Rabbi Jason Miller

One might think that rabbinical students spend much of their days sitting in the beit midrash arguing over sections of the Talmud containing the debates of the medieval sages. That's only partially correct. When I was in rabbinical school, I remember the arguments we had (students and teachers) over which is the best Hebrew word processor.

Google is making another effort to successfully compete with Facebook in social networking. Google Buzz and Google Wave never caught on, but Google can't afford to fail with their latest attempt Google Plus. The problem is that over 750 million people worldwide have already built up their Facebook profiles and might not be willing to invest the time in Google Plus.

Is Twitter a good medium for Judaism? Two articles were recently posted on the Web that took opposing viewpoints on this question.

Cross-posted at blog.RabbiJason.com

It's not uncommon for tech savvy Jews in Cyberspace to develop online relationships with other Jews who frequent some of the same social networking sites and blogs. These relationships, however, often remain in Cyberspace. Sure, there are the occasional conferences and retreats in which techie Jews will meet in the "real world," but most of the communication takes place online.

Twitter is still in its infancy and users around the globe continue to discover new ways to use the microblogging application. One national Jewish organization is now looking to release an entire encyclopedia via Twitter. If you think that sending out the content from an encyclopedia in less than 140 characters at a time might take a long time... well, you're correct.

The Jewish Women's Archive has begun to tweet The Jewish Women's Encyclopedia. The Twitter feed can be followed at #jwapedia

Previously on the "Jewish Techs" blog, I discussed the technical halachic (Jewish legal) minutae surrounding the permissability of using the Amigo Shabbat Scooter from the Israeli-based Zomet Institute. The Shabbat Scooter is made by Michigan-based Amigo, founded by Allan Thieme, which began making the Jewish Sabbath-approved scooters six years ago.

There has been much talk about the increased depression among teens who use Facebook. However, Larry Magid, who is the co-director of the Internet safety organization ConnectSafely.org, says otherwise. The following is Magid's explanation in the Huffington Post:

Leave it to Robert Pass, creator of the Jewish iPhone Community, to put together a comprehensive website with everything a connected, Jewish techie needs to celebrate Purim in the Digital Age. In addition to the Grogger Factory's 2010 contribution to iPurim with their virtual grogger, there are a host of other apps (some old, some new) for this year's Purim celebration. Check out the Purim page of the Jewish iPhone Community.

That's right, Esther's in Vegas. No, not THAT Esther? We'll shift our focus to Queen Esther in less than two weeks. For now, the focus is on another Esther.

According to clinical psychologist Esther Altmann, writing on the MyJewishLearning website, "Anorexia and bulimia are most prevalent within upwardly mobile demographic groups, and are amongst the most emotionally and physically devastating disorders affecting young Jewish women. The Jewish community has become increasingly aware that eating disorders are a serious health concern and, in some cases, a life threatening condition."