iPad App, "iT'filah," Provides Interactive and Portable Friday Night Prayer Experience

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Dec 7, 2011) - The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), the largest publisher of Jewish liturgy in North America, has launched "iT'filah: The Mishkan T'filah App (for iPad) - Friday Night Service," the first prayer book app for North America's liberal Jewish community. As with the CCAR Press' Mishkan T'filah - A Reform Siddur (2007), the app offers an innovative approach to the Friday night Shabbat liturgy including contemporary interpretations, gender sensitive language, inspiring meditations and transliterations.

The groundbreaking app moves the prayer experience out of the traditional siddur (prayer book) into the digital realm, allowing for limitless possibilities. Users can enlarge text, turn pages with the swipe of a finger and hear prayers chanted or read aloud. This app is designed to be used in any setting where Mishkan T'filah is used, as well as in private moments of prayer and study.

"'Enthusiastic,' 'Awesome' are some of the reactions we have heard about the 'iT'filah' App. As more of our congregants view their iPads and other tablets as an integrated part of their lives, having this app readily available makes prayer, as well as the prayer experience, more accessible," says Rabbi Elaine Zecher of Temple Israel, Boston and Chair, CCAR Committee on Worship and Practice.

"We are very proud to have 'iT'filah: The Mishkan T'filah App' serve as our first iPad App," says Rabbi Hara Person, Publisher and Director of the CCAR Press. "We hope that this app and future additions to our catalogue will enhance the prayer experience of our congregants, colleagues, students and others looking for a unique Jewish experience."

Rabbi Person also noted that the app is one of the signs that innovation is alive and well in the Reform Movement. The CCAR has taken the lead in other cutting-edge innovations, including Visual T'filah, as well as bringing traditional values into modernity with the recent publication of the Sacred Table -- challenging Jews to reexamine Jewish dietary practices.

Doug Workman, a ritual committee member of Kol Ami in West Hollywood, CA, said, "Wow! The only thing that can top Mishkan T'filah is the new iT'filah. The well-done iPad interface is perfect, and it sings and chants! I have had it less than an hour and I don't know how I did without it."

"iT'filah: The Mishkan T'filah App (for iPad) - Friday Night Service" is available for download via the App Store or at http://ccarnet.org/itfilah (link forwards to the App Store).

To arrange a conversation with Rabbi Hara Person, Publisher and Director of the CCAR Press, please contact Katarina Wenk-Bodenmiller of Sommerfield Communications at 212-255-8386 or katarina@sommerfield.com.

About The CCAR

The Central Conference of American Rabbis, founded in 1889, is the oldest and largest rabbinic organization in North America. As the professional organization for Reform Rabbis of North America, the CCAR projects a powerful voice in the religious life of the American and international Jewish communities. Since its establishment, the CCAR has a rich history of serving Reform rabbis and the congregations/organizations that they serve. The CCAR provides Rabbis with opportunities for study, professional development and spiritual growth beginning while they are still in seminary, through mid-careers, and into retirement. The CCAR is uniquely positioned to meet the ongoing needs of its nearly 2,000 member rabbis (virtually the entire Reform rabbinate) and the entire Reform Jewish community. For more information please visit the CCAR's website at http://ccarnet.org/.