In 1983, Tim Berners-Lee made public the World Wide Web, believing that something so great should be shared and made accessible for all. That ideology has spilled into other areas of digital and tech industry, be it in the design of new and innovative forms of communication or in studying how tech evolution has changed the world as we know it. For those of Jewish heritage, the nature of technology allows for greater unification in a shared belief as well as a common goal to understand the structure of the digital-tech world we inhabit.

I recently had the delight of speaking with Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, who will speak at this year’s Jews in Tech Meetup. Lightstone, along with his wife, run an organization called Tech Tribe. Lightstone himself also acts as the social media editor for Chabad.org and will be host the event #openShabbat on March 8, as well as the meetup on Monday.

“The common thread is to use technology for a higher purpose, to connect people and reveal our shared ability to do good in this world,” he described.

Among the things he finds rewarding about what he does is engaging people from all walks of life in conversation, to see “where they are” on the internet and to share a Jewish experience with them. He hopes the chance to have these online experiences will encourage other Jewish individuals use these experiences offline.

“The internet can feel like a pretty crazy place sometimes, especially as Jews,” he said regarding navigating the great and not-so-great parts of the web. “My hope is to empower people to navigate any perceived darkness they may experience online and give them the ability to channel what they experience for good. I’d love for people to find that needed balance between time online and off.”

To learn more about this topic, you can visit Lightstone at the Jews in Tech Meet Up panel, hostel in the Fairmont Violet from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. on March.