Watching Television

Last week, my son brought home a letter from his school that said between April 23 and Shavuos, there would be TV Control. This means that every day a child does not watch TV or movies, his parent signs a box and if the child has every box signed at Shavuos, he is invited to partake in a banquet. Therefore, this week, I would like to write about TV Control.

First I must admit that I do not have a TV in my house and have not sat down to watch a TV show in seven years. Therefore, you might think I do not know how addictive TV is. I do know. I used to watch TV everyday. I would eat my meals in front of the TV and fall to sleep with it on. AND I had my own TV in my bedroom since I was 13. I would sit in front of the tube for hours everyday. I still remember many of the episodes of the Jetsons, Simpsons, Friends, and many other shows (many of them I am embarrassed to mention that I watched them)

In this week’s parsha, it states (Vayikra 18:3), “You shall not follow their customs” and Rashi comments that this means their social obligations like going to theatres and circuses. One of the reasons is because these places are full of filth. The same thing can be said about TV. TV is full of filthy shows. The things that people do and say on the box are disgusting and are ways of the other nations that we should not follow.

But let’s say we can find clean shows on TV — why can’t we watch them? It says in the first chapter of Pirkei Avos, “Ehov Es Ha’Malacha (which translates to mean Love Work”. The Bartenura, one of the greatest commentators on the Mishna (Oral Law) says that this means that even if a person has the means to hire someone else to do everything for him, he should still do some type of work. People should not sit around doing nothing because this leads to craziness.

Ever watch someone watching the tube? They are like zombies. Many people fall to sleep in front of the TV because they are not being active. Psychologists are very popular now because so many people are depressed. One of the reasons I think this may be true is because we sit in front of the TV set doing nothing. I am not going to tell you that you should get rid of your TV (yet). The only way to avoid TV totally is to start out slowly. If you start by unplugging the TV with hopes it is permanently, you will plug it back in next week. My recommendation is to pick one show a day (30 minutes) that you will not watch. During that time, pick up a book, talk with your family or friends, or do a chesed (kind deed) for someone else. Do something during that time! Be active!

Think of it this way: after 120 years when you have a private meeting with Hashem, will he care if you saw every episode of Dancing with the Stars or all 3 hours of the Marlins vs. the Phillies game?

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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By Rabbi Yaacov Seltzer
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