HASHTAGS and ACHDUS

         HASHTAGS and ACHDUS
     
How the #BringBackOurBoys campaign united Jews around the globe
                   Dave Sharper

We live in a age where every thing gets posted online. Everything going on in the world around us, and everything in  our lives, gets posted.
For better or worse, social media has become a part of our life.
Many leaders and others in the religious world decry the constant use of social media as a distraction in our day to day lives.
And they have a valid point.
Social media can become excessive and a distraction to acheiving ones goals and or duties.
But just like everything else in life, social media also has a very positive side to it.
This is the unity engendered among people who are uniting for a cause.
Yes. This is the true power of a simple hashtag.
Early Thursday morning, as we Jews were going about our buisiness, heading to shul, going to work, and where ever else, the shocking news came to us like a punch in the gut.
Three of our beloved Yeshiva boys had been kidnapped.
Eyad, Gilad and Naftali were on their way to yeshiva, when the unthinkable happened.
As the world reeled in shock, pious Jews from across the globe gathered together.

They gathered to do what we Jews have always been doing in times of crisis for the last few thousnd years.
We prayed.
We organized mass vigils and prayer rallies in shuls, schools, and public centers around the globe.
We tore apart the heavens with our heart felt pleas for the safe return of our brothers.
All this praying and pleading is great, and neccessary of course.
But the inevitable question always arises, what else can be done?
Yes, we pray. Yes, we learn Torah. Yes, we do good deeds. But is there any thing more we can do for our boys?
The answer came surprisingly enough in the form of a tweet.
One innovative social media activist decided to take up the cause on twitter, and created the simple hashtag #BringBackOurBoys.
And it worked.
With in just a mere few hours, the hashtag had caught on, and was being posted on thousands of twitter, facebook, and instagram accounts around the globe.
#BringBackOurBoys had taken on a life of its own.
Its now six days later, hundreds of thousands of tweets later, and now, thanks to one man's ingenuity and a simple hashtag, the entire world has taken notice of the plight of our three boys.
The hashtag has literally united people of every stripe race and creed to pray and call out for the safe return of our boys.
Politicians everywhere have shown their support for Israel with this hashtag.
Busses have the hashtag emblazoned now across their sides.
And even a song has just been written by two of the Jewish Music world's  big superstars titled 'Bring back our boys'.
What we can take out from all this, I think, is how powerful social media can be when used as a tool for  the good.
Technology when used in the service of a good cause has literally endless potential.
This is the true story behind how one hashtag has united klal Yisroel, and caused the world to take notice of our plight.
What are you going to accomplish with social media and technology today?
The possibilities are endless.
Let us hope and pray that this story ends well, and our boys are quickly found and reunited with their families immediately.
May it be his will.