Ten Years!

Wow. I can’t believe that it has been 10 years since I started writing on this blog in October of 2009.

• Although blogging is primarily dead, there are still some diehard bloggers out there, even if the posting has become sporadic.
• This blog has visited many topics over the past decade, and although the hit counter can not rival the mainstream blogs, we still garnered 120,000 views.
• I got into blogging when it relatively new, when Making of a Gadol was all the rage, when the Slifkin episode created a firestorm and before the smart phone explosion.
• I Had one simple goal: to see if blogging and Loshon Hora must go hand in hand. I believe that I have been successful in that mission.
• Over the past 10 years, I have blogged about internet, technology, music and books of yesteryear, Catskills memories, removal of women from publications, and current news and politics.
• The trend to digital learning has grown by leaps and bounds, with almost all the standard texts now available on sites such as hebrewbooks.org. The laptop continues to make inroads in Batei Midrashos as e-learning is the trend of the future. The internet Asifos have made filters mainstream, as TAG has mushroomed into a world-wide phenomenon.
• I mourn the early blogs that are now extinct and particularly the Hamavdil blog written by my great mentor, Bray of Fundamentalist. I mourn him not only because his blog is defunct, but because he passed away some time ago.
• I miss the hat tips, the fierce commenting, the original Hirhurim blog, Dark Blue Hat and most of all, On The Main Line. I miss Mississippi Fred and his incredible insights.
• I am proud to have made a failed attempt with YGB’s help to resurrect the Jewish Observer, and equally proud to have promoted Dialogue Magazine, even though it seems to have met its demise also.
• There were many triumphs, such as the discovery of the Chofetz Chaim video, the discovery of the good side of YouTube, where Rabbis and singers from yesteryear came to life once again.
• The incredible triumph of Trump in the past presidential election, and his strong support of Jewish interests, enables one to see the Guiding Hand that runs the world.
• We blogged Asifos, the Siyum Hashas, wrote reviews for various new music and followed Israel’s quest to land a craft on the moon.
• It has been very rewarding to be part of the conversation for the past 10 years, and I hope to continue, albeit sporadically.
• Thanks to all my readers, commenters and critics.