gain from what the nations have to offer to us

 Q: Do we gain the maximum benefit by staying to ourselves,

separate from the goyim? Wouldn’t it be beneficial for us to gain

from what the nations have to offer to us?

A: When you see an airplane take off for Eretz Yisroel, and inside there are many

people going to yeshivos to learn in Eretz Yisroel, that’s an example where we are

taking advantage of what the gentiles have to offer us. R’ Akiva Eiger didn’t invent an

airplane, and neither did the Vilna Gaon invent the airplane. The goyim invented it.

So we say, absolutely; utilize all that we can from the inventions of the goyim. Even

the scientific knowledge that the goyim have discovered we use. Make use of

everything; whatever we can we take it for ourselves.

Now, I think that when Moshiach will come, we’ll still use automobiles; we won’t

give up automobiles. The world will continue to run like it does today. The Gemara

says that. And if there will be automobiles, so there will have to be traffic lights too.

Traffic lights were invented by the goyim but there will be traffic lights too in the

time of Moshiach. On the contrary, there will be halachos, takanos chachomim: If a

person passes a red light, he’ll get malkos, lashes. No question about it. There will be

very severe penalties. That’s very important for us – for safety, piku’ach nefesh.

We’ll make use in Moshiach’s times of all the good takanos. I’m sure they’ll use

radio to let people know dinim, halachos, other important information; and people

will listen to Torah on the radio. And in those days there will be a kosher TV. Kosher

TV means people will sit in their homes and will look at the TV and they will see

tzaddikim teaching Torah and explaining things – halachos, and middos tovos, and

even halachos of Yom Tov and halachos of Shabbos on TV; and it will be much more

effective than merely words or printed pages. I’m sure all the modern inventions will

be utilized in the days of Moshiach. Therefore, certainly we want to make use of the

benefits the goyim bring to the world.

R' Avigdor Miller Zt"

Toras Avigdor

"Greatness of Jewish Women"