Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
We determine the dose, how much of this media blast we can take. There are elections coming in March in Israel and we cannot change that fact. However, we do have the power to determine how much media should be allowed into our lives, both as media consumers and producers, and today all of us fit into both categories. Once again ,we alone need to decide whether to get on board this roller coaster, this train of daily spins and twists and turns, video clips, insults, meaningless polls, vacuous assessments, and hot air.
There really is no good reason to get involved in politics again until close to Election Day, and it’s possible to wait until a week before the elections to pay attention to the media. Meanwhile, with all the time we free up by tuning out the media up to the election ,we should be deciding on which books to read, for example. This can also be a good opportunity to do something our politicians don’t do - get to know and appreciate people from across the various sectors of Israeli society that are unfamiliar to us. We shouldn’t be searching for a reason not to sit down with them, but rather we should be looking for and finding the good in other sectors. One more thing: we can also decide that what our children have to tell us during the run-up to the elections is at least as important as what Miki Zohar and Ofer Shelah have to say on the radio and, instead of them, it’s also possible to just listen to good music. So finally, at the end of such a frustrating and intensive week, Shabbat thankfully arrives. Shabbat shalom.
There really is no good reason to get involved in politics again until close to Election Day, and it’s possible to wait until a week before the elections to pay attention to the media. Meanwhile, with all the time we free up by tuning out the media up to the election ,we should be deciding on which books to read, for example. This can also be a good opportunity to do something our politicians don’t do - get to know and appreciate people from across the various sectors of Israeli society that are unfamiliar to us. We shouldn’t be searching for a reason not to sit down with them, but rather we should be looking for and finding the good in other sectors. One more thing: we can also decide that what our children have to tell us during the run-up to the elections is at least as important as what Miki Zohar and Ofer Shelah have to say on the radio and, instead of them, it’s also possible to just listen to good music. So finally, at the end of such a frustrating and intensive week, Shabbat thankfully arrives. Shabbat shalom.
