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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2024 21 By Steve Benoff Last month I mentioned the 613 commandments in the Torah. One commandment the Torah overlooked is, "thine monthly column shall not be too long." Thus cometh part two of apps pertaining to Jewish history and traditions. Why I need two columns to cover three apps is a question I'll have to deal with the above-referenced commandment giver. OK, I already have to qualify a statement. I used the word history as if the Torah relates actual events in the past as they took place even though there is little to no proof that any of this happened. And I can't even read the Torah because I don't read Hebrew. Scholars and laypeople have argued over the Hebrew for millennia. So, if I'm reading one of the many English translations, who knows how accurate it is compared to the scrolls and the oral tradition surrounding it. I remind you I've come very late to studying the Torah. So, I've learned not to think of it as history but, rather, as my rabbi calls it, a "sacred text" to be read and reread to glean some understanding of one's relationship to the unknowable and an understanding of ourselves and human behavior. That's it for history. What about traditions? Judaism, like all religions, is filled with traditions. One of those is the yahrzeit (yaar-zayt). Yahrzeit is a Yiddish word. Yiddish is a thousand-year- old Germanic language originally spoken by central and eastern European Jews and more recently in the Jewish diaspora. You may have heard recently of the Tush Push employed in football, most prominently by the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, tush is a Yiddish word. So is maven, schlep, tchotchke (think of it ending with an "a" not an "e"), nosh, glitch, schmooze, and many other commonly used words by English speakers. Back to the far more serious topic of yahrzeit. A yahrzeit is the anniversary of a death — typically, but not always, of a loved one. It's a lovely, meaningful tradition I have ignored all my life until recently. I recited the mourner's kaddish (the Hebrew prayer said in memory of the deceased) at my father's funeral over 50 years ago, but since then I have not observed his yahrzeit. That's changing this year. I'll be saying kaddish on his yahrzeit. The mourner's kaddish is fascinating in itself. One might think it makes reference to remembering someone who has passed away, or somehow praising your beloved. No. The mourner's kaddish speaks only about praising God. Sentence after sentence after sentence, "Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, honored, elevated, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One." So, since I know the date of my father's death, saying it at the proper date should be easy. Well, nothing is easy in Judaism. Properly, kaddish should be said according to the Hebrew calendar. That, of course, changes every year. So how do I know which date to say kaddish on? Well, it so happens, there's an app for that. It's called Azkara. If I enter the date of death, the app converts it to the Hebrew calendar and back again to the common calendar for any year I choose. I can set the app to send me an alert to the upcoming date. My father died on Nov. 22, 1972. This year his yahrzeit falls on Dec. 17. I've also decided to say kaddish for others — my cousin who died much too young, my brother-in-law's parents, my best friend's parents (who weren't even Jewish), and others. There are no restrictions. I have mentioned in other columns that "reading Hebrew" probably doesn't mean what you think it means. Reading Hebrew doesn't necessarily mean understanding Hebrew. And sad to say, many Jews, including me, can't even pronounce the words. That's why Jewish prayer books (not the Orthodox ones) have transliterations. That is, the Hebrew word sounds are printed in English. The good news for me is that I've attended so many services over the years that I know many of the prayers and songs by heart. But there are still plenty of times that I have to refer to the transliteration to recite. I'd like to fix that. I know that I'll never be able to understand what I'm saying, but nevertheless I'd like to be able to "read Hebrew." There are several apps with that very goal in mind. Of course, there are apps for actually learning the language. But there are also ones to help me say the Hebrew words. To do that I've got to learn the letter sounds. So, I downloaded the Hebrew Flashcards and Hebrew UP apps to school me. Wish me luck. I'm going to need it. (Update. Since writing this column several months ago, I've "learned" enough Hebrew to be able to follow and partly read the Hebrew and no longer refer to the transliteration.) By the way, next month you can wish me happy (Jewish) new year as Rosh Hashanah starts on Oct. 2. Last year it was Sept. 15. Next year it will be Sept. 22. Oy vey! Who invented such a meshugenah system?! If you use an app you'd like to share with others, let me know at steve.benoff@verizon.net. THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! Following Jewish Tradition (TRADITION!)

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