Jewish Apps & Sefaria

The Jewish-text app world has a clear gold standard: Sefaria is the open-source online library of Jewish texts (Tanakh, Talmud, Mishnah, Midrash, Halakha, Kabbalah, commentaries, modern works) — free, open, with linked-text-to-text references. Hebcal is the canonical free calendar / candle-lighting / parsha tool. Chabad.org's app is comprehensive and free. Aleph Beta is the polished paid Torah-study video tier.

Sister sections: Sacred Reading & Lectio Divina, Online Courses & Dharma Talks, Sangha & Community, Retreats, Meditation Apps, Mental Health Journaling.

Sefaria ★ ★

• ★ ★ Sefaria — completely free; open-source non-profit; Tanakh, Talmud Bavli + Yerushalmi, Mishnah, Midrash, Halakha (Mishneh Torah, Shulchan Arukh), Zohar, Chassidut, Liturgy, modern responsa; Hebrew + English (and other languages) side-by-side; cross-references between texts (click any verse to see what cites it); source-sheet builder for teachers; Daf Yomi integration; the most ambitious Jewish-text digitization project in history.
  • https://www.sefaria.org/
  • Source on GitHub; texts under CC licenses where possible.

Calendar / candle-lighting / zmanim

• ★ ★ Hebcal — completely free; non-profit; Hebrew calendar, candle-lighting times, parsha of the week, zmanim (halachic times), holidays, yahrzeit reminders; sync to Google / Outlook / iCal; the long-standing standard.
  • https://www.hebcal.com/
• MyZmanim — free + paid; precise zmanim calculations; favored by detail-oriented practitioners.
• Chabad.org calendar — see below.

Comprehensive Jewish apps

• ★ Chabad.org app — completely free; calendar, daily Torah study, halachic times, Tanya, Hayom Yom, Mishneh Torah daily, audio classes, news from Chabad-Lubavitch; ChaBaD-Lubavitch perspective but broadly useful.
  • https://www.chabad.org/
• My Jewish Learning — free; encyclopedia / explainers; pluralistic-non-denominational tone.
  • https://www.myjewishlearning.com/
• OU.org / Aish.com / Chabad.org — free; movement-affiliated content (Modern Orthodox / Outreach / Chabad respectively).

Polished paid Torah study

• ★ Aleph Beta — paid (~$10/mo) + free trial; video-driven Torah study; Rabbi David Fohrman's literary close-reading approach; high production; covers parsha, holidays, characters, themes.
  • https://www.alephbeta.org/
• AlephJournal — paid; structured Jewish learning journal app.
• Torah Anytime — free + paid; massive video library of shiurim from Orthodox rabbis.
• The Land Yeshiva / Yeshiva.co — free + paid; online learning.

Daily Talmud (Daf Yomi)

• Sefaria Daf Yomi — free; daily daf with English + commentaries; the cycle started fresh in January 2020 (~7.5-year cycle).
• All Daf — free; Orthodox Union; English daf classes.
• Daf Yomi for Women (Hadran) — free; English-language daf classes by women teachers.
• Take One Daf Yomi (Tablet) — free podcast; one daf at a time.

Halacha / responsa

• Sefaria Halacha — free; Mishneh Torah, Shulchan Arukh, Mishna Berurah, Aruch HaShulchan, modern responsa.
• Halachipedia — free wiki of halacha; Sephardic-leaning.
• Dinonline / Yeshiva.co Q&A — free; question-and-answer scholarship.

Hebrew language / text learning

• Pealim — free; Hebrew verb conjugation tables.
• Reverso Hebrew — free; Hebrew translation context.
• Hebrew Grammar (various) — apps and websites; quality varies.
• Bibleworks / Accordance / Logos with Hebrew modules — paid; for serious biblical Hebrew.

Reform / Reconstructionist / Conservative resources

• Reform Judaism (URJ) — free; reform community resources.
• Mishkan Tefillah / Mishkan HaNefesh — paid print siddur / machzor; some apps.
• Conservative Movement (USCJ) — free; resources.
• Reconstructing Judaism (RRC) — free.
• Sefaria is intentionally pluralistic and serves all denominations.

Kabbalah / Hasidut / mystical

• ★ Sefaria Kabbalah section — free; Zohar, Shaar HaKavanot, Tomer Devorah, Nefesh HaChaim, Likutei Moharan; in Hebrew + selected English translations.
• Chabad.org Tanya — free; the canonical Chabad work; daily-Tanya schedule.
• Breslov.org — free; Rebbe Nachman of Breslov resources; Likutei Moharan; Hitbodedut practice.
• Honest framing: Kabbalah-as-self-study is contested in tradition (the conventional bar is age 40 + extensive prior learning); apps lower the bar but tradition's caution remains.

Prayer / siddur apps

• Siddur from RustyBrick — paid; popular Orthodox siddur app.
• Koren Siddur app — paid; Sacks edition.
• OpenSiddur — FOSS; modular open-source siddur project.
• Sefaria has full liturgy — free; for nearly every nusach.

In-person / community

• Synagogue / shul finders: GoDaven (for minyan), local federation directories.
• JLI (Jewish Learning Institute) — paid; cohort-based courses; Chabad-affiliated.
• Pardes Institute / Hadar / Drisha / YCT / Yeshivat Maharat — paid + free online learning; cross-denominational and denominational options.

Retreats

• Institute for Jewish Spirituality (IJS) — paid + free; meditation, mussar, hashpa'ah; cross-denominational.
• Elat Chayyim / Isabella Freedman — paid; retreats; Hazon-affiliated.
• Yeshivat Hadar / Pardes summer programs — paid; intensive learning.
• See Retreats.

Cost / license honesty

• Sefaria / Hebcal / Chabad.org / My Jewish Learning / OU / Aish / Sunnah-style references — free; donation- or grant-funded.
• Aleph Beta / Torah Anytime Premium / JLI — paid (~$100-300/yr).
• Print siddurim / chumashim — paid (~$30-100 per book).
• Sefaria's licensing: many texts are under CC-BY or similar; the platform code is open-source on GitHub.

Practical guidance

• Sefaria for everything text-based. Bookmark it.
• Hebcal for the calendar layer. Sync to your phone calendar.
• Pick one daily-learning practice: Daf Yomi, daily Tanya, parsha-of-the-week, Mishna Yomit (mishnayos.app), or 929 Tanakh chapters. Consistency over volume.
• Hebrew capability matters. Even basic Hebrew unlocks Sefaria's primary text view.

Honest limits

• Apps don't replace shul, chevruta, or rabbi. Jewish learning is traditionally dialogical (chevruta study); apps are solo by default.
• Translations carry interpretive weight. Stone vs. JPS vs. Koren-Sacks vs. ArtScroll all differ; Sefaria lets you compare.
• Halacha for actual practice should defer to a posek / your rabbi, not a website.
• Kabbalah / Hasidut are traditionally taught with substantial prior learning; web access lowers a bar that traditions had reasons for setting.

Pick this if…

• Want one Jewish-text app forever: Sefaria.
• Want the calendar layer: Hebcal.
• Want comprehensive movement-affiliated app: Chabad.org app.
• Want polished video Torah study: Aleph Beta.
• Daily Talmud: Sefaria Daf Yomi or All Daf or Hadran.
• Reform / pluralistic intro: My Jewish Learning.
• Kabbalah / Chasidut: Sefaria + Chabad Tanya + Breslov.org.
• Open-source siddur: OpenSiddur.