Land says: The land and everything that fills it, the world and all who dwell in it, are God’s (Psalms 24:1). And it says: From the edge of the land we heard songs, an honor for the righteous (Isaiah 24:16). — Perek Shira, 1:2

Mired in Social Media

“Get off your screens!” they say. “Go outside if you can!” I’m sure they are right. So every day, I do three special things: feed the crows, photograph the plants, and watch the sunset.

But the rest of the time, I’m watching a screen. Okay, not every second. But often. Sometimes I’m working—reading, writing, meeting. But too often, I’m scrolling through social media.

Sure, it’s helpful to follow the news. It’s fun to watch cat videos, laugh at comedy, chat with friends. But that’s only a fraction of what I see. Mostly, I watch pundits prattle, politicians bloviate, and bots provoke each other.

It’s addictive. It’s like reading endless horror stories by great sci fi writers—Poe, Jackson, Bradbury, Butler. Except the plot is endlessly unsatisfying. Stories don’t resolve, and everyone’s a villain. Sure, I reap a little schadenfreude while judging the feed’s stupidity. Plus a thing or two or three I might buy when I click on a passing ad.

Escape to the Land

So I make sure to go outdoors every day, to free up my mind for a bit. To remember that I’m on the land, earthy and sturdy. That, as Kohelet says, “a generation comes, a generation goes, and the land endures forever” (Eccles. 1:4). I go out to see “the land and the creatures that fill it” (Psalms 24:1)—creatures unconcerned by the turmoil on my screen. I go to peek at their form of life. And, as Perek Shira might say, to listen to their song.

A song from the edge of the land to—I hope—the center of my consciousness.

Wings of the Land

The “edge” of the land. The Biblical Hebrew word kanaf means “edge,” “corner,” and also “wing.” Wings can carry us from the corners of the land to a new center. As God says, summarizing the exodus from Egypt, “I carried you on kanfei nesharim, the wings of eagles, and brought you to me” (Exod. 19:4).

What a beautiful image! Sometimes, when I am outdoors, lost in thought, I hear music, just at the edge of my consciousness. An eagle’s silvery chime, a finch’s sweet note, a raven’s throaty trill, or a crow’s quiet crackle. So I pay attention. My ears refocus on faraway sounds. My eyes scan the skies, the trees, the ground. And I feel the expanse around me. The openness, the grandeur, the infinity that helps me feel divine presence. A sense that the land and everyone who fills it stands in that presence.

An Honor for the Righteous?

Why does Isaiah say this sense of presence is tzvi latzadik—an honor for the righteous?

Tzadik in biblical Hebrew is a good, ethical, uncorrupted person. In Hasidic talk, a Tzadik is a spiritual teacher, experienced, deep, evolved. One who can shift their awareness at will. From narrow mind (mochin d’katnut), to expansive mind (mochin d’gadlut).

The biblical Hebrew word tzvi means honor, beauty, adornment. The word also means mountain gazelle, an elegant, agile antelope native to the middle east. Imagine a consciousness that is agile and swift! One that can turn away at will from the lure of social media. From the meanness and marketing that overwhelms the news. Perhaps, if I had that kind of consciousness, I would have a better chance at goodness.

Breakdown and Recovery

Am I wrenching Isaiah’s words from his historical context? I’m not so sure. Of course Isaiah isn’t commenting on social media. But it’s not actually clear what he is commenting on. Here, he is speaking an oracle of doom. But it’s addressed to no particular nation; it references no particular event. Instead, it describes “a global, societal breakdown” and “the world’s subsequent recovery” (Steinsaltz).

Our social world is, in many ways, breaking down. On social media, it’s breaking down in almost every way. Hyperbole, accusation, outrage—and yes, propaganda—frame most communication. Perhaps things can change, and social media can facilitate the world’s recovery. But for now, I only know that stepping away from it will facilitate my own recovery.

Photos: Raven in Yellowknife, BC, and Crow over Mountain View Cemetery Vancouver, BC. Both by Laura Duhan-Kaplan

**Number two in my Perek Shira Series. Stay tuned for more!