Why a blog? Why me? Why now?

I've always been leery of the blog world, for reasons that are shared by many. Yet, after years of scorning blogs and resisting occasional suggestions to start one, here I am doing just that for many of the same reasons:

1) Lack of quality control

In principle quality control is a good thing. We want to believe that when we pick up a newspaper or periodical we are reading material that is accurate, polished, and worthy of significant attention. We want to believe that the time and money we invest in reading this material will prove a worthy investment. We trust editors to deliver to us this high-quality content and filter out what we don't care to see.

But the editor does more than decide what we see and what we don't; the presence of an editor provides an important gateway between the writer's inspiration and the published word.

We've all written emails and clicked on the "send" button a fraction of a second before wanting to edit something or take it back altogether. Sometimes the consequences could have disastrous personal or professional ramifications. Sometimes it would be very convenient to have a trusted editor review that email before clicking the "send" button for us.

Of course that isn't feasible, but the difference between email and blogging is that blogging is generally meant for a wider audience. Blogging allows for anyone to write anything and publish it instantly for a potentially large audience. This lack of quality control doesn't only mean that all sorts of junk doesn't get filtered out. It means that even the good writers can dispense with a time-delay from idea to public announcement to allow that idea to gestate properly.

Sure, responsible people will institute their own quality control measures, but that takes seriousness, integrity, patience, good judgment, humility, and discipline. Not exactly the common standard, and not a place I'm comfortable hanging out.

2) Lots of idiots making lots of noise

This is similar to #1, but what I refer to specifically here is the fact that blogs tend not to provide good forums for intelligent and meaningful discussion. It's like being in a large auditorium with dozens or hundreds of people all speaking at once, all vying for attention, all trying to outdo the next person with some witty line or clever put-down, all with their own agenda, all trying to steer the discussion in a different direction. Oh, and the auditorium is pitch black, so you don't even see who you're talking to and have no basis for determining the credibility of the person behind the opinion.

It's like being at one of those large Shabbos meals with three different discussions going on at once, only exponentially larger and the other guests haven't been chosen for their ability to contribute to the discussion or the atmosphere.

These aren't places I'd like to find myself, which is why I rarely get involved in discussions on blogs. I like to know who I'm speaking with, and I like to know the discussion is more than a perverse sort of entertainment for the others involved. Otherwise, I have better things to do, and if I don't, I should. So should they.

3) It's just too much

Also similar to #1, but the specific point here is that one can get completely drowned in a sea of blogs with no end to it. I acknowledge that this is not the most rational concern; I feel the same way walking into a library and staring at thousands of books that I know I will never read, yet feeling that there is so much treasure that I will necessarily miss.

Is that a reason to read nothing? Of course not. We learn Torah with the understanding that we can never finish, and that most of us will barely even make a dent, yet we try to prepare a personal curriculum that is meaningful to us and will help us progress. Blogs offer the same opportunity. Surely there are great blogs out there that would be just great for us on an individual basis, and we should focus more on that positive than throwing away the whole thing because it's just too big.

Still, it really is just too big, and I don't want to get lost in some online, semi-real world with no end to it.

4) It lacks a human element

Say what you will about connecting with people all over the world, but there's no substitute for having a connection with real people in person. There is a different dynamic when one gives a Dvar Torah to a group of people than when one posts it on a web site. Call it quantity versus quality if you will. But whatever you call it, it just isn't the same.

5) Blogging is a narcissistic endeavor

Look at me! Look at my blog! I'm so smart, witty, and important! I have lots of followers! I own this conversation! I'm going to promote myself and my blog at every opportunity! You should too!

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Yet, here I am starting a blog. Here's why, in response to each of the above.

1) I'm fed up with editors. This is nothing new. I've been fed up with them since I started dealing with them as a teenager; my high school yearbook quote is "Though an angel should write, / still ’tis devils must print" (Thomas Moore). I say only semi-facetiously that most of the time editors should just get out of the way and let me do my thing.

The problem is that editors don't do this. Editors shouldn't do this. And even when they should, rare is the editor who doesn't feel the burning need to get his fingerprints on everything he publishes. They don't seem able to just leave something alone and let it be. They have to tweak and tinker if only to justify their existence.

And I would estimate that only 10% of the time is their tweak or tinker an actual improvement. If the writer is lucky it's neutral (in which case the change should also not be made; let the writer speak in his own voice whenever possible).

This can be mildly irritating or seriously frustrating, but sometimes editors make significant alterations without even running it by the writer. They may feel this is their right or their responsibility, or they may feel that these changes are not so significant, but I'm not starting this blog to rationalize for editors. I've been driven to this in large part because of such practices.

I'll discuss a few incidents in more detail in a post devoted to it and censorship in general.

Bottom line: when the quality control is more control than quality, it's time to look for a new outlet.

2) Lots of idiots making lots of noise? No doubt. I'm hoping the intelligent voices will be heard above the fray.

One item to note at the outset is that this won't be like many blogs where Anonymous can have long, unintelligent conversations with himself. You know who I am. If you have something to comment, I'd like you to remove your superhero mask too.

3) This blog will not become my life. I see at as a place for me to be able write freely and fully, hopefully for an audience that is interested in that. My vision is to post something of moderate length on average once a week or so, and smaller items along the way. I'm not going to post just for the sake of posting, since that isn't worthwhile for me or for you. I also never wrote articles just to have my name in the newspaper, and turned down gigs that would potentially force me to write just for the sake of writing. That's not why I do this.

4) I'm hoping this blog will reach real people and make a difference. It will hopefully be a springboard for meaningful human interaction. Anonymous and superjew28 are not invited.

5) What can I say, to a certain extent this is a narcissistic endeavor. It's unavoidable. I believe I have ideas worth writing and sharing, and I'm hoping people will devote some of their time to reading them and participating. But I can say that is more idea-driven than ego-driven, and if the yetzer hara has some part in bringing this to life, so be it. We're supposed to use the yetzer hara for good things.

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This blog will be devoted in large part to projecting the authentic Torah values that are often glaringly absent from our society, with the hope of opening eyes, educating, and providing support for those who feel lost in a world gone mad. Particular focus will be devoted to the shidduch world, with plenty of attention also given to Israel, Jewish education, and general Jewish issues.

But the above is a general theme more than a rule. What I'll really post is what may move me at any given time. The above categories frequently move me, so they will be ever-present, but this will be an eclectic blog. I hope it will always be interesting, thought-provoking, entertaining, and engaging.

Hello out there.