Torah Technology Goes App-ropos for Diaspora Jews
Source: Haaretz
Dina Kraft writes about a slew of new smartphone apps that serve the Jewish observance and educational needs. There are now dozens of apps developed for mobile devices that range from finding the closest Kosher restaurant to teaching preschoolers how to write their Aleph Bet and more are being released every month.
Many of the apps that have been developed, like MikvahCalendar, which informs a woman when she should visit the mikveh after completing her menstrual cycle, are for the Orthodox or more observant community. They include a host of Kashrut-related ones.
The Jewish Kosher app can determine the closest kosher restaurant based on your current location and offers a special database to decode the various Kashrut symbols so that users can know which rabbis and organizations endorse them. The iBlessing helps people find the right prayers for the foods they are eating.
Not-a-Box Media Lab, are developing Jewish educational apps like PocketTorah, a free application that that helps users learn the weekly Torah and Haftarah portions. They also have a new product called the Aleph Bet App, aimed pre-schoolers in Israel and abroad, uses games to teach Hebrew words and letters.
The newly released Talmud App has put the popular Schottenstein English Talmud from the publisher Artscroll in digital format for users of the Apple iPad.
Read the entire article in Haaretz.