05 Mar TORAHAPP, AN ALL-IN-ONE COMMUTING TOOL

I recently drove on my
own from Brooklyn to
Monsey for a wedding.
I wanted to listen to 10
minute mini-shiurim but
because I was driving
alone, I would not be
able to manipulate my
phone to switch from one
shiur to the next. Thanks to the new TorahApp,

I had no problem. This new app is an all-in-
one Torah tool that automatically moves from

one shiur to the next so you can binge listen to
shiurim. While the app has many more features
than this, binge listening was its origin.
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). He built into
the app the feature to binge listen as well as
additional features, such as multiple tabs for
many sefarim. Since he had texts for siddurim,
he built a smart feature so it automatically
opens the correct texts for the day, such as
which Tachanun to say based on the day or
whether to say Ya’aleh VeYavo. He added a tab

for a host of daily learning schedules, so the
user can easily find out the day’s Daf, Mishna,
Rambam, Yerushalmi, etc. Most importantly,
he designed TorahApp to be intuitive and easy
to navigate, both as an app and as a website
(TheTorahApp.org). He did this all on his own
time, with no funding or donations. In fact, he
recommends that people who want to support
the app donate money to the content providers,
not to him or his app.
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.
Additionally, after discussing this with the
leadership of the Rabbinical Alliance of
America, where I serve as the director of the
Halacha Commission, I wrote a formal haskama
for TorahApp on RAA stationery that can be
seen from a link in the app’s Settings tab. I do
not know if this is the first time that a national
rabbinic organization has formally approved
of an app but it seems significant to me. 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.
The app is called TorahApp (no spaces) and
the website is TheTorahApp.org. You can reach
Josh Herzberg with comments, suggestions, or
feature requests at thetorahapp.org@gmail.
com. You can reach me at Igud.Halacha@
gmail.com.