell phones. Really rabbi? The cellphone with movie on it will bring you to the bottom of pit? Not your support for the lunatic element of your religion, banning girls from school, etc..?

maybe put red eye contacts while at it to look more like pope

his EYES, not to look upon a maid. Adultery and fornication and all sorts of temptations begin with the eyes which connects the temptation to the brain which connects the temptation to the heart and then action follows. The heart is desperately wicked and should not be trusted. What is the heart? It is the seat of the emotions. Solomon said to guard your affections because they affect everything you do. Guarding your eyes is guarding your affections and avoiding lusts that can be avoided. I learned that going to certain places caused lust in the beholders who saw me pass even though I was modestly attired. College campuses was one such place, so I learned to avoid colleges and would not go to social funtions or games there. Was that a sacrifice? Yes, somewhat. But I also stopped working outside the home many years ago to avoid causing lust. If males were going to be tempted it would not be because I caused them to by walking near them. I wear loose fitting clothing and flatten my chest instead of flaunting it. I no longer color my hair and try to look plain which is pleasing to the Lord since my looking glamorous was a cause of lust in males and jealousy in females. Was that a sacrifice? Yes. I loved to be beautiful, but it had a harmful effect on those who saw me and slandered me or tried to seduce me or molest me. So I retreated as much as possible. Anyone who saw me at Chaim-Sheba Medical Center in 2006 and 2007 would have to admit I looked plain and in no way seductive or alluring. I was concerned for a friend there but avoided provoking lust as best I could. I did feel some lust there, but not often since I shielded the males who beheld me as best I could by dressing plainly. If all women would do that and would refuse to pose naked or dress alluringly there would be a lot less sin in the world. Isaiah the Prophet said women with wanton eyes is one of the reasons for Yahweh's anger at Jerusalem. Women are held accountable for provoking lust in males if they cross the line into provoking lust. Be beautiful at home for your husband, not in public where the danger of causing a male to stumble with his eyes and heart and body by attacking another female is wrong.

you should have seen King Solomon and the ancient High Priest with a breastplate of priceless jewels! Even the lilies of the field were not arrayed as gorgeously as King Solomon (iris flowers)! This Rabbi is quite subdued in his appearance in comparison. Also, consider the lion and the lioness. Which is arrayed more beautifully? The male or female? In nature it is the male and the female is camoflaged modestly to protect her.

But...they're definitely consistant - no modern devices, no non-orthodox "Jews" (inside as well as outside Israel), no women to partake in study - lest the yeshiva boys turn into pre-historic beasts. Now where in the Torah did that come from? ....Never mind. Someone should mention to the learned rabbis that the internet can be a wonderful resource for all kinds of scholarship...maybe we shouldn't mention there's Torah and Gmarra on the internet!? And these guys want to have exclusivity to run Judaism in Israel? Oy.

well good luck with that little 2nd century ruling.....

Haredi and even many non haredi orthodox jews try to avoid secular influences in their lives which is why many don't have a TV. In this case they are not saying don't use the phone etc they are just saying stay away from the gikiky ones that have internet and show movies so you don't get distracted by the secular culture. A telephone to them is for making phone calls not surfing the internet or watching movies. They are all in favor of MP3 because its a piece of technology which students can use while they travel around to listen to lectures on Torah study etc but they don't like MP4 which you can watch video on because they see this as distracting. They live their lives around Torah and there is nothing at all wrong with a Torah observant lifestyle. if they are happy with a lifestyle where they don't use technology unless its to help them live a Torah observant lifestyle who are we to judge. Its not the way seculars do things but if they are happy living that kind of lifestyle so what? The world is full of people with different cultures so don't condemn the orthodox because their culture is more restrictive than yours. Stop this haredi bashing just for the sake of it. Who exactly is being hurt when religious leaders tell their students not to buy iphones? When there is GOOD reason criticize but leave them alone if we are just talking about cultural differences between them and you.

Your post is disgusting and bellow the belt. Nobody ever claimed Torah was a bullet proof vest so don't bring WW2 into this. Tell me exactly what is wrong with living a Torah observant lifestyle other than the fact the Charles would never chose to live like this. Their way might not be your way but it doesn't make it makes it different.

Fellow talk-backers .By the way ,it is cowardly to insult people from behind a keyboard Please try to be nice for a change , I know you are basically a decent and kind fellow .

There are very disturbing images and content on the internet ,as well as goodness and beautiful things .The computer is like a world ,with good and bad.The Rabbis are just trying to protect curious and vulnerable young minds from filth.

Why do you live in Israel ,which after all is the Jewish State" . Do you imagine that non-jews respect jews who disrespect the Torah ? nobody is asking you to believe nor to be religious ,but please do not mock the beliefs of others .And I challenge you to respond in a civilized manner i.e. without insults .

May Hashem bless you .Thank you for protecting vulnerable souls from some of the evil things at large . I appreciate the wisdom of the Rabbis and what they are doing .Kol Hakavod.

'In one instant a man can stumble and fall, heaven forbid, to bottom of pit,' That's why when the elevator door opens, I always look to make sure the cabin is there.