[Avodah] Newspapers and REW

[Micha Berger]

I just found the following from Revach L'Neshama in my RSS reader.
http://revach.net/article.php?id=4220 (quoted in full, it's short)

    Reb Elchonon Wasserman Reads the Newspaper on His Shtender

    After the passing of his Rebbe the Chofetz Chaim, Reb Elchonon
    inherited the mantle of being Daas Torah for his generation. He would
    defend Torah against attack from the outside and mercilessly fought
    those seeking to destroy it from within.

    To this effort Reb Elchonon felt the need to keep up with the goings
    on in the world and would read the newspaper daily. It was placed
    on his shtender and each morning he would spend three minutes going
    through it and digesting it with his incisive mind.

    When asked why he would read the newspaper on his shtender out of
    all places, he said, if I must read the paper then it is because it
    is a mitzva and I can read in right here on my shtender. if there
    is an issue with reading the paper then I cannot even do it behind
    closed doors.

Am I reading too much into this maaseh to conclude that leshitas REW,
either an act is a mitzvah or there is an issue with it -- there is no
true realm of divrei reshus?

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             For a mitzvah is a lamp,
micha at aishdas.org        And the Torah, its light.
http://www.aishdas.org                   - based on Mishlei 6:2
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