14 Oct Q&A WITH RABBI GIL STUDENT

When did you start blogging?
I started blogging 20 years ago, in 2004,
when blogs were still a new thing. I saw
some blogs saying things about halachah
that I thought was wrong and decided
to provide a more authentic view. So I
started a blog to write about halachah
and it became popular very quickly. The
comments section generated a lot of
quality discussion from serious thinkers. At
that time, the blog was where important
communal issues were discussed. That
energy and excitement encouraged me to
continue, which I did on a daily basis for
years. People were watching. To a degree,
the blog influenced communal decision
making.
When did you stop blogging and why?
In 2013, I felt that blogs had run their course.
Other forms of social media had taken the
bulk of conversation and blogs were no
longer a place for meaningful discussions.
In response to the changing trends, I turned
the blog into an online magazine, with
an editorial board and multiple regular
contributors. And I started a feature that I
call the Daily Reyd, which consists of links to
news stories that are important for Jewish
leaders. Over the past 11 years, we have
continued to publish interesting articles
on a daily basis that relate to cutting edge
issues.
What did you get out of blogging?
The blogging created a community. I often
meet people for the first time who say they
feel like they know me from reading the
blog or the Daily Reyd. At one point I tried
to monetize it but that never amounted
to much. But it did get newspaper editors
interested in me. The Jewish Press was
the first that asked me to write for them.
Other newspapers did, as well, including
the Jewish Vues. Ultimately, the blog led
to a job for me at the OU. They asked me
to write a book review of a machzor they
published and that got my name noticed.
Then when there was a relevant position,
they asked me to interview for it. I worked
there for two great years. But mostly, the
blog got attention for my ideas. When they
were good, people appreciated them.
Why did you write this book?
This book is part of a celebration of twenty
years of blogging and online writing. Mostly,
though, it is a reflection on the impact of
the Internet on Jewish thought. I see the
Internet as important and world-changing
like the printing press. Not long after the
printing press, the Catholic Church split
in half with the Reformation and Europe
got into centuries of religious wars. What
impact will the Internet have on Orthodox
Judaism and what can we do about it?

I have some preliminary thoughts of
what this widespread availability of
information and texts, as well as opinions,
means to Orthodox Judaism. I believe
in rabbinic authority but how does it
function when people just Google their
halachic questions? Or ask questions to
an AI? Rabbis need to anticipate these
problems and act strategically before
these problems get worse. The book
is available at KodeshPress.com and
elsewhere but it’s always best to ask for it
at your local bookstore. Encourage them
to order a few so other people will see it
and buy a copy.
Who is the book for?
This book is for people interested in
big questions. I quote many secular and
non-Orthodox sources — and even have a
chapter in the book defending that practice
halachically. I believe in understanding
an opinion before disagreeing with it.
Therefore, I explain a view as generously as
possible before critiquing it. Not everyone
is comfortable reading opposing opinions,
particularly on religious issues.
Who gave haskamos to the book?
The book has haskamos from Rav
Menachem Genack and Rav Mordechai
Willig. Rav Willig points out that not
everyone will be comfortable with the
book but ultimately I follow the views of
my rabbeim.
What challenge does the internet pose
to traditional Jewish faith that you are
trying to answer?
The internet is about empowering the
individual. It offers unlimited choices.
Judaism is about following authority —
only kosher food, halachah in all its details.
Ask your rabbi questions, don’t figure it out
on your own. The internet breeds cynicism
and individualism. Cynicism is corrosive
to the soul. How do we get people to be
positive about religion, about limitations,
about religious authority? How do we
convince people that they are not experts
in everything just because they listened
to a podcast? How do we get people to
relinquish autonomy and independence
when society in general, and particularly
the Internet, teach the opposite?
Do you have a filter on your computer?
Two. I believe in double filtering.
What is the most controversial idea in
the book?
That there is value in understanding what
your opponents think. Usually, you are
arguing with smart people. It is useful to
put yourself in their positions and ask what
they believe and why. Only then will you be
able to argue with them convincingly and
effectively.
What is the strangest story in the
book?
This isn’t really a book of stories but in
the introduction I mention two chapters
which, when I presented them at various
conferences, I received angry response
from left-wing Orthodox rabbis. There
was actual yelling.
What is the most surprising story in the
book?
There is a chapter about the mechitzah
controversy in the 1950s and 1960s, in
which I defend the Orthodox position
against critics in the Conservative
movement. Many of those critics were
cynical and attacked Rav Moshe Feinstein
and Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik as if those
gedolim did not know basic texts, when
in reality the critics only had a superficial
understanding. Before publishing that
chapter as an article years ago, I showed it
to the Conservative rabbi of my youth to get
his permission, as a courtesy. He returned it
and said that he agreed with everything I
had written! Just another example of some
old-time Conservative rabbis who were
really Orthodox at heart.
What is your favorite Shabbos dish?
I go crazy for potato kugel. Simple but a
classic.
What is your favorite zemiros?
I don’t like singing zemiros and avoid it
whenever possible.
What is the most unusual sefer you own?
I have a lot of unconventional sefarim,
including a collection of halachic manuals
published for IDF soldiers. They are pocket
size so soldiers can carry them.
What is your most controversial Torah
thought?
I’m not convinced that when someone who
doesn’t believe in Torah does a mitzvah,
it actually counts for a mitzvah. Although

there are other reasons to encourage them
to do mitzvos.
What is the last Gemara you learned?
Zevachim 97
What is the last book you read?
Hakham Tsevi Ashkenazi and the
Battlegrounds of the Early Modern
Rabbinate by R. Yosie Levine
What time do you go to sleep at night
and what time do you wake up?
I try to go to sleep at 11:45. My alarm wakes
me up at 5:45.
What kind of a name is Gil Student?
Gil is a common Israeli name (my mother is
Israeli). I found online the Polish records of
my great-grandfather’s birth. His parents’
last name was Student, even in the Polish
shtetl.
Where did you get smicha?
I have private Yoreh Yoreh smicha from Rav
Hershel Schachter, Rav Menachem Genack
and Rav Elazar Teitz. I have Yadin Yadin
smicha from Kollel Ayshel Avrohom.
Who do you ask your shailos to?
I ask my personal shailos to the rabbi of my
shul, which is what I strongly encourage in
my book. I think it’s personally important
to have that kind of relationship and also
halachically required. I usually ask my Klal
Yisrael questions to Rav Mordechai Willig.
What is next for Rabbi Gil Student?
I am working on two scholarly articles.
One about revoking smicha from a rabbi.
Another about the history of Halachic
Values.