After downloading The Pesach Digest App 5774 database and playing with it for a while, I decided an unsolicited word of praise is in order.
For those who can remember back then, 1975, when the first edition of Rabbi Avrohom Blumenkrantz ZT”L’s Pesach Guide hit the streets of NYC, the novel pamphlet was a one-of-a-kind, rapidly becoming an annual must in all of our homes.
One did not make Pesach without buying Rabbi Blumenkrantz’s annual guide, which not only contained halachos, but a wealth of relevant information and lists of what is permissible for Passover use. This guide was a trusted Pesach companion for the years prior to my aliyah to Israel.
The years have moved on and times have changed and today, his son Rav Eli has released an application in an effort to keep up with the times. The app is a free download but one must pay for the annual database, $6.99.
What is wonderful is that you can download the app and the shell reveals everything contained in the app. This permits you to evaluate it before buying it. The categories include “baby products”, “cosmetics”, food products”, health & beauty”, kashering, non-food products, nutritional products, pet foods, updates, alerts, and zmanin. If you purchase the app, you receive a code which unlocks it and permits downloading the database.
The methodical formula patented by the late rabbi continues in the new app version, and I believe it will prove an invaluable shopping aid for many, saving many internet searches and phone calls probing the permissibility of items.
The app is available in both Android and iPhone versions.
Yechiel Spira is an investigative journalist and runs JerusalemKosherNews.com.
