Tishrei

In the Sephardic tradition, Selichot begins during the series of Selichot services of the High Holidays on the second day of the month of Elul and recite Selichot throughout the entire Elul. In the Ashkenazic tradition, it begins on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah – this year Selichot (according to Ashkenazi custom) begun after midnight of  Sunday morning, September 5th.

Tishrei and preceding it Elul, it is also a best time for charity, tzedakah.

Apps – Selichot:  Sephardic tradition and Ashkenazic tradition

App – Virtual Tzedakah

App - High Holiday Guide (Tishrei)

App – Hilchot Chagei Tishrei

App – Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: Hebr./English and Hebr./Portuguese

Rosh Hashanah is characterized by the blowing of the shofar.  Shofar is used mainly on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.  It is blown in synagogues to mark the end of the fast at Yom Kippur,  and blown at  four particular occasions in the prayers on Rosh Hashanah.

 During the afternoon of the first day occurs the practice of tashlich, in which prayers are recited near natural flowing water, and one’s sins are symbolically cast into the water.

Many also have the custom to throw bread or pebbles into the water, to symbolize the “casting off” of sins. The Rosh Hashanah, is also a major holiday with wonderful culinary traditions.

Apps - Shofar (There are a few iPhone apps imitating the sound of the shofar. With their help you can not only listen but you could also learn how to blow the shofar.  Of course they can’t replace real shofar.)

App - iTashlich

App – The UK Really Jewish Food Guide

App – Fish: Kosher or not

App – Recipies: Kosher Cookbook

Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of  Tishrei.  According to Jewish tradition,  G-d inscribes  each person’s fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to “seal” the verdict.

One of the customs of eve of  Yom Kippur is a Kaparot,  an ancient ritual to save oneself from a harsh Heavenly decree by it being effected on another object. Vegetables, fish, money, and other objects have been used throughout the centuries.

The ritual is preceded by the reading of  Psalms 107:17-20 and Job 33:23-24.  The service is performed by grasping the object and moving it around one’s head three times, symbolically transferring one’s sins to the object. The object is then slaughtered or donated to the poor, preferably eaten at the pre-Yom Kippur feast.

In modern times, Kaparot is performed in the traditional form mostly in Hassidic communities. Members of other communities perform it with charity money substituted for the chicken, swung over one’s head in similar fashion.

App – Kaparot

Sukkot is holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the Tishrei. The Hebrew word Sukkot is the plural of sukkah, “booth, tabernacle”. The sukkah is intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the ancient Jews dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.

Throughout the holiday the sukkah becomes the living area of the house, and all meals are eaten in it. On each day of the holiday, members of the household recite a blessing over the lulav and etrog, or  Four species.

App - Lulav Wizard

Traditional Rosh Hashanah greetings: Shana Tova Umetukah (A Good and Sweet Year),  Ketiva ve-chatima tovah (May You Be Written and Sealed for a Good Year), Sephardic greeting is Tizku leshanim rabbot (May you merit many years), to which the answer is ne’imot ve-tovot (pleasant and good ones), גוט־יאָר (gut-yor) (Good Year).

 כתיבה וחתימה טובה, לשנה טובה ומתוקה

May We All Be Written and Sealed for a Good and Sweet Year
Jewish iPhone Community’  team

After all it is the time to rethink the way we learn from Hasiddic sages, to remind ourselves that there is no place, there is no thing in which we couldn’t see the Divine presence.

There are many ways of preparing for the approaching holidays. Some contact long ago seen family members, some buy clothes or prepare menu for special holiday meals in advance. Others learn more and by studying halachot remind themselves the customs of the period to be exercised. We check mezuzot, we increase the money amounts dedicated to tzedakah. This way or the other, with all our action we try to earn G-d’s favors so G-d in his strictness treat us more lenient at the time of a yearly trial.

At Jewish iPhone Community it is our pre-holiday pledge to facilitate the access to valuable educational materials, so that all the services a mobile device offers could be used, in our revved up lives,  for a short brake for shiur in any given place.

The charm of the magical device as iPhone is not only constraint to the software capabilities or the famous little things commonly called apps. Virtually unrestricted Internet access, the excellent reception quality of audio files and the smoothness of video files transfers add even more to the wide scope of the device’s abilities.

The “iRabbi” section of our website was originally constructed to publish Divrei Torah by our rabbi, Rav Zalman Lent.  Some time ago we extended the section by cooperation with Salant Foundation and its basis Rabbi Zvi Miller who’s wise lessons make the ideas of  Mussar more approachable. For some time now, thanks to Kol Menachem, once a week we have been ale to listen to an excellent Dvar Tora from the series by Rabbi Chaim Miller. The everyday essential portion of  halachot is provided by Danny Schoemann.

Just before chagim we managed to convince  Naaleh Torah Online – Jewish educational giant - to cooperate with us.

Na’aleh Torah Online is a US Non-profit, designed by experienced Yeshiva and Seminary professionals from Israel, under international Rabbinic guidance.

Na’aleh means “let us ascend.” This name was chosen because the creators of the service believe that the  Jewish learning is the key to continuous spiritual growth and elevation. Na’aleh’s  goal is to provide free online continuing Jewish education to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Shiurim presented by Na’aleh are given as part of a series, not isolated lectures, so students have the opportunity to cover a topic in depth. Classes are available in streaming video (just for some time it is only available on your computer) as well as mp3 and iPhone/iPod/iPad video download – so you can download to your hearts desire and take with you wherever you go classes of your own choice.

The staff consists of noted teachers such as Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller,  Rabbi Avishai David,  Mrs. Shira Smiles,  Rabbi Hanoch Teller,  Rabbi Hershel Reichman,  Rabbi Shimon Isaacson,  Rabbi Moshe Weinberger,  Rabbi Michael Taubes and many others.

Everyday in the “Torah-to-Go” section of our website you will find constantly updated lessons or the series of  lessons which are carefully chosen by us from an abundant (hundreds and hundreds of hours) archive on Na’aleh.  In the nearest future the lessons will also be available in streaming vide/audio directly on your iPhone (to stay updated about Jewish iPhone Community actions become one of our  subscribers –  join our community now).

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The first lesson from the series Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Davening: Open the Gates! today

Themes of Rosh HaShanah – In the first shiur of the series, Rabbi Taubes discusses the obligation for prayer.  He points out that Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur as times of great need, and are therefore specifically designated as days of prayer.  However, these days are also deemed as days of joy.

Rabbi Taubes discusses the conflicting and complementary themes of Rosh Hashanah.  These themes can be learned from delving into the meaning of the names of Rosh Hashanah.  Rabbi Taubes then goes into the actual davening of Rosh Hashanah, and explains the changes at the beginning of the Rosh Hashana davening.  The class explicates the addition of ‘zachrenu l’chaim‘ to the first bracha of  Shemoneh Esrei and  the expanded bracha of  Hamelech Hakadosh.  Rabbi Taubes continues the shiur with a discussion of the middle bracha of the Rosh Hashana davening, which summarizes the theme of the day.  The shiur ends with the explanation of  Rav Soloveitchik for why Psalm 24 is recited after the Rosh Hashanah Amida, and the message of Psalm 27, ‘l’Dovid Hashem Ori’, which is recited from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Yom Kippur.

Time: 68:36

For download audio mp3 format or iPod/iPhone/iPad video go to Naaleh to sign up for a FREE account and access thousands of classes.

Hamas has claimed responsibility for the attack and described it as a “heroic operation” on its website.

This is the most deadly attack against Israeli civilians since the 2008 massacre of 8 Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem yeshiva.”

Natan Rolnik, young developer from Brasil has just submitted a new app called “Chagim Tishrei” to the AppStore. The app is dedicated in the memory of all the victims of Tuesday’s massacre.

“Chagim Tishrei“ is a simple app which includes some halachot for the Holidays of  month Tishrei, and the zmanim for Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa (in Hebrew only). The application should be available for download within the next few days.

As we can read in mishnah: HaKodesh Borchu wanted to make Am Israel worthy of merit, so He gave us an abundance of Torah and mitzvot”. During the month of Tishrei, praying to be provided with a good year full of brachot and good fortune we want all the merits to be granted to ourselves. By giving all of us mitzvot Hashem facilitated it a great deal. The reminder of those concerning the month of  Tishrei can be found in Natan’s app on a simple and legible interface, just to be read “on the go”.

We each must strive to discover how we can best utilize our talents to serve Hashem and our fellow man. A famous story is told in the name of many great Chassidic Rebbes, including Reb Zusia.  He used to frequently say that after death all human beings stand in front of “heavenly” jury and have to justify all their behaviors and actions. Nobody asks them why they haven’t been so great as Moshe Rabeinu or so educated as Rabbi Akiba.  Each person has various capabilities and they are asked only why all the talent they had not been put into use properly and if they have been as great as they could have been.  I think Natan using his talent in a good way.

The new technologies, including those presented by Apple, and all the capabilities associated with them, can and are indeed used not only for  pure entertainment. The app “Chagim Tishrei” is one out of many examples.  I am convinced that it will be a perfect gift for iPhone users at the break of new year.

In a conversation with us remembering the victims of  Tuesday’s massacre Natan Rolnik said: “I think, this is our best revenge: to spread Torah around the world in their memory”.

I think that it would be very hard to find a reaction to this tragedy which would be more Jewish than this.

Robert Pass, Mati Szmidt

Selichot

In the Sephardic tradition, Selichot begins during the series of Selichot services of the High Holidays on the second day of the month of Elul and recite Selichot throughout the entire Elul. In the Ashkenazic tradition, it begins on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah – this year Selichot (according to Ashkenazi custom) will begin after midnight of Sunday morning, September 5th.

Just on time RustyBrick in partnership with Davka Corp. has released Selichot Nusach Lita (only in Hebrew). The app includes all Selichot from before Rosh Hashanah through Aseret Yamei Teshuva. The app automatically selects the proper Selichot for that day. You can also browse the Selichot for the other days as well.

This simple and easy to use app includes features such as: built in calendar selects correct Selichot for that day, Hatarat Nedarim for Erev Rosh Hashanah, kaparot for Erev Yom Kippur.

סליחות ל iPhone ו iPod Touch – מנהג ליטא

למחזיקי סידור Rustybrick – יכול לרכוש הסליחות בתוך הסידור – רכישה in-app $.99

מאפיינים:
כולל כל הסליחות משבוע לפני ראש השנה עד ערב יום כיפור.
מציג הסליחות הנכון של אותו היום אוטומטי
דפדף בין כל חלקי הסליחות בקלות
כולל התרת נדרים לערב ראש השנה וסדר הכפרות לערב יוה”כ

Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Category: Reference
Released: 26 August 2010
Publisher: RustyBrick, Inc. © 2010 RustyBrick, Inc.
Price: $2.99 (buy app)

If you have already RustyBrick’s  Siddur you can download this app as the in-app purchase only for $0.99.

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App “Selichot Nusach Sefardi” – read here

It wasn’t only an escape before death but, foremost, a commandment fulfillment rooted from Joshua (1:8):  “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein”.

Studying Torah is not just only approaching G-d but a wonderful intellectual adventure, too. It is a challenge on many dimensions, a challenge which to be completed requires from us some effort, skill and time. The modern times pose numerous obstacles for us but, at the same time, offer unique opportunities.

Dozens of years ago on Motzaei Shabbat parshat Yitro, on radio celebrated the conclusion of a year’s broadcasting, and the beginning of the new year’s weekly shiurim on Tanya Lubavitcher Rebbe, amongst other issues, mentioned:  “Through the radio, the actual wellsprings of  Chassidus are spread instantly to every place in the world, engulfing the “outside” in the wellsprings — and thereby purifying the “outside.” It is the preparation to the fulfillment of the promise, “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the L-rd as the waters cover the sea,” for, as was promised to the Baal Shem Tov, Mashiach will come “when your wellsprings shall spread forth to the outside.”

What is quite strange, a few opponents of such kind of education came into picture at the time. “Evil cannot create; everything in this universe, including the ability to transmit through radio, is a creation of G-d” – Rebbe explained – “Since everything in the world was created ‘for the sake of the Torah and for the sake of Israel’ (Rashi, Bereishis 1:1), it is clear that the powerful force of radio was created so that it be utilized for holy matters, such as the dissemination of Torah.  However, as in all matters, man is given free choice to use radio for good or evil – ‘Behold, I have set before you this day [a free choice] between life and good and death and evil’ (Devarim 30:15). And, says G-d, ‘Choose life!’ (Devarim 30:19).

This was the beginning of the “technological” revolution in Torah teaching. Thousands if not hundreds of thousands websites dealing with Jewish education can be found on the Net nowadays. All the levels of advance and all the strands of Judaism – from the very basics to the most intricate halakhic disputes.

There are several thousands of  Sifrei Kodesh available thanks to such foundations as Jewish Publication Society or Bar Ilan University. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection. Publishing houses such as Artscroll,  Nehora,  Kehot Publication Society, Feldheim Publishers,  Behrman House Publishing or many others can sell books from Alaska to Australia. Thanks to hundreds of computer software items created by Davka or TES you can thoroughly study Torah, Daf  Yomi or Chassidus even in the remotest of parts of  Siberia. You can find numerous examples of  radio or television programmes devoted to Judaism.

But that is not the end.

Now, you don’t even need a computer for all of that… all you need is a small smartphone*. It is not any more on a desk or a bag, in case of  laptop,  but in your jacket’s pocket where you can fit in Siddur (all nusachim), Tehillim, Tanach (and even better one for iPad) , Shas with an English translation, Mishnayot, Kitzur Shulchan Aruch in several language versions, Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, Pirkei Avot. Using HebrewBooks.org app you can add to that over 40k of other Siferi Kodesh.  You happened to forget which day of  Omer it is, you are in a new town and you can’t find a kosher restaurant, or you might want to send a prayer to the Western Wall – for all of those problems there is one solution: the right applications. A magical tap on iPhone’s touch screen is all you need to get any information displayed on your palm.

But it doesn’t end on that yet.

A computer with a modern, fast Internet connection lets you to listen to audio and to watch video shiurim. In case of smartphones this is not different.

Because all of that it is our great honour to announce that we have commenced a cooperation with Kol Menachem  and his  foundation  Rabbi Chaim Miller.

Rabbi Chaim Miller is a leading international authority for interpretation of  Jewish Bible and mysticism,  specifically the Torah-related works of the late  Lubavitcher Rebbe.

Born and raised in London, in 2004 Rabbi Miller relocated to the United States with the intention of devoting himself almost entirely to the writing and editing of great Jewish liturgy for Kol Menachem.  Since this time he has completed the groundbreaking Kol Menachem Chumash (Gutnick Edition), the Slager Edition Haggadah — the bestselling work in its genre — and two volumes of a landmark series exploring Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Faith.

Rabbi Miller’s publications have received the attention of community leaders and various persons of note. In 2008, President George W. Bush sent the Slager Edition Haggadah to the troops in Iraq. The Haggadah was a recent recipient of the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Award. The popular “Dummies” series published The Torah for Dummies in 2008, with author Arthur Kurzweil singling out Rabbi Miller’s Gutnick Chumash and proclaiming, “If I could have only one translation on a desert island, it would be this one.”

Some time ago Kol Menachem launched an online classroom for Jews on the go - Torah in Ten. The series provides weekly insightful conversations on the current Torah portion. The class includes interesting commentaries from renowned historical figures as well as modern views in addition to thought provoking and inspiring questions.

Announcing his new idea Rabbi Miller wrote: “In this go, go, go world we live in, it can be difficult to sit down and find time to study the weekly parsha. And when shabbos rolls around, we all wish we had studied more and could contribute to the conversation at the shabbos table. Not to mention our children, don’t we all wish we could provide them beautiful insights into the weekly parsha?”.

Torah in Ten is now available not only from a computer. Asked by Jewish iPhone Community and many more iPhone users Kol Menachem kindly agreed to change the format of presentation so that weekly portion of  Torah in Ten was available to be watched on iPhone’s/iPad’s screens. Nu, now then, what kind of excuse will you come up with?

Torah in Ten will take place every Thursday, for ten minutes. Let’s sum up with Rebbe’s words: “Our task is solely to illuminate the world with the light of  Torah, Judaism and Chassidus”.

Shabbat Shalom

Robert Pass, Mati Szmidt

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To see your weekly “Torah In Ten” videocast -  Parshas Ki Tavo visit our “Video” section (click/tap here). To see Divrei Torah archives visit Torah in Ten website (click here).

Torah in Ten is brought to your iPhone/iPad by Kol Menachem and Jewish iPhone Community.

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* if you are an owner of a phone with Android system visit our “Android” section.

Rummikub®

Rummikub® was invented by Ephraim Hertzano, a Romanian-born Jew, who emigrated to Mandate Palestine in the early 1930s.  He hand-made the first sets with his family in the backyard of his home. The game combines elements of rummy, dominoes, mah-jongg and chess.

Hertzano sold the first sets door-to-door and on a consignment basis at small shops. Over the years, the family licensed it to other countries and it became Israel’s #1 export game. In 1977, it became a bestselling game in the United States.

In Hertzano’s ‘Official Rummikub Book’, published in 1978, he describes three different versions of the game: American, Sabra and International. Modern Rummikub® sets include only the Sabra version rules, with no mention of the others, and there are variations in the rules between publishers.

The game was first made by Lemada Light Industries Ltd, founded by Hertzano.

You can now play Rummikub® on your iPhone and iPod Touch. The unique combination of tactical thinking, luck and tense competition has made this classic family game one of the most successful puzzle games for the past 50 years. Arrange the tiles to create the smartest color and number combinations. Play against 4 computer opponents and choose between 3 difficulty levels. Will you be the first who will have placed all tiles?

Rummikub® Game Features:

• Official game rules.
• Single player against four computer opponents.
• Three levels of difficulty: Beginner, Intermediate & Advanced.
• Auto tile sorting color, value or sets.
• Adjustable time limit per turn; 1, 2 or 5 minutes or no time limit.
• Auto save game.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Category: Games, Board, Family
Released: September 02, 2009
Publisher: Games Factory Online.nl B.V
Price: $4.99 (buy app)

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Rummikub® is a Registered Trade Mark. 1950, 2010 Hertzano Israel, All Rights Reserved.

Rummikub Facebook’s app

The Israeli Diamond Industry is based on a tradition that goes back hundreds of years. It prides itself on its skillfulness and uniqueness as well as its unprecedented creativity and cutting-edge technology. It adheres to a strict ethical code and offers buyers a wide variety of merchandise and services all under one roof.

Among the various entities that function within the Israeli Diamond Industry is the Israel Diamond Institute Group (IDI), which plays a central role in promoting the Industry in the world market. IDI is a non-profit, public interest company, which represents all organizations and institutions involved in the Israeli Diamond Industry.

The Group, along with its subsidiaries and various units, acts effectively to develop new horizons and innovative methods that help to position the Israeli Diamond Industry at its fitting place in the forefront of the world industry and sophisticated technological research. IDI Group activity is conducted via offices in Hong Kong and New York, as well as through the Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum, the Israel Diamond Technology Center (IDT) and the WGI gemological laboratory.

מכון היהלומים הישראלי הינו גוף המאגד חברות
שהוקם ללא מטרת רווח,
המכון מייצג את כל הארגונים והמוסדות
המעורבים בתעשיית היהלומים הישראלית.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Category: Business
Released: August 19, 2010
Publisher: Orin Fedller © BOOMALAYA
Price: Free (get app)

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… [This book] includes from the four sections of the Shulchan Aruch, those necessary and essential laws for all people in Yisrael in order to know them and are written in a simple language and a correct order. It is a good compilation and effective, B’ezrat Hashem, for businessmen that do not have the time to delve into the Shulchan Aruch and its commentaries. They shall find in [this sefer] that which they require with ease and also [be able to] educate the youth and plant in their hearts the commandments of Hashem in their youth and [so that] also in their later life they will not leave them…

The Kitzur became immensely popular after its publication due to its simplicity, and is still popular within Orthodox Judaism, as a framework for study.

There are few apps for iPhone/iPad in AppStore with the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. You can find there app with just Hebrew text (created by Dovid Zirkind from JewishContent.org; $2.99), Hebrew with English translation (by RustyBrick; $14.99 + $9.99 English Upgrade) and brand new one, Hebrew with Portuguese translation (created by Natan Rolnik). This app is free and was released in memory of  David ben Sofia Z”L, Yoel Chaim ben Yehuda Z”L, and  Guershon ben Akiva Z”L.

The first translation of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch to Portuguese was published in 2008 by Rabbi Yossef Benzecry and Maayanot Publishing House in Brasil.

Developer’s description: O Kitsur Shulchan Aruch, o Código da Lei Judaica Abreviado, foi escrito em 1864 pelo R. Shlomo Gantzfried Z”L e se tornou um dos livros básicos do Judaísmo, presente em todas casas, sinagogas e Batei Midrash. Em 2008, foi publicada a primeira tradução ao português (feita pelo Rabino Yossef Benzecry) pela Editora Maayanot. Agora, sua versão digital chega pela primeira vez grátis ao seu iPhone ou iPod Touch.

Em memória de David ben Sofia Z”L, Yoel Chaim ben Yehuda Z”L e Guershon ben Akiva Z”L.

ספר קיצור שולחן ערוך נכתב על ידי הרב שלמה גנצפריד ז’ל בשנת 1864, ומאז נהפך לאחד מספרי היסוד ביהדות והוא נלמד רבות בבתים, בבתי כנסת ובבתי מדרשיות. בשנת 2008, יצא לאור התרגום הראשון בפורטוגזית, על ידי הרב יוסף בן זקרי והוצאת מעיינות בברזיל. עכשיו, הגרסה הדיגיטלית מגיעה, בפעם הראשונה בחינם לאייפון שלך.

לעילוי נשמת דוד בן סופיה ז’ל, יואל חיים בן יהודה ז’ל, וגרשון בן עקיבא ז’ל.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Category: Books
Released: August 19, 2010
Publisher: Natan Rolnik
Price: Free (get app)

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To Heal a Fractured World by Jonathan Sacks, Schocken, February 6 2007

One of the most respected religious thinkers of our time makes an impassioned plea for the return of religion to its true purpose — as a partnership with G-d in the work of ethical and moral living.

What are our duties to others, to society, and to humanity? How do we live a meaningful life in an age of global uncertainty and instability?

In To Heal a Fractured World, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks offers answers to these questions by looking at the ethics of responsibility. In his signature plainspoken, accessible style, Rabbi Sacks shares with us traditional interpretations of the Bible, Jewish law, and theology, as well as the works of philosophers and ethicists from other cultures, to examine what constitutes morality and moral behavior.

“We are here to make a difference,” he writes, “a day at a time, an act at a time, for as long as it takes to make the world a place of justice and compassion.” He argues that in today’s religious and political climate, it is more important than ever to return to the essential understanding that “it is by our deeds that we express our faith and make it real in the lives of others and the world.”

To Heal a Fractured World—inspirational and instructive, timely and timeless—will resonate with people of all faiths (from the Hardcover edition).

About the Author
Jonathan Sacks has been Chief  Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of  Great Britain and the Commonwealth since 1991 and has received honorary degrees from universities around the world.  He is the award-winning author of a dozen previous books, writes frequently for The Times (London) and other periodicals, and is heard regularly on the BBC.  Rabbi Sacks was knighted in 2005.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Category: Books
Released: January 23, 2010
Publisher: ScrollMotion, Inc
Price: $13.99 (buy app)

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Praise from Dr. Norman Lamm

Chancellor, Yeshiva University

Upon receiving this latest volume by Rabbi Sacks, I appreciated again his well-deserved reputation for marrying high content to elegant style. There
are no pious preachments here, and no self-conscious intellectual posturings. To Heal a Fractured World is carefully reasoned yet warm, intellectually engaging, and entirely quotable.”

Praise from Professor Akbar Ahmed

Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, American University

“I have rarely met anyone who combines spirituality, intelligence, wisdom, and compassion in quite the way Dr. Jonathan Sacks does. He has taught me so much about the Abrahamic faiths. He is truly a spiritual Master, which is why I believe he can be called Mahatma, or Great Soul.”

Review from Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Although written by a rabbi, this powerful, biblically based plea for ethical behavior will appeal to non-Jews as well as to Jews. The erudite author, the chief rabbi of Great Britain, contends that all people have to be both ethically and socially responsible, and supports this through examples of people he’s met or read about as well as through biblical and Hasidic tales. His analysis of these storiesand their lessons is beautifully informed by philosophy, psychology, theology, poetry and literature.

Sacks’s wide-ranging scholarship is evident in the authorities he cites, including Plato, Karl Marx, Victor Frankl, Joseph B. Soloveitchik, William Wordsworth, Rashi, Maimonides, Jean-Paul Sartre, John Donne, Erich Fromm, Sigmund Freud and many others including Talmudic and rabbinical sources. Sacks claims that he “tried to make the book as simple and readable” as possible, but it is at times somewhat heavy-footed. Patient readers will be rewarded by exposure to a great intellect who demonstrates how his knowledge and experiences have led him to the conclusion that each individual has responsibility “to heal where others harm, mend where others destroy, [and] to redeem evil byturning its negative energies to good.”  Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.

Review by George Cohen, Booklist

Sacks, the author of 12 previous books, is chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. The ethics of responsibility, so he posits, is the idea that God invites us to become “his partners in the work of creation.” The theme of his book is that life is God’s call to responsibility. Citing the twenty-first-century’s challenges of a scale and scope that seem to defy solutions–environmental and political problems and the growing inequality between rich and poor – Sacks insists that it is up to us to make adifference, “to mend the world one life at a time, one act at a time, one day at a time.”

Drawing on traditional interpretations of the Bible, Jewish law, and theology, he analyzes the essence of morality and moral behavior. He is one of the most eminent religious scholars of our time, and his book should interest Jews and non-Jews alike.

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Twentieth-century Small Arms looks in detail at the most widely used pistols, rifles, submachine guns, machine guns and other small arms of the last 100 years in one comprehensive volume.

It provides a unique and readily accessible reference guide to the most important personal weapons in use throughout the world during the last century.

The app includes famous small arms such as the AK-47, the M16, the SA80, the Lee Enfield, the MP40, the MG42, the Browning Hi Power, the M60, the Thompson sub-machine gun, the Colt .45 and of course Israeli arms such as the Uzi, the Galil and famous the Desert Eagle. Twentieth-century Small Arms offers a wide survey of the development and use of small arms in the modern era of combat.

Each small arm is illustrated by a full-colour artwork and accompanied by a detailed specifications table giving the country of origin and the technical details of the weapon, including calibre, length, weight, barrel length, rate of fire, muzzle velocity, operation and, where appropriate, magazine capacity.

Each entry also contains text summarising the weapon’s development and service history. Almost 300 small arms featured from the twentieth century, each one illustrated by a full-colour artwork

• Full dimensions, weights, ammunition and range details provided for each weapon, all measurements in imperial and metric
• Seven weapons categories: Handguns, Submachine Guns, Machine Guns, Bolt-action Rifles, Automatic Rifles, Shotguns, Grenade Launchers
• Each small arm’s development history and career described in accompanying text
• Quick search functions for type, country of origin and effective range
• Favourites section
• All data stored offline on your device. No Internet connection required
• Supports both iPhone and iPad

Author

Chris McNab is a writer specialising in twentieth century and contemporary military history. Previous publications include Firearms, Modern Military Uniforms, and The Great Book of Guns.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Category: Reference
Released: August 04, 2010
Publisher: Jourist Verlags GmbH
Price: $ 3.99 (buy app)

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Prayerbook Hebrew Flashcards

Vocabulary is based on frequency of use in the Hebrew Prayerbook The Easy Way.

Understanding Hebrew is the key to experiencing the richness of Jewish prayer. Prayerbook Hebrew the Easy Way teaches the Hebrew found in all Jewish prayerbooks.

Designed for students who can read Hebrew words but do not know what they mean, this text explains grammar so simply that the non-academic community can easily understand it.

Product features of the Prayerbook Hebrew Flashcards:

• Includes 332 flashcards with pronunciation.
• Flashcards are keyed to chapters in Prayerbook Hebrew The Easy Way.
• User customizable Review Set for difficult words.
• AutoPlay and manual options for flashcard presentation.
• User specified interval to control speed of replay.
• Alphabetic, numeric and shuffle order.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Category: Education
Released: August 09, 2010
Publisher: EKS Publishing
Price: $9.99 (buy app)

Launched as a Yiddish-language daily newspaper on April 22, 1897, the Forward entered the din of New York’s immigrant press as a defender of trade unionism and moderate, democratic socialism.

The Jewish Daily Forward quickly rose above the crowd, however; under the leadership of its founding editor, the crustily independent Abraham Cahan, the Forward came to be known as the voice of the Jewish immigrant and the conscience of the ghetto.

It fought for social justice, helped generations of  immigrants to enter American life, broke some of the most significant news stories of the century, and was among the nation’s most eloquent defenders of democracy and Jewish rights.

The Forward family of newspapers continues to carry on the founding vision of Abraham Cahan, serving together as the voice of the American Jew and the conscience of the community.

Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad

Category: News
Released: August 11, 2010
Publisher:  Mobile Roadie © 2010, Forward Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Price: Free (get app)

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