For thousands of years, Jewish people have been called “people of the book;” today, many of us are people of the smartphone. If we wanted to, we could look up a Torah portion, go to TikTok and watch a challah making tutorial, or text friends from other countries with just a few taps. Technology has worked its way into almost every part of our Jewish lives, to how we pray, how we study Torah, and how we interact with other Jews. This raises an important question: Is technology supporting Jewish traditions or stripping it of what makes it special?

Judaism has always adapted to technology. Just as the invention of the Gutenberg printing press placed prayer books and Talmuds in every Jewish home, the internet has achieved the exact same result in the modern world, only on a much larger scale. For example, the open source digital app Sefaria draws upon 755,000 monthly users from 234 countries, effectively digitizing and distributing thousands of years of Torah and Talmud for free. 

The biggest modern turning point was the 2020 Covid epidemic, when synagogues had to shut down, and communities had to make decisions whether services and events had to be moved online. Different movements answered differently: Orthodox ruled out all options for anything online, while Reform was more willing to accept technology. This shows that technology isn't just a tool for Jews, it also raises some real questions about Jewish law and value.

The biggest benefit of technology is accessibility. A Jewish teen in a small town without a big synagogue can now study the same texts as a student in a large Jewish community. About a third of Sefaria's North American users didn’t previously study Jewish texts, which means that technology is reaching people who would never have opened a Talmud otherwise. Live streamed services have kept homebound, sick, and faraway members connected, which lead to many synagogues keeping them after Covid. Social media has also made Jewish culture exciting and easy to share. Jewish creators on TikTok have posted about everything from Shabbat, history, culture, food and more. For Jews who live in small communities, these platforms can be a way to find friends and feel a part of something larger.

Technology also has a darker side. The internet has become the most common place where Jewish Americans run into hate. In 2025, 41% of Jewish Americans said they had experienced antisemitism online in the past year, according to the ADL. Because of this, many people are hiding who they are. In a separate ADL survey, 41% of Jewish adults said they had changed how they act online so they wouldn't be recognized as Jewish. Some Jewish teens don’t want to post Bar or Bat Mitzvah photos online for fear of hateful comments. Technology can also pull us away from the in-person experiences that make Judaism meaningful. A video of a service is not the same as singing next to your community, and some rabbis worry that bringing screens into Shabbat takes away what makes the day feel holy.

Technology is changing how many young Jews connect to their identity. Some people today get more from watching Jewish comedians on TikTok than they ever will from a Shabbat service. This shows a shift: now people experience more and more Judaism through their feeds rather than a classroom or a synagogue. For example, Cameron Bernstein, a creator, teaches Yiddish on TikTok because her family's older generation was pushed to assimilate and never learned it, introducing many people to this part of our heritage. At the same time, traditions like Shabbat now have a new kind of meaning. In a world where we're always online, putting the phone away for a day of rest feels more powerful than ever, as if Judaism invented the "digital detox" thousands of years before it became a trend. Technology isn't erasing Jewish culture. It's changing how we live it. Our generation's job is to use these tools to learn, connect, and stand up for one another, while remembering that some of the most important parts of being Jewish happen when the screens are off.

Sources

• For Many Synagogues, Live-Streamed Services Are Here to Stay After the Pandemic (The Forward)
  For many synagogues, live-streamed services are here to stay after the pandemic

• Why I Won't Zoom My Shabbat Services (Chabad.org)
  Why I Won’t Zoom My Shabbat Services

• Sefaria (Wikipedia)
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sefaria

• Jewish Americans Report Growing Concerns About Antisemitism (Axios)
  Most Jewish Americans say antisemitism now part of daily life, new survey finds

• 6 Jewish Influencers Who Aren't Giving Up on TikTok (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
  https://www.jta.org/2025/05/06/culture/6-jewish-influencers-who-arent-giving-up-on-tiktok

• How Does Antisemitism Affect Jewish Gen Z's Mental Health? (Unpacked)
  https://unpacked.media/how-does-antisemitism-affect-jewish-gen-zs-mental-health/

• Portrait of Antisemitic Experiences in the U.S. 2024–2025 (ADL)
  Portrait of Antisemitic Experiences in the U.S., 2024-2025