Hebrewbooks.org

Currently Hebrewbooks.org’s mission has expanded to include all Torah Seforim ever printed.  At Hebrewbooks.org you will be able to view and print the entire Sefer online.

If you were to ask any Rabbi who authored a sefer, what his one wish would be, his answer would surely be, “I want people to learn my sefer, even after my passing“.  Indeed, many Rabbis writing in their introductions: “I wrote this sefer and hope it will be studied even after my death, in order that my lips may move in my grave.” When you quote these seforim, please be sure to mention the Rabbi’s name. In this way the author’s  ”lips will move in his grave“. In this manner you will bring life to the memory of the author.  Our Rabbis of  blessed memory teach us that “He who quotes a saying in the name of  its author, hastens the redemption of the world“.  They cite the Book of Esther in support of this: “Queen Esther reported the plot to kill king Achashverosh in the name of Mordechai“.

HebrewBooks.org is a not-for-profit organization.  Their goal is to bring to life the many Seforim that were written and unfortunately forgotten,  and  to make all Torah Publications free and ubiquitous.

A new application for viewing HebrewBooks.org …  on the  iPhone and iPad is now available for  free as version 1.0 (a work in progress).  Download, read or print over 40,000 rare and out of print Seforim from Hebrewbooks.org.

Users reviews

“Wow. Hebrewbooks has done it again! Those guys never let up.  Just downloaded the  free app. It’s different than their site, but I was able to download and read the seforim on my iPhone, it even works on my IPad. They say this is just a start and they plan on tweaking and adding more features. I can’t wait.”

“I can have a whole seforim bookcase in my pocket! Yasher Koach, and tizku l’mitzvos. P.S. I just figured out how to search in Hebrew.  Just go the general settings by the keyboard language setting, and turn the Hebrew to ‘on’.”

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Category: Books
Released: June 22, 2010
Publisher:  The Society for the Preservation of Hebrew Books
Price: Free (get app)

.

.

.

Judah Hallevi’s Kitab al Khazari translated by Hartwig Hirschfeld –

(Kitab al-Ḥujjah wal-Dalil fi Nuṣr al-Din al-Dhalil, كتاب الحجة و الدليل في نصرة الدين الذليل (known in the Hebrew translation of Judah ibn Tibbon by the title Sefer ha-Kuzari)

A classic of  Medieval Jewish philosophy,  set in a legendary (but historical) central Asian kingdom.

Framed as a dialog between the king of the Khazars,  a Central Asian kingdom, and a Rabbi,  the Khazari is an exposition of  late medieval Jewish philosophy.  Legend has it that the king of the Khazars held a symposium to decide whether his people should convert to Judaism, Christianity or Islam.  This book is an account of  the Jewish side of this debate.

Rabbi Judah Ha-Levi, the author, was born about 1080 C.E. in Muslim-controlled area of southern Spain. This was a bright spot in the history of Jewish-Muslim relations, when Jewish communities prospered under a tolerant Islamic state, and scholarship flourished.

He studied the Talmud and Kabbalah, wrote secular poetry, and was fluent both in Hebrew and Arabic.  Midlife he had an awakening which led him to write on more spiritual themes, and the resulting body of work is considered some of the best post-Biblical Jewish poetry  (read more here).

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Category: Books
Released: March 30, 2010
Publisher: Indianic, LLC
Price: Free (get app)

.

.

.

.

The Guide for the Perplexed

It was written in the 12th century in the form of a three-volume letter to his student,  Rabbi Joseph ben Judah of  Ceuta, the son of  Rabbi  Judah, and is the main source of the Rambam’s philosophical views,  as opposed to his opinions on  Jewish law.

Since many of the philosophical concepts,  such as his view of theodicy and the relationship between philosophy and religion, are relevant beyond strictly Jewish theology, it has been the work most commonly associated with Maimonides in the non-Jewish world and it is known to have influenced several major non-Jewish philosophers. Following its publication,  ”almost every philosophic work  for the remainder of the Middle Ages cited, commented on, or criticized Maimonides’ views.” Within Judaism, the Guide became widely popular, with manyJewish communities requesting copies of the manuscript, but also quite controversial, with some communities limiting its study or banning it altogether  (more in Wikipedia).

Developer’s notes – The Guide for the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides,  M. Freidländer, tr.

Maimonides’ masterful summation of theology, natural philosophy and divine law. The Guide consists of three books. The first book deals with the nature of G-d, concluding that G-d cannot be described in positive terms. He uses this argument to systematically deconstruct the Islamic Kalam literalist school of thought, which anthropomorphized G-d. The second book examines natural philosophy, particularly Aristotle’s  system of concentric spheres, and theories of the creation and duration of the universe, and the theory of angels and prophecy. In the last Book, he expounds the mystical Merkavah section of Ezekhiel, skirting the traditional prohibition of direct explanation of this passage. After this he covers the 613 laws of the Torah, organized into 14 branches, attempting to present rational explanations for each law.  Throughout, Maimonides stresses that the student needs to consider all theories.

About the Author
Moses Maimonides (March 28, 1138 Cordoba,  Spain – December 13, 1204 Fostat, Egypt), was a rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Andalusia, Morocco and Egypt during the Middle Ages. He was one of the various medieval Jewish philosophers who also influenced the non-Jewish world. Although his copious works on Jewish law and ethics were initially met with opposition during his lifetime, he was posthumously acknowledged to be one of the foremost rabbinical arbiters and philosophers in Jewish history.

Today, his works and his views are considered a cornerstone of Jewish thought and study.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Category: Books
Released: March 30, 2010
Publisher: Indianic, LLC
Price: Free (get app)

.

.

.

.

Holidays & events
Events: See Jewish & Israeli events and holidays in a Secular (Gregorian), Jewish or Hebrew calendar view. Includes the Sefiras Ha’omer count.

You can even add your own events such as a Yahrzeit, birthday or anniversary, all with detailed customization options.

Siddur, minyan finder & compass
A built in siddur helps you daven/pray anytime, anywhere. Auto-Scroll technology makes use of the iPhone’s accelerometer to browse through a prayer without having to lose concentration.

Jewish Cal keep things clean and simple by displaying only the appropriate prayers at the requested time of day (based the Halachic times, or Zmanim). For example, in the nighttime hours only Ma’ariv and Bedtime Shema are promoted.

There is also an integrated Minyan Finder with the most complete minyan database available, powered by our friends at GoDaven.com

Note:  Currently Siddur texts are only available for Nusach Ashkenaz. English translations are also very limited at this time. We will be adding more siddur content and will be updated upon application launch.

Daily learning
Just like with other parts of the app, Jewish Cal simplifies Torah content also, by only displaying the relevant Jewish study material for the specific day requested.

All Talmud, Mishna and Torah/Chumash content include a comprehensive English translation.

Calendar sync
Jewish Cal syncs to Google Calendar and therefore to Outlook or iCal. All you need is a Google account to stay in sync.

Weather & forecasts
Get the weather and the week’s forecast in your local area.  Choose your location by GPS or enter any worldwide city manually from the Settings page.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

Category: Productivity
Released: May 21, 2010
Publisher: Maplewoods Associates Ltd.
Size: 50.0 MB
Price: $15.99 (get app)

.

.

.

.

The Jewish Almanac

The original translations aim to be poetic and accessible: easy enough to understand after the first read yet will stay with you for the entire day. People from all backgrounds seeking to learn about Judaism will benefit from this podcast.

An audio recording, under five minutes in length, is also included so you can listen at any time.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

Category: Lifestyle
Released: May 20, 2010
Publisher: Jeffrey Alhadeff
Price: Free (get app)

.

.

.

.

Sacred Texts of Judaism

All texts have been optimized for viewing on the iPhone/iPad/iPod. This app works offline and does not require an Internet connection.

Sacred Texts of Judaism includes the following works:

• The Babylonian Talmud
• The Talmud
• The Talmud: Selections
• Sayings of the Jewish Fathers (Pirkei Avot)
• Hebraic Literature
• Tractate Sanhedrin, Mishnah and Tosefta
• Tractate Berakoth
• Legends of the Jews
• The Kabbalah Unveiled
• Sepher Yezirah
• The Kabbalah – Sepher Yetzirah
• The Zohar: Bereshith to Lekh Lekha
• Jewish Mysticism
• The Kabbalah, or the Religious Philosophy of the Hebrews
• Tales and Maxims from the Midrash
• The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East, Vol. IV: Medieval Hebrew
• Midrash Tanhuma
• The Union Haggadah
• Haggada For Pesach According To Chabad-Lubavitch Custom
• The Works of Flavius Josephus
• The Kitab al Khazari
• The Guide for the Perplexed
• Selected Religious Poems of Solomon
• The Fountain of Life
• Original Hebrew of a Portion of Ecclesiasticus
• Jewish Magic and Superstition: A Study in Folk Religion
• A Rabbi’s Impressions of the Oberammergau Passion Play
• Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends
• The Great March
• Reform Judaism – 1885 Pittsburgh Conference
• Articles of Faith from the Jewish Encyclopedia
• The Columbus Platform: The Guiding Principles of Reform Judaism
• Reform Judaism – A Centenary Perspective
• Maimonides: Ani Maamin – I believe…
• Solomon Schechter – Studies in Judaism
• The Thirteen Wants by Mordecai M. Kaplan

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad

Category: Books
Released: April 21, 2010
Publisher: Concentric Sky
Price: $1.99 (buy app)

Pirkei Avot (Hebrew: פרקי אבות‎), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers (because of its contents, it is also called Ethics of the Fathers). The teachings of Pirkei Avot appear in the Mishnaic tractate of Avot, the second-to-last tractate in the order of Nezikin in the Talmud.

.

El Pirkei Avot, mas conocido en español como En Las Sendas de Nuestros Padres, es la base de la ética judia, que fue transmitida de generación en generación, desde la entrega de la Torá. El primer aplicativo judio en español disponible en tu iPhone o iPod Touch.

.

Pirkei Avot, connu en français comme Les Maximes des Pères, c’est la base de l’éthique judaïque, transmise de génération en génération, depuis la remise de la Torah, dans votre iPhone ou iPod touch.

.

.from app: “Nowadays, Pesach and Shavuot festivities represent those important events. The time interval between them is known as Sefirat HaOmer (the counting done at the temple’s time till the first crops were taken as an offering), and it lasts 49 days – the same number of the impurity levels. So, nowadays we should rise step by step, day after day, until we deserve to receive the Torah in Shavuot.

Features:

- Texto integral em hebraico
- Texto integral traduzido ao português
- Textos introdutórios e sobre assuntos mais específicos

Em memória de Sara bat Etel Raizel Z”L e Binyamin Israel Ben Akiva Z”L

- Full text in Hebrew
- Full text translated to English
- Introductory and more specific texts

In memory of Rahamim ben Nina Z”L

- Texto completo en Hebreo
- Texto completo traduzido al español
- Textos introductorios y temas más específicos

Caractéristiques:

- texte intégral en hébreu,
- texte intégral traduit en français,
- textes d’introduction et sur des thèmes plus spécifiques.

En memória de Mazal bat Devora Z”L, Simcha bat Lela Z”L, Saad ben Eliau Z”L y Eliau ben Nazira

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Category: Books
Released: February 16, 2010
Publisher: Natan L Rolnik

Portuguese - Price: Free (get app)

.

.

.

English – Price: Free (get app)

.

.

.

Spanish – Price: Free (get app)

.

.

.

French – Price: Free (get app)

.

.

..

.

Translated by Michael L. Rodkinson

This volume contains three tracts, in order to maintain some uniformity in the size of the volumes, 1 whereas in former issues one subject required three volumes and another one volume, while in two instances each of two volumes treated of two different subjects; viz., three volumes being devoted to subject Sabbath (including Erubin), one volume to Passover, one to the Half-shekels (Shekalim–which were to be given in the beginning of each year) and New Year, one to the Day of Atonement (including also the Holocausts for the Altar). Of the three tracts now presented, Tract Succah treats of the Booth, Palm Branches, Citrons, etc., and specially appertains to the Feast of Tabernacles, the other two treating of the laws and regulations as to festivals in general; viz., Yom Tob (literally “Good Days”) of all festivals, including also the New Year and Moed Katan (Minor Festivals) of the middle days between the first and seventh days of Passover and between the first and eighth days of Tabernacles.

As to the treatment of the semi-festivals, viz., Hanukka and Purim–the former is included in Tract Sabbath, Volume I., and the latter, which has a tract to itself, named “Megilah,” or “Book of Esther,” is to appear in the next and last volume of this section, and contains Taanith (the Regulation of Fast Days), Megilah (which is to be read while fasting), and, finally, Ebel Rabbathi (Great Mourning), which is also called “Sema’hoth” (Joys) for reasons which will be explained in our introduction to it.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch

Category: Reference
Released: December 14, 2009
Publisher: Credencys Solutions Inc
Price: $0.99 (buy app)

Translated by Michael L. Rodkinson

“This book contains Tract Sabbath, which discusses what can and cannot be done on the Jewish Holy day. This tract has a wealth of information on everyday Jewish life in late Classical times, including, for some reason, a great number of medical recipies. Because almost everything is done differently on the Sabbath, this contains an incredible level of ethnographic detail about a wide range of household activities including livestock, clothing, meals, horticulture, hunting, and other more obscure topics, such as fire-fighting and feminine hygene.

Rodkinson makes the point in an appendix that many of the Talmundic regulations which seem to be arbitrary were developed as a response to political persecution. He also includes a prayer which is offered upon the conclusion of studying any tract.”

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch

Category: Reference, Entertainment
Released: October 28, 2009
Publisher: Credencys Solutions Inc
Price: $0.99 (buy app)

Translated by Michael L. Rodkinson

This Tract, virtually the third of the Sabbath series, treats of subjects similar to those discussed in the first two. The main point of. difference is, that most of the laws laid down in the preceding two volumes are founded on biblical behests, while those instituted in the present volume are of purely rabbinical origin, notwithstanding the assertion of a solitary individual who appears in the course of a debate and declares that the legal-limit branch of the Erub is a biblical enactment.

A remarkable feature of the Tract is the exposition of the manner in which the shrewd sages circumvene the rigorous prohibitions contained in the Tract Sabbath and how they take advantage of every loophole afforded them through imperfections in the law, at the same time avoiding any palpable infraction of the law itself.

As already explained in the introduction to Volume I., the restrictions with which the Sabbath was surrounded had their unquestionable political import, but their very rigor made the sages, than whom none knew the people better, doubt whether enforcement and still less voluntary observance could ever be possible. It became necessary, therefore, to find some way of modifying the law, not directly, but by the institution of other in a measure counteracting laws. The solution for this problem presented itself in the “Erub” (literally “commixture”) ordinances, the first results of which were to bring about a distinction between the different kinds of ground inhabited by man. Lines of demarcation between public, unclaimed, and private ground and ground which was under no particular jurisdiction were strictly drawn. Whatever ground, however, could be made by hook or crook to come under the category of private ground was eagerly included, as in the latter things could be carried about at will. In order, therefore, to have as much private ground as possible, each man having an interest in public ground would relinquish or transfer his right to his neighbor and thus make it communal or private property. Of course, this could be done only among Israelites, and where a Gentile had an interest in a piece of coveted ground, his share had to be bought outright.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch

Category: Reference, Entertainment
Released: December 10, 2009
Publisher: Credencys Solutions Inc
Price: $0.99 (buy app)

Translated by Michael L. Rodkinson

On this, the appearance of our latest literary undertaking, we deem a few explanatory remarks necessary. The brief outline of the origin of the Talmud that follows may suggest the thought that we have departed from the usual manner of dealing with the questions here discussed, the more so since we have, for the sake of brevity, refrained from citing the authorities on which our statements are based. We wish, therefore, to declare here that we do not venture to make a single statement without the support of authorities well known in Hebrew literature. Our method is to select such views as seem to us the best authenticated in the historical progress of Judaism. As we have taken our choice from the numerous works on our subject, the student is entitled to adopt or to reject the views that we represent.

Most of the Mishnayoth date from a very early period, and originated with the students of the Jewish academies which existed since the days of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah.

The rabbinical students of ancient times noted the essence of the academical teachings in brief form, and, as a rule, in the idiom in which it was spoken to them, so that they could afterward easily commit it to memory. They have sometimes, however, added comments and extensive explanations in the form of notes, so that the mass of their learning, embraced in course of time, according to some authorities, as many as six hundred divisions.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch

Category: Reference, Entertainment
Released: October 28, 2009
Publisher: Credencys Solutions Inc
Price: $0.99 (buy app)