uh oh
After all the halachic statements about owners of smartphones, being witnesses, being allowed to be called up to the Torah, if they can be counted as part of a minyan, we finally have the most serious of them all, and might even put an end to the entire discussion.
Rav Chaim Kanievsky is being quoted on the topic by someone who claims to have asked, and is now publicizing the answer in Haredi areas around Israel through a popular poster with discussions of halachic issues.
The fellow says he asked Rav Kanievsky regarding a gemara that says somebody who regularly walks behind a woman in the river loses his portion in Olam HaBa. He asked Rav Kanievsky - based on that gemara, somebody who has a smartphone or internet (unfiltered, I assume) - is he included in that gemara's statement - does he also not have a portion in OlamHaBa?
Rav Chaim's answer, supposedly, was just one word long - "definitely", is what he said.
(source: Bechadrei)
That deems the rest of the discussion to be redundant. It took a while to lead up to it, but the move to the extreme is now complete (unless you can think of something more extreme than this). Do any of these other issues matter, if I have lost my portion in Olam HaBa? Would I care about the rest if I already lost my portion? His one-word answer does not even seem to allow a differentiation between people who have it due to what is considered acceptable purposes (work, or whatever) and people who have it with no excuse (if you believe an excuse is necessary)..
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