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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | NOVEMBER 2024 21 By Steve Beno Have you ever felt like the dumbest person in the room? I'm not talking raw intelligence. Look. I have a terrible memory, always have. But I did manage to make law review and pass the California Bar. I'm definitely not the smartest around — I had a father and have a son, brother-in-law, and a son-in-law who are way smarter than me. However, I do count myself as reasonably smart and can converse on a number of subjects — classical music (I am, after all, president of that club), home electronics (in that business for 40 years), European bicycle racing, impressionist art, and several popular sports (excluding the world's most popular one). But when I walk into the Torah study class on Saturday mornings at Temple Sinai in Palm Desert, I not only feel like the dumbest person in the room, I am the dumbest person in the room. About a dozen of us meet weekly. Compared to the rest, who range for comparison's sake between a hard ball and a soft ball in volume, I'm a marble. (Newsf lash — I like the podcast e Joy of Why and listened to the episode "Does Nothingness Exist" — please reduce my marble to a grain of sand.) The depth of knowledge of these people is breath-taking. To say they can read, understand, and speak Hebrew is the bare starting point. They know the Hebrew Bible. They can discuss the various possible meanings of Hebrew words with the two rabbis who also attend. I, on the other hand, know so little that I congratulated myself for figuring out why the second book of Moses is called Exodus. (That's a joke, by the way.) I am in awe of these members of my temple. One advantage Christians have is that they regard the Old Testament as part of their Bible. Many of them, including several of my good friends, know the Hebrew Bible in depth. Fact is, I have come to rely on a couple of Christian websites in my effort to understand the Books of Moses. Hebrew4christians.com gives me a highly detailed description of each weekly Torah portion. I have mentioned in earlier columns that I am new to Torah study and attending two services weekly. I've mentioned in previous columns various apps to help me read Hebrew and explore Jewish festivals. But there is one app which is truly breathtaking in scope. It is possible to have on your phone, in one well-organized place, the equivalent of a room full of books. The app is called Sefaria, a name derived from the Hebrew words for book and library. To quote Wikipedia: "Sefaria is an online open source, free content, digital library of Jewish texts. It was founded in 2011 by former Google project manager Brett Lockspeiser and journalist- author Joshua Foer. It's promoted as a 'living library of Jewish texts.'" Anyone interested in the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament) will appreciate this app. The foundational part of the app is the Tanakh, the Hebrew word for the Bible. Tanakh is an acronym of its three parts: Torah (The Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). The text is presented in Hebrew and English. But wait. There's more! Actually, much more. The rest of this column will describe some of the other major sections. Mishnah – First major work of rabbinic literature, compiled around 200CE (Common Era) documenting legal opinions from the oral tradition. There are seven subsections, each of which has more sections before landing on the writings in Hebrew and English. Talmud – Generations of rabbinic debate on law, ethics, and Bible, structured as commentary with stories interwoven. Midrash – Interpretations and elaborations upon biblical texts, including stories, parables, and legal deductions. Halakhah – Legal works providing guidance on all aspects of Jewish life. Rooted in past sources and growing to address changing realities. Plus, seven other subsections. The scope of information contained in this app is mind-blowing. But it is not fixed. Because Separia is open-source, like Wikipedia, it's added to and amended as time goes on. Whether you are Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, if you have an interest in the Hebrew Bible, download this app. 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! Exploring the Hebrew Bible

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