JEM Launches ‘Creation’ Campaign

By COLlive reporter

Steve Jobs didn’t know it, but his celebrated lifelong work was done to serve a company that is not Apple Inc.

The way the folks at Jewish Educational Media (“JEM”) see it, those slick devices coming out of Silicon Valley were created to carry their Living Torah inspirational video clips.

“The Midrash says that gold was created in the world for the service of Hashem,” Rabbi Mendel Gourarie, ‎Video Director at JEM, says about their new campaign titled “2,064 Reasons Your iPhone Was Created.”

Shemot Rabba quotes the amora, Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish saying that the world was not worthy of using gold, but the precious metal was nevertheless created for the structures and vessels in the Mishkan and Bais Hamikdash.

JEM’s app has enjoyed over 12,000 downloads, with the iPhone and Galaxy S3 smartphones being the first and second device of preference.

“The immediate success of our Living Torah mobile app –70,000 hours were viewed since the launch 2 months ago– got us thinking that this Midrash can be applied to modern technology, as the Rebbe encouraged,” said Binyomin Druk, from the team working on the app.

The peak hours for the app usage is between 10:00pm and 12:00am Eastern Time, showing that many end the day with inspiration from the Rebbe.

One father wrote on the review page of the app in the Apple Store that every night, as he puts his children to bed, he opens the app and allows them to choose to watch one of the videos of treasured moments with the Rebbe.

Another, calling himself “a post-Gimmel Tammuz chossid,” wrote: “With my iPhone literally attached to my hand, there is so much useless and counter-productive downtime spent on meaningless apps and games.”

A Chabad Shliach has written that he was sitting with community members in his Chabad center discussing the Rebbe’s opinion about a certain topic. “So I opened the app and we watched a video on that topic,” he said. “They were all amazed.”

He said the Living Torah app, which got initial support from Rabbi Yitzchak Michaan, “has literally changed my connection with the Rebbe,” being able to tap into “a Rebbe Reservoir” at any moment and “will keep me and my children connected to the Rebbe for years to come.”

The new “creation campaign” by JEM invites the public to gain access to the Living Torah weekly video magazine and over 2,064 videos on your mobile device. Check out their introductory prices at LivingTorah.org