Can We Get Better Pictures?

A few people have asked me why the blog images so far are heavy on old paintings and photos of 19th century Jewish leaders.  The short answer:  I am trying to follow the law.

It would be incredibly easy to search Google Images and find the perfect illustration for any given blog post.  From what I've seen, that's what most non-professional bloggers (even rabbi bloggers) do.  But that approach is neither legal nor ethical.  A large portion of the images on the Internet are protected by copyright. 

So what images am I allowed to use?  I try to find images in the public domain or available via a Creative Commons license.  There are lots of websites devoted to collecting images that can be used legally for free.  Hopefully, I'll get better and better at using these resources, and the WHC blog will always have fun, interesting, and legally-used images to go along with our posts.

In paying attention to copyright, we are also following an important Jewish ethical principle:

Whoever says something in the name of the person who said it [first] brings redemption to the world.   (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Chullin 104b)

Giving attribution is also listed in Pirkei Avot (6:6, found here as "Mishna F") as one of the 48 virtues necessary for an individual to "acquire" the Torah.  Based on this statement and others, intellectual property has become a major concern of Jewish ethics.  Some go so far as to say that unfairly appropriating the words/thoughts/creativity of another person violates the Eighth Commandment, "Thou shalt not steal."

So, I apologize if the blog images aren't always the most exciting ones possible.  We are just trying to do our part to bring redemption to the world.