‘Google Glass’ Helps Stanford Rabbi Deliver a Clear Message

Ever hear of the writing on the wall? Well, how about the writing on the lenses . . .

Rabbi Dov Greenberg, executive director of Chabad at Stanford University, in the high-tech haven of Palo Alto, Calif., certainly has. In fact, he’s using one of the hottest new technologies to help enlighten Jewish students.

On Tuesday, he set up a stand at White Plaza in the center of campus, offering tefillin-wrapping. He also offered a nifty contraption to assist in that endeavor, the “Google Glass”—a wearable computer with a head-mounted display that’s one of the most sought-after items in the world.

Greenberg said about 40 students that day put on tefillin, small black leather cubes containing parchment scrolls inscribed with the Shema and other biblical passages, wrapped on the arm and head during weekday morning prayers. They also donned the “Google Glass” to see the relevant blessings, in Hebrew and transliterated English, on a screen to be recited as they prayed.

Gabe Glaun recites the Shema Yisrael prayer, a fundamental expression of Jewish faith.

“I’m surprised by the interest,” acknowledged Greenberg, who has been at Stanford for 11 years. “I think they appreciated it very much. Some students said it was a first time for both. One student said, ‘I’ve just been Bar Mitzvahed!’; he never really had one.”

The “Google Glass” was lent to the rabbi by Stanford students. The blessings panel was custom-designed by a Stanford alum who works at Apple, created as a small app that functions with the glasses.

Greenberg said he has gotten calls from around the United States and the world about what he honestly said was “a marketing thing.” And he plans to set up the “Google Glass Tefillin Stand” one more time in the next week, before the students leave for summer break.

“There’s a view—I hear it on campus almost every day—that in an age like ours, of unprecedented change, our values too must change,” said Greenberg. “Forget marriage; forget virtues like faithfulness and civility; and above all, forget religion. They’re old; they’re past their expiration date. For heaven’s sake, aren’t we living in the 21st century?

“But it’s a view that couldn’t be more wrong. It’s when the winds blow the hardest that you need the deepest roots. When you’re entering uncharted territory, it’s then that you need a compass to give you a sense of direction. What gives us the strength to cope with change are the things that don’t change—a loving family, a supportive community, sacred texts and traditions that preserve the wisdom of the past.

“As I watched students wrap tefillin at Stanford,” summed up the rabbi, “it became clear to me that those who carry with them the heritage of the past are those who can face the future without fear.”

The blessings panel was custom-designed by a Stanford alum who works at Apple, created as a small app that functions with the glasses, used here by Bryan Smith.