\fR oo m-hāk\ n. Any application of ingenuity for those who are committed to observe the 613 Mitzvot. [ORIGIN: Yiddish פֿרום (frum|fR oo m) meaning "commited to observe the 613 Mitzvot, or Jewish commandments" and the English Slang term HACK (hāk|hak) or LIFEHACK (līf-hāk|lahyf-hak) meaning "anything that solves an everyday problem in a clever/non-obvious way or an appropriate application of ingenuity"]

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years, (and there are many of you who have been) you have probably already heard of the sites I am going to discuss below. However I felt it necessary to list and profile them on the blog because they fit so well, and I am sure there are those of you out there who have not heard of one or all of them.

That being said this is probably a good time to bring up a point about reading this blog: there will probably some posts for things you already know about, or have already done, this doesn’t mean you should just give up reading and move on, the blog is aimed at the middle of the group so for some of you that means that there will often times be posts that you have heard of, and for others everything here will be new and exciting. Please try and refrain from posting comments like, “DUH! Where have you been??!?” and the like, not only does it make other reader who may have not heard of these things feel bad, but it makes you look insensitive and, well, boorish.

Onward!

OnlySimchas.com
Provides free posting of simchas (everything from Weddings, to Upsherins (sp?) to Aliyah) complete with a personal photo gallery of your simcha, message posting (to wish a ‘Mazel Tov’) and video uploads to help keep those Jewish yentahs informed at all times. It has become a staple of frum life. “Yeah, she’s engaged, I just saw it on OnlySimchas!” or “Mazel Tov! Are there pictures on OnlySimchas?” OnlySimchas has added classified ads, business directories and a dating service.

MyZmanim.com
Possibly on of the most important sites for frum life. Provides zmanim (Halachic times) for every place on the planet, just by entering your location, zip code, or even latitude and longitude. The site has the ability to adjust for many different shitos, for example sea level vs. actual altitude and has recently added davening directions to help us all face the right way while praying.

GoDaven.com and MinyanMaps.com
International minyan databases, let you find a minyan anywhere there is one. GoDaven uses a search engine and MinyanMaps uses a map feature similar to Google Maps.

FiveTownsRadio.com
An online radio stations that streams Jewish music and content to your computer 24/6.

MostlyMusic.com
Possibly the greatest Jewish media site ever. MostlyMusic sells Jewish music CDs, sheet music, tapes, etc. all on their surprisingly professional site. When I first visited I thought it was a regular site that happened to carry Jewish stuff. They also now have their own Jewish online radio station, JewishBroadcast.com.

HebCal.com
Great tool! HebCal generates Jewish calendars for any day, month, year complete with holidays, dates, candle lighting times, sedras days of the omer and more. It also converts Gregorian dates to Jewish ones, lists the Holidays or your personal days (Yahrtzeits, etc.) and has parsha summaries for the weekly parsha. If you visit it from your mobile phone it will ask for your zip code and give you the shabbos times.

A list of websites that have seforim online:

And I am sure there are many more…

And now for some shameless plugs for friends’ sites:

WearMOTS.com
My friend Hillel Smith makes T-shirts and the truth is they are pretty good. He spent a really long time in college learning how to do it (and all sorts of other things to do with art) even though he probably didn’t need to…
[From the About Us of the site] “So everyone you know, you included, has at some point thought, “Hey, I’m funny. And Jewish. I’ll make t-shirts.” We went through with it. As M.o.T.s (Members of the Tribe, i.e. Jews. That includes you.) we wanted something that’s Jewish, funny, smart, and pretty darn cool. Founded in late 2006, M.o.T.s is headquartered in Los Angeles (home of the short sleeves in winter) and trying to establish branch offices elsewhere. Let us know if you’re interested. Enjoy our M.o.T.s. They are yafeh me’od.”

ShtarkProductions.com
The maker of the original ‘Shtark Card’ a credit card sized card with everything from Brachot to Pitom Ha’Ketoret and everything in between. They are full color, pretty (I wonder who designed them?) and laminated so you don’t have to worry about going into the bathroom when they are in your pocket. They are now expanding into Gedolim/Rebbe pictures and a number of other neat innovations for frum life. Their full site should be up soon (I wonder who is supposed to be developing it?). But visit their temporary page to place an order or make a customized card for your simcha, youth group or other event.

Kol Hamevaser
YU magazine focusing on Jewish thought, a great read and always entertaining, thought provoking and frustrating.
[From the site] “Kol Hamevaser is a magazine of Jewish thought dedicated to sparking the discussion of Jewish issues on the Yeshiva University campus. It will serve as a forum for the introduction and development of new ideas. Additionally, Kol Hamevaser will provide an outlet for the varieties of original thought already existing on campus. The print edition of the magazine will also serve as the centerpiece for the further growth of an exciting community of young scholars and thinkers as they mature and prepare to tackle the issues facing the larger Orthodox and Jewish worlds.”

I hope these links are helpful and now with all of these ‘old things’ out of the way, I hope to begin with some innovations…