Chabad Chassidim always stood at forefront of utilizing technological advances for purposes of spreading Yiddishkait and the wellsprings of Chassidus.

This following the Rebbe’s guidance on the matter, who insisted that, congruent with normative Jewish thought, all of creation, from the largest to the smallest, were intended solely as a tool to better service its maker. The Rebbe often cited the Zohar which states that the floodgates of both secular and, L’havdil, Torah knowledge will open as a preparation for the arrival of Moshiach.

With the Rebbe’s encouragement, Rabbi Yosef Weinberg began giving Tanya lessons over the radio, before it was popular. Soon after, the internet became ubiquitous, and Chabad was a pioneer in launching multiple websites to reach every Jew in every place throughout the globe. Yiddishkait was now accessible to all, thanks to Chabad.

Today, with the advent of smartphones, apps are the new craze, and there’s one for everything. However, despite the large market, not many successful Jewish apps are available.

Recently, that began to change. At the recent International Kinus Hashluchim, Rabbi Shraga Crombie unveiled a brand new app that aims to provide users with information about nearest Chabad center’ locations, to accommodate for all basic Jewish needs. Some have already dubbed it the ‘Waze’ of Chabad.

The app, developed by Rabbi Yitzhar Mardechai and designed by Akiva Friedman, is beautiful, intuitive and seamless, and adheres to the highest industry standards.

Upon launch anywhere in the world, the GPS-enabled app displays the nearest Chabad House or center’s location, contact information, and other pertinent details. Additionally, the app offers the option of direct navigation to that location.

One can also search the comprehensive directory of Chabad Houses and centers by entering a country, city, or zip code, and find all those nearby. The app’s directory already contains thousands of Chabad Houses listings, but users can also add new locations from within the app.

The app currently operates in two languages, Hebrew and English, and automatically switches to the preferred language by recognizing the phone’s default setting. In coming days additional languages will be added, including Spanish, French, and Russian.

Currently only in its Beta version, the app will undergo continues improvements based on user feedback. (The app is currently only available for Android.)

To download the app, click here.

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