Yiddish Slang Dictionary
The next time you’re at a party and someone calls you a shlemiel when you spill your soda, whip out the Yiddish Slang Dictionary on your smartphone for an appropriate retort. Thanks to this app, Yiddish experts and neophytes alike can parse the language’s rich rhetorical epithets. The dictionary includes common words (schlep, mensch) along with more obscure bon mots such as tummler and schmutter.
The Amazing Jewish-Fact-a-Day Calendar
Can you name the play into which Shakespeare slipped some Hebrew? What do you know about the Talmud’s seemingly prophetic stance on airplanes? This app winforms users about important historical events that occurred on that date, fascinating religious practices and famous figures. Learn about everything from Louis Armstrong’s early job working for a Jewish family to historic disagreements between Hillel and Shammai.
Going Paprikash
Before World War II, as many as 250,000 Jews lived in Budapest, filling the Hungarian capital’s 125 synagogues. When they weren’t praying, they were cooking up a treasure trove of culinary treats, such as rakott krumpli (potato casserole), paprikas csirke (chicken paprikas) and gomboc (dumplings). Those longing for a taste of Hungary’s Jewish heritage can download this app, which features 120 kosher Hungarian recipes and the tales of how they came to be.
Judoku
Thumb-twiddlers on subways and in office meetings can now brush up on their Jewish symbols while passing the time: A new version of the popular logic game Sudoku, usually played with numbers, features images such as the shofar, the Star of David and Hebrew letters. Just make sure to follow the cardinal rule of the game: no more than one menorah in each three-by-three box.