22Lookup - Talmud Software

For Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Apple Store Release Date : very soon

22Lookup is an app for use on Mac and iOS devices that attempts to bring a unique approach to speeding up the side references that are so common when studying Torah, Talmud, and Halacha. Combining computer knowledge with Torah knowledge has allowed development of a simple yet powerful interface which speedily allows the user to complete targeted searches and display key source material in record time. This Talmud Software enhances the user experience and may encourage further textual references.

Whether one has grown up Frum From Birth, Shomer Mitzvot, graduated from Yeshivah, and learns everyday or based on attending (or even hearing about) the recent Siyum HaShas and has just begun learning Daf Yomi, there is a great benefit to actually looking up the source material encoutered in the pages of the Talmud. Often times the Gemara will quote three words from a pasuk in Tanach and expect that those of us fulfilling the Mitzvah of Talmud Torah will be as knowledgeable as the Tannaim and Amoraim and thoroughly know the sentence and its context. Maybe, just maybe, we are not so conversant with all the references.

Even for someone expert on all of Tanach, there is the matter of the associated Halacha. One encounters a superscript letter while learning the Mishnah, Gemara, Rashi, or Tosfos and vectors to the Ain Mishpat Ner Mitzvah. Following the amazing hyperlinks, worked out and added to each amud more than one hundred years ago, it is possible to find the relevant halachas in the Rambam, Tur, Shulchan Aruch, or Sefer Mitzvos HaGedolah.

Possible yes. Time consuming ... yes. One way of accelerating the efficiency of time devoted to learning would be to consider use of my new app, "22Lookup." This program, which does not need the internet (after completion of the licensing phase), allows speedy lookup of this source material and its context.

Ain Mishpat Ner Mitzvah lookup is fast enough to be considered automatic. Simply providing the amud and the 'os', 22Lookup returns the relevant referenced texts all at once; just like viewing a page in a web browser. [In fact, the upper window of the app is exactly that.]

Thus, time devoted to learning can be made more efficient.

Furthermore, extra effort has been dedicated to even improving this increased efficiency. In several traditional versions of Talmud software, in response to a search of Shas Bavli for a string, the program will report the Masechta and the Amud. Especially for some of the dafim with a large blatt, this can be time consuming. 22Lookup, instead, reports the Masechta, Amud, line number and word number (within the line) allowing rapid identification of the search string.

Rapid access is also provided for searches and display of Rashi, Tosfos, Rambam, Ritva, the Rosh, the Maharsha, the Netziv, the Beit Yosef, Mishnah Berurah, and others. The goal of the app has been to try to include the sources most commonly accessed by those learning Talmud. Eventually it is hoped that more sources can be included so that even those that toil in Halacha will have more Jewish sources, and Rabbinical commentaries at their fingertips.

As a bonus, 22Lookup includes gematria and gematria searches of Tanach, a mapping of each page of Shas Bavli which will highlight words on any selected amud, a word frequency reference (each amud, each perek, each masechta, and all of Shas), a Tzuras haDaf from HebrewBooks.org (according to their license) and it is all local on one's Mac, iPhone, or iPad and the best part... it is being released for FREE!

With the above as a general introduction, let's examine a few cases which migh demonstrate the suitablility of 22Lookup as Talmud Software or Jewish Software.

1) daf yomi - lookup sources

Suppose our learner studying a daf sees a referece for a pasuk. Possibly he is using Artscroll and sees the pasuk on the side of the Oz v'Hadar Tzuras haDaf. He might not know where the pasuk is in Tanach and so he might get up and grab a hardbound Tanach and find the pasuk. Maybe he might not. Possibly the fact that his iPhone is handy might lead him to type in a few characters and see the pasuk in its context.

2) yeshivah bachur looking up ain mishpat ner mitzvah

Our yeshivah bachur encouters 'os' samech on Berachos Chaf Vav Amud Aleph. The Rambam is quoted there as Shum Halacha Tess. Now the bachur has to crawl back through the stack of Ain Mishpat Ner Mitzvah to find the source location from which this Shum descends which in this case is 'os' yud. Once armed with the source, Hilchos Tefilla from above and Halacha Tess from 'os' samech.he is ready to go to the Seforim Shank to get the Rambam. OOPS... someone else has that Rambam volume. He sees it returned to the shelf and figures he will do his lookup at the shelf to be sure to leave the Rambam for the next learner. Punkt! He just forgot the Halacha. Back to the Gemara and once again find the pertinent information. Now he can do the lookup and find the corresponding Rambam. Still, there is more to lookup. The Tur and the Shulchan Aruch are also referenced by the original 'os.' Same story for them.

With 22lookup, a simple entry of the command "Amnm berachos 26a ס" or "Amnm berachos 26a s" and instantly the Rambam, Tur, and Shulchan Aruch will be displayed on his iPhone or iPad. If all the time savings over the course of the z'man were applied to a single Sefer... it might accrue to a serious amount of learning that would otherwise have been spent on inefficiency.

3) flying on plane - away from internet

How many seforim can one fit into the back seat pocket of the airplane seat in front of you? Without paying for internet on the flight Sefaria can not be used. Bar Ilan's (at least for me) requires use of a computer and a USB stick so that is cumbersome. Nevertheless... 22Lookup on an iPad or iPhone does not need the internet and all the references listed above are at your fingertips. Plus, for those of us who use Artscroll, 22Lookup has incorporated the Sefaria William Davidson exposition of the Shas Bavli (according to their license) thus providing an Arscroll like Hebrew/Aramaic - English version of the Talmud. Again, this does not require the internet. Also, a more experienced learner who only requires the Tzuras haDaf will find all the dafim in Shas based upon the Moznaim versions of the Tzuras haDaf as found on HebrewBooks.org (according to their license). Except for Shabbos, of course, maybe one can really travel with just an iPad or iPhone and not have to bring the Full size Artscroll or desk size Artscroll, or even the thin travel versions. Plus, the very nice Artscroll app for the iPad costs several hundred dollars while 22Lookup is Free. It does not have the same features as the Artscroll app. Those features which 22Lookup shares with Artscroll may be second rate. But it can also be said that the Artscroll app does not have all the features of 22Lookup and the Artscoll app comes with a steep price.

4) business man who carved out one hour during the day to squeeze in learning

Echoing the words of the previous cases... someone on a tight time budget does not like to see any of it wasted and so makes micro-calculations in his brain to see if any action is worth the time needed. Trying to minimize the time and effort expended while maximizing the benefit is an underlying design feature of the 22Lookup app. Speed, accuracy, and ease of use.

Unlike many of the apps at JewishSoftware.com or even the Artscroll app, 22Lookup was designed and crafted by one person. A person that changed his life based upon exposure to Talmud at age 40. (Please see the article describing my transformation Ami Article 1/1/2020. I initially designed this app for my own use and over the four years that I have been working on it in my "spare" time, I have incorporated ideas from Rabbanim and learners I respect. Plus, I desinged a modular framework and I hope that users will come forth with helpul suggestions and ideas that can be incorporated into the corpus of in-place code.

Thank you for trying 22Lookup - available for Free in the Apple Store.

Jan Buckler

3 Shevat 5780