Rishon L’Tzion HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef Shlita has come out strongly against rabbonim and dayanim who use a smartphone.

He remarked, “Rabbonim and dayanim – how can they possible sit in judgment in Israel when they have an iPhone? Their fitness to serve as dayanim is in question if they have an iPhone. This must be discussed. I am not stating this with absolute certainty, but this is most serious for they must serve as an example [to others]”.

Rav Yosef added, “I know a famous important rav, whose name I am not going to release, who during chazaras hashatz was busy messaging with his iPhone. First of all, you are in the midst of chazaras hashatz, secondly, you are using an iPhone, and thirdly, the entire tzibur sees this and question ‘this is a rav in Israel, who has an iPhone'”?.

The rav conclude, “The director-general of the Rabbanut gave me an iPhone as a gift, the best one there is. He gave it to me with the packaging explaining ‘this is given to the rav from the state’. I told him ‘chas v’sholom that I should make call from this? Return it and bring me a kosher phone’. I then told him I do not want that either for it is bitul Torah.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)