Our Mission

Throughout the generations, Judaism has responded in different ways to the historical and technological changes around it. One finds varied, at times even opposing, approaches to the challenges and innovations that each era has set before our people. There is no doubt that this question grows ever sharper in our own generation, in which the pace of technological progress in so many spheres is exponential. In a reality brought about by the Holy One, blessed be He, in which nearly every person today carries a device of remarkable capability, close at hand for most hours of the day, we at Koren see it as our charge to continue in the path of our teachers: to embrace the tools placed at our doorstep, and to consider how best to devote them to the service of God. In coming to pour old wine into a new vessel, we are bound to continue the legacy of Eliyahu Koren, of blessed memory, in content and design alike. The path he illuminated for us is a wondrous joining of broad vision and meticulous care for details, in Torah and in prayer alike, a joining that ultimately serves to enhance our experience of prayer and of study. With the help of senior designer Esther Be’er – who was privileged to work alongside Eliyahu Koren and who, in his later years when his vision began to fade, was quite literally his eyes – we have embedded in the interface before you many principles refined over decades. All of them are rooted in the brilliant approach of Eliyahu Koren and steeped in the Torah of the Land of Israel. We pray that just as he was privileged to elevate the prayers of many with the tools of his day, so may we be privileged to continue his path and his legacy, elevating the prayers of those who use this app with the tools of today. We believe that if these are the tools the Holy One, blessed be He, places at our disposal, surely we must use them fully and well in order to reach the goal. In the words of the Ramḥal: “For the goal is attained only through the gathering of all the means that exist and that serve to reach it” (Mesillat Yesharim, ch. 1). One example is the display of the tefilla word by word, or phrase by phrase, at a steady pace chosen by the user. First and foremost, this applies the design principle of a spacious, uncluttered page, just as in the printed siddur. In print, slowing the pace of prayer to allow greater attention to every phrase is achieved by the division into lines; on the platform before you it is amplified, for the pace can be set and kept steady. The worshipper’s heart is turned wholly toward the prayer, and almost imperceptibly his concentration deepens, for one wants to take in the words while they are still on the screen, before they change, and so one’s focus rests on the words of the tefilla themselves. Moreover, the device may be set down on a surface for the whole of the prayer, letting one rest one’s hands over one’s heart without interruption, as codified in the Shulḥan Arukh (95:3). Indeed, we have drawn and refined from decades of experience in the design of siddurim to bring you what lies before you here. Yet because embedding those principles in a digital vessel is a delicate and intricate craft, demanding great precision, trial and error, and deep collaboration among many individuals, not all of these principles yet find expression in the present work; the vision awaits its appointed time. It is our prayer that, with time, we will continue to develop the app before you according to a blueprint that on the one hand already exists, and on the other is renewed and refined day by day. We invite you to be partners with us in this moving endeavor to use the tool before you, and to share your insights with us.