r/Judaism

Forget how I got introduced to Reddit.  It must have been through another article about how Jews collected to a designated topic published in The Forward or JTA.  I signed on and have been a regular contributor.  I don't know if there are trolls.  There don't seem to be, though I rarely read any of the comments that other responders make to the original post.  They gave me a handle, which I use.  And by now I have established a pattern of what I will and will not address.  A lot of posts come with a link to some other article, usually a reputable one from a respected source, though I scroll past these.  I want to read what the posters present, not what somebody else created that they want to convey.

Most of the participants are far younger than me.  They have themes that young people solicit advice to address.  Many are exploring Judaism for the first time, either as potential converts, people raised in secular homes, or people invited to a synagogue for the first time.  Others want background information, looking for basic sources for new entrants or those rediscovering to get their bearings.  Young guys know the internet sites.  I know the classic books.

There's some culture to exchange, notes on cuisine.  There's also some pilpul which I usually scroll past.  Unfortunately, internet anti-Semitism impacts most of them a lot more than it does me as a late life rather successful Jew with far less future uncertainty than most of them anticipate.

Most of all, it gives me a chance to be helpful to somebody I don't know in an electronic environment that appears considerably more respectful than most.