Question:
I have a friend who enjoys watching videos of pranks on You Tube. He laughs as a person trips over the slippery floor, sits on wet paint, or gets locked in the bathroom. I was wondering if their is something hashkafically wrong with watching these videos— doesn’t the Torah say “בנפל אויבך אל תשמח”? Doesn’t this principle apply also to people whom we do not know and we are just watching a video of what happened? Doesn’t that “pleasure” stem from bad middos?
Answer:
These are “madreigas”, and correct, but not everyone is holding on this level. Besides we don’t even know if what we are seeing is real, or just a show. I think there is much more of an issue with watching things on You Tube, as most of us know what the gedolim have to say about watching things on the internet, especially You Tube which contains the most inappropriate videos.
