The Benefits of Being Stupid When You're Old The Splendid Feasts of Passover Take Note Computer Corner The Bar Mitzvah Present The Mountain and the Sea The Empty Nest Syndrome (Almost) Ask the OK Fleuchem: Where Nature, Chemicals and Kashrus Meet Making the Most of Your Simchah A Different Standard Pschology Q&A I Can't Help Being Sensitive The Transformer Remembering the Past: Reclaiming the Future Odds & Ends Letters to the Editor Seeing the Light

WordPoint, Version 1.1
(Distributed by Torah Educational Software)

   Here is a very useful dictionary from Accent Software. This handy CD-ROM is the brainchild of Kivun Computers, an Israeli division of Accent. The Jerusalem-based company has created a handy tool for translating words into English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, Dutch, or Hebrew.

   You activate the dictionary either by clicking your mouse or holding the cursor over a word. WordPoint then displays the word’s translation in the language you have chosen. As an example of English-Hebrew, if you point to the word "useful," WordPoint gives two translations: "shimushi," for the word’s use as an adjective (as in "useful dictionary," in the first paragraph of this review); and "mo'il," for the word's use as an inactive verb, as in "this program is useful for translations."

   The user can keep WordPoint in the background, or call it up as a Main Window and manually enter words for translation. The user interface is available in several additional languages, including Norwegian and Portuguese.

   You can visit Accent's website at http://www.accentsoft.com. Torah Educational Software can be reached at 914-356-1485.

Master Daf
(Torah Educational Software)

   Daf Yomi study is the rage these days, with the reverberations of the recent Siyum HaShas continuing to echo around the world. There is no doubt that the number of people studying the daily Talmud page has climbed exponentially in the last half a year. Torah Educational Software seeks to capitalize on this growing market with Master Daf.

   The daily Talmud folio is very capably presented in this artfully designed program. Of course, you get the actual Talmud page for any date you select. A narrator explains the daf in English. But there is much more.

   Among Master Daf’s features, the marginal notes located in the standard Vilna Shas, such as Ein Mishpat and Masoras HaShas, are hyperlinked to the daf. The user has the ability to navigate anywhere in the Talmud, and there is internet connectivity. You can even add your own voice notes.

   Master Daf will bring up the relevant sections of the Shulchan Aruch. As a bonus, it is bundled with an Aramaic/Hebrew dictionary and with the Mishnah Berurah, the modern classic Jewish law text.

Talmud Tutor Plus
(Davka)

   Who were the writers of the Talmud? Where was it written? How does one convert Talmudic weights and measures into today’s standards? Today’s Gemara students are often unaware of these details.

   This is where Talmud Tutor Plus comes in – not to explain the Talmud itself, but to identify its milieu.

   There is a timeline of the Talmud, a dictionary with basic vocabulary words (often carelessly translated by Talmud students), and a quiz to sharpen your knowledge. There are also maps of ancient Israel and Babylonia, with a history of the major centers of learning.

   Gemara students are sure to benefit from Talmud Tutor Plus. As a bonus, it is bundled with the text and English translation of two chapters that are commonly among those studied by beginners – the third chapter in Bava Metzia and the first chapter in Berachos.

   You can reach Davka at 773-465-4070.