There’s an ‘App’ for that???

I wrote an article for the Jewish Press two years ago about the counting of the Omer, a period of time in the Jewish calendar in which we currently find ourselves. The article was titled “Forgotten but not Lost” and explained the traditional laws of the counting of the Omer.

Each day beginning on the second day of Passover and continuing through Shavuot is to be counted in the evening, accompanied by a blessing. If one forgets to count one night, the counting can take place the next morning, without the blessing, resuming the entire procedure the next night.

However, if he/she forgets to count the next morning and does not do so before the next evening, while the counting may continue, the blessing should no longer be said. The chain has been broken.

In the article two years ago, I talked about how beautiful this tradition is in that it teaches us the importance of remembering. Once forgotten, the ritual can continue, but it is not the same. I compared this to the importance of remembering important times in our loved ones’ lives, like birthdays and anniversaries. We could also compare this to remembering arrangements made with friends, family, or business associates. If we forget something, we can usually make up for it, but it will not be the same as if we had remembered originally.

Fast forward two years to the present, and the world has changed. How? I can now set my phone to remind me each evening to count the Omer, and I can then proceed to click on an “app” that gives me the blessing, other traditional readings, and the specific day that I should be counting. There really is no excuse to forget to count or to do so incorrectly — which is why I felt even guiltier for forgetting to count the third night.

Technology is supposed to make things easier for us, but we have to be careful not to make it a crutch that makes us incompetent when it is not present. I was so dependent on my alarm for the Omer, that when it didn’t go off, I forgot.

This is far from the only example in my life, and I feel I’m fairly safe in assuming I’m not the only one. I used my GPS to find a friend’s house for the first time. I continued to use the GPS the next three times I went there.

Normally, after going somewhere four times, I know how to get there, but when I tried driving without the GPS, I found that I could not remember any of the details once I entered my friend’s neighborhood. I’m so used to my phone telling me where I need to be and when I need to be there that if I make plans and don’t put it in my calendar, I have almost no hope of remembering.

The counting of the Omer leads us to Shavuot, the holiday commemorating

the revelation at Mt. Sinai when we received the Torah. Once we received the Torah, our lives were changed in immeasurable ways, and there was no going back. While I’m not comparing our current technology to the Torah (although I guess I sort of

am . . . we now have these

smart phones, GPS units, and every other form of technology that is supposed to make our lives easier, and there’s no going back.

Whereas, however, with Torah the goal is to incorporate all of its values into our lives, with this technology, we have to ask different questions. How do we maintain the skills that were necessary before the technology (memory, spontaneity, common sense etc…) even when we are using the technology? Jewishly we can have the prayer book, the Torah, and more at our fingertips 24/7, but how do we maintain the sacredness of these texts when they are on the same device that we use to play solitaire?

Technology is a gift, but unlike the gift of Torah, we have to read the small print. As we embrace technology, may we all maintain the sacredness of all aspects of our lives, and remember that ultimately, no matter how much we count on technology to guide us, we must count on ourselves and our loved ones even more, and that should never be forgotten.

Rabbinically Speaking is published as a public service by the Jewish Press in cooperation with the Tampa Rabbinical Association which assigns the column on a rotating basis.