Q:
Which newspaper would be OK to read at least compared to the others?
A:
The gentile newspapers? None of them are kosher. Maybe the best of them would be the New York Post or the Wall Street Journal – but you shouldn’t waste your time on any of them – they’re all garbage. They’re poison for your mind.
You should know that the reading of gentile material – and the reading of not frum Jewish material as well – is not good for you. Look, I know all the news and I never bought a paper. I walk past the newspapers on the street and I look at the headlines and that’s all I need. I wouldn’t spend a nickel on that garbage. And for someone to walk on the street with a newspaper under his arm – that’s a stupidity. You’re advertising to the world that you’re a shoiteh.
And therefore, if you want to be an intelligent man then use your mind only for good things.
And don’t fill it with all the foolishness of the Umos Ha’Olam. You have to recognize that the world is full of – especially today. And therefore you have to guard your mind. Your mind is so important, so precious. “Mi’kol mishmar nitzor li’becha,” (Mishlei 4-23) – More than anything that you guard, guard your mind. “Ki mimenu toitz’os chayim” – Because from the mind comes all the results of life. More than anything that you guard, you must guard your mind. Did you ever see the people who bring money into a bank? Two guards come out of the truck with revolvers and they’re looking around – watching. Why are they watching? They’re watching the money. You have to guard your mind much more than that. “Mi’kol mishmar nitzor li’becha.” What you really need is two guards with revolvers, near your ears and near your eyes to watch over your mind. To make sure to not allow anything that’s wrong to enter into your mind through your eyes and ears. It’s so important. “Mi’kol mishmar nitzor li’becha.” More than anything that you guard, guard your mind. “Ki mimenu toitz’os chayim.” Your mind is so precious. That’s what you will be taking with you to the next world. All that you accomplish in life is because of your mind. You must fill your mind with all the emes of the Torah. There are so many important lessons and so many important truths that you must learn and internalize. So many different seforim and ideas to learn. Even chumash you have to learn more and more thoroughly.
And you have to start practicing some of these great ideals. It takes a long time. There’s no time to read the newspaper. And there’s no reason to fill your mind with shtus. You have to decide – I’m going to start to fill my mind with all the precious ideas that I can. Make it your career in your life. And you can’t do it by yourself. You have to have teachers. You have to have seforim. You have to make it your career to fill your mind with Torah attitudes and ideas.
TAPE # E-241
