No, not really… Chalila!
But the news about the free TorahApp sounds wonderful.
From The Jewish Link here:
TorahApp has garnered excellent feedback from users who say the accessibility has transformed their Torah study. One user said, “I love how easy it makes the ability to learn Torah literally right at your fingertips. I can learn a chapter and get lectures about it at the same time. Of course, I can get to the primary sources and the commentaries and try to understand in Hebrew or be able to see the English translation.”
Another user pointed out the convenience of listening to a Daf Yomi shiur and simply opening the commentaries the magid shiur is referencing that seamlessly appear alongside the text. These nuances, he said, really distinguish TorahApp from other online platforms he has used in the past.
Since Herzberg originally built TorahApp for his personal use, he didn’t need any funding to create it and recommends people send donations to the original content creators (OU, YU, Sefaria, etc.) it’s built upon. The only contribution he wants is sharing the app with friends and family, facilitating Torah learning.
Rabbi Gil Student in The Jewish Press:
Josh Herzberg, a software engineer in Big Tech who helped build Sefaria’s first app while in college, realized while commuting that he could not binge listen to shiurim. Finding no readily available solution, he decided to build his own app to do that. Given his background with Sefaria, he took their massive text library of Hebrew and English sefarim – which they offer for free to developers – and added onto it audio and video files from OU Torah and YU Torah (all with permission)…
What about the selection of seforim included? We have written about the problems with Sefaria here.
Rabbi Student continues:
In December, Josh reached out to me. He wants this app to be widely accepted and used by a broad spectrum of Torah students. As a matter of personal and communal responsibility, how can he ensure that he only includes sefarim and translations that are accepted in the Orthodox community? Sefaria is a wonderful organization that serves the entire Jewish community. However, many in the Orthodox community have reservations about its non-Orthodox texts and translations. How can he create an app that serves those who are not comfortable with this mixed denominational library? In effect, he is trying to enable Sefaria to reach an audience that it otherwise cannot.
So in late December, I sat down with him to get comfortable with his approach. We discussed possible ways to ensure the app maintains standards that are acceptable in the mainstream Orthodox community. He developed a system so that the app is a closed environment and he controls the content in the library. I went through the entire library and gave him specific notes and instructions. He enthusiastically agreed to our process and asked me to be named a Rabbinic Advisor of TorahApp, to which I agreed. Hopefully additional rabbinic advisors join from multiple communities so everyone feels comfortable with the app.
Should I buy a kosher smartphone, then?
… Let me add that this does not imply endorsement of the internet and smartphones. That is a local matter that everyone should discuss with their rabbi. This is to help those who engage with this type of technology to use it for learning and to do so in an Orthodox environment in which they feel most comfortable. I know of roshei yeshiva who recognize that their students and alumni use smartphones and offer guidance on how to do so in the spirit of Torah and mussar. They have strongly discouraged use of Sefaria. I hope that TorahApp meets their approval. I already met with one senior rosh yeshiva, active in this area, and he very much liked the app. We are also preparing a version for the kosher smartphone market that we hope will assist people in their Torah learning.
We live in an age of great technological opportunities that also pose great spiritual risks. Every community is struggling with this in their own way. I hope that TorahApp helps people improve their Torah learning while finding their way through the maze of technology in a religiously uplifting manner. In the past, I have noted how a smartphone puts an entire library in your hands. With TorahApp’s mix of audio, video and text, it puts an entire yeshiva in your hands. In this age of easy distraction, easy access to Torah may be the necessary antidote.
Hmmm. “Necessary but not sufficient”?
The website is TheTorahApp.org. You can reach Josh Herzberg with comments, suggestions, or feature requests at thetorahapp.org@gmail.com.
Request: If any of our readers, Heaven Forfend, has experience with the app, please write in for the sake of our other readers (who may, Heaven Forfend, benefit).
Our “rabbinic advisory board” says: Don’t buy a smartphone.