Why a Torah Lens Is the Only Way to See the World Clearly

It happened at a startup event.

I was a startup founder eager to learn.
A well-known venture capitalist was giving a talk—brilliant, experienced, confident. He was sharing powerful tips about growing a business, the kind of insight people pay thousands to hear.

But then, in the middle of a completely unrelated point, he casually said:

“Of course, we all know evolution is true. It’s a fact. Man came from monkeys. That’s just basic.”

He didn’t say it as an opinion. He said it like it was gravity—undeniable, unarguable.

And just like that, it hit me.

He wasn’t talking about evolution. He was modeling a mindset.
He used his authority to sneak in a belief system—because the people listening already had their minds wide open.

If I didn’t have a strong Torah lens, I might have absorbed that idea like it was truth. No questions. No hesitation. Just—click—added to my worldview.

And if it can happen in a tech startup talk, what’s happening in college classrooms?

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The Problem Is Bigger Than One VC Talk

College professors are trusted experts. Students come in with wide open minds, eager to grow—and all too often, they end up absorbing not just knowledge, but entire worldviews.

Ideas that contradict Torah. Values that distort truth. Movements built on hate, chaos, or confusion.

We’ve seen it over and over again:
Students who genuinely want to do good, who care about justice, end up marching for causes they don’t even understand — causes that, are often built on lies, driven by confusion, and fueled by hate.

They might not be evil. They might not be trying to hurt anyone.
They just don’t have the tools to filter what’s true from what’s dangerous.

Because the world told them to have an open mind.

And they listened.

I’ve met teens who were on fire for Torah by the end of post high school yeshiva—passionate, curious, inspired.

Then came one semester of college. One professor. One podcast.

And suddenly, it was all up for debate.

Not because they stopped caring.

But because they didn’t see the cracks forming—until it all crumbled.

And by then, they didn’t know how to rebuild.

That’s what happens when your mind is wide open, but unguarded.

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The Subconscious Doesn’t Have a Spam Folder

From the time we’re kids, our minds are wide open. Every experience, every line from a teacher or video or influencer—it all gets recorded.

Our subconscious doesn’t ask, “Is this Torah?”
It just absorbs.

And the things we absorb—especially when we’re young—become the foundation for how we see the world.

That’s why so many teens struggle later in life. I’ve seen it firsthand.
My wife and I ran our local chapter of NCSY, and over the years I’ve worked with hundreds of Jewish teens.

The pattern was often the same:

They were taught Torah as a story—sweet, simple, and for kids.
Then they met the secular world.
And suddenly, that child-level understanding of Torah didn’t hold up.

They made adult decisions—with a child’s understanding of Torah.

And just like that, Torah looked outdated. Primitive. Like “just another religion.”

But it wasn’t Torah that was lacking.

It was the lens.

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You Wouldn’t Hand Your Wallet to a Stranger… So Why Your Mind?

Imagine you’re walking alone and someone starts following you. You turn, and they call out to you.
Do you open up? Share your name? Your deepest thoughts?

Of course not.
You’re cautious. You protect yourself.

But when a well-edited video pops up online… when a confident speaker on stage drops a line that sounds profound… we let it in without hesitation.

We guard our wallets more than we guard our minds.

But your mind is your most valuable asset.
And the Torah? It filters the noise — and protects the truth.

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The Torah Is Your Lens

Hashem didn’t leave us to figure out the world alone.

He gave us Torah. The Blueprint of the world.

Not just as a book of laws, but a lens to truly see the world through.

“ובחרת בחיים” — Choose life.
The Torah is what shows us how.

It helps us see clearly:

• What’s true and what’s false.
  
• What’s wise and what’s foolish.
  
• What’s eternal and what’s just noise.
  

And the stronger that lens becomes, the clearer the world becomes.

You strengthen it by living a Torah life.
You polish it by learning Torah every single day.

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Not Everyone Can “Take the Fruit and Discard the Peel”

There’s a famous story in the Gemara about Elisha ben Avuya—Acher. Once a great Torah scholar, he left the path. But his student, Rabbi Meir, still learned Torah from him.

When asked how he could learn from someone who left the derech, Rabbi Meir answered:

“I eat the fruit and discard the peel.”

He had such clarity, such a powerful Torah lens, that he could extract truth and leave the rest.

But let’s be honest—most of us aren’t Rabbi Meir.

Most of us hear something that sounds right… and it slips into our thinking before we even notice.

That’s why we need a strong lens.

Because if you don’t filter the world through Torah, you’ll start filtering Torah through the world.

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Even AI Can’t Replace the Torah Lens

A friend recently wanted to do the mitzvah of shiluach hakan—sending away the mother bird and taking the eggs.

He asked ChatGPT for the halachot. It told him the mother bird sits on the nest during the day.

I told him that was wrong.

He asked ChatGPT again… and this time it said the opposite:

“The mother usually sits on the nest at night.”

Two completely different answers, stated with the same confidence.

ChatGPT is powerful. AI is impressive.

But it doesn’t know truth.
It doesn’t know Hashem.
It doesn’t see the world through Torah.

You can’t outsource emet (truth).

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Don’t Be Fooled by the Loudest Voice

I once watched a speaker walk on stage, start to light a cigarette, and shock the audience.

Then he spoke:

“Cigarettes aren’t the problem. Sugar is worse. You’re more likely to die from a Snickers bar than this. The leading cause of lung cancer is not smoking, it’s your DNA.”

He was persuasive. Smooth. Convincing.

By the end, people were nodding. Some were ready to believe him.

Then he said:

“I made all of that up. I just wanted to prove that if you say something confidently enough, people will believe anything.”

That’s the world we live in.
Loud voices. Strong opinions. No filters. No clarity.

Unless you have a Torah lens.

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So What Can You Do?

Don’t aim for an open mind.
Aim for a clear one.

A mind that’s grounded in Torah.
A heart that filters the world through truth.
A soul that only lets in what brings you closer to Hashem.

Start small:

• Open a sefer. One pasuk. One idea. Every day.
  
• Be mindful of what you listen to, what you scroll through, who you follow.
  
• Question everything—but through the lens of Torah.
  

A loud voice is not clarity.
A viral clip is not clarity.
A confident speaker is not clarity.

Clarity is knowing who you are.
Clarity is seeing the world through Hashem’s eyes.
Clarity is Torah.

Because when your lens is strong, your vision is clear.
And when your vision is clear, you don’t just see the world differently—

You live differently.

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Ready to strengthen your lens?

It starts today.

Not with a leap. With a step.

Choose Torah.

Choose clarity.

Choose life — and live it with your eyes open.