Text Me Project: Judaism and Technology

A Partnership Between the JEC and The Covenant Foundation

Whether we love it or not, our world of technology continues to move at an astounding pace, permeating our lives in multiple ways. It has the potential to enrich our lives, as well as to create tension, discord, even harm. Families are faced with unprecedented opportunities for connection and learning, along with challenges of safety and the general health and well-being of all family members, especially children.

Goals of the Project

1. Allow for family dialogue about the Jewish /human values issues in the use of technology.
2. Develop a better understanding based on Jewish values of the “plus’s” and “minus’s” of the age of technology in which we are living.
3. Provide a more richly etched picture of how Judaism has responded to technological change in the past.
4. Provide tools of thinking and acting that allow families to tip in the direction of the positives of the technological forces.
5. access core ethical and Jewish dilemmas of the individual and community through the ever present reality of technology.
6. Cultivate awareness of using technology to support Jewish life.

Resources

Below are the resources for the Text-Me Project. It is strongly recommended that one first reads through the Project Overview in order to get a better sense as to how to best utilize these materials.

Project Overview
J-Celebrate Together
Technology, Jewish Values and Our Family
Honor the Individual and the Power of Negative Speech
Online Resources for Text Me Projects