High-tech goes kosher

New SMS will allow Jews to use their cell phones to find synagogues, kosher restaurants, Chabad houses and mikvehs
Ynetnews

Linguistic Agents, a Jerusalem-based startup in the field of Natural Language Understanding, announced the launch of a new service, InfoJew.

The SMS service will allow Jews to use their cell phones to find synagogues, kosher restaurants, Chabad houses, mikvehs (ritual purification baths) as well as the exact times for prayers, Shabbatot and holidays anywhere in the world.

'Middle of nowhere'

“A member of our team recently found himself in Prague during his return journey from attending the 3GSM conference and had to SMS his wife, asking her to search online for the nearest kosher restaurant,” explained Simcha Margaliot, senior vice President and COO of Linguistic Agents.

“It was then that we realized the enormous opportunity our technology holds in aiding traveling Jews. We’ve all found ourselves in a strange town looking for a place to grab a kosher meal, or wondering about the local time for Shabbat candle lighting.”

Margaliot added, “The fact that much of this information may be found on the internet, soon becomes irrelevant when one finds oneself in the middle of nowhere, far from an internet café. Time difference also plays a role – Can you really justify waking a friend in the middle of the night because you want a good steak?”

InfoJew's services will be launched in March and will initially include information on all kosher restaurants, synagogues and mikvehs found in every major travel destination in Europe. The times of services, Shabbatot and holidays, as well as information such as data on local rabbis, Jewish tourist sites and Chabad houses will be added at a later stage, and will have coverage in Israel as well as in the rest of the world.