Father and Son
Produce A Series
of Jewish Aids
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
n one of his classic ditties from
the 1960s, satirist Tom
Leherer wrote of the "new
math" — "it's so simple that
only a child can do it."
A similar sentiment might be ap-
plied to the world of the modern per-
sonal computer, where teen-aged
hackers weaned on bits, bytes and
"Turbo C," have a gut understan-
ding of computers that turns parents
green with envy.
So, it is hardly surprising that one
member of a team producing Jewish
software is only 11 years old. Wash-
ington, D.C., resident Maurice
Mizrahi and his son, Michael, have
produced a series of Jewish learning
aids for the PC that should appeal to
Sunday school teachers and parents
alike.
"Our basic goal was to make
Judaism more interesting," said
Mizrahi, a physicist at the Pen-
tagon. "It was a labor of love; we
really never expected to sell
anything."
But a Washington Jewish com-
puter fair convinced the Mizrahis
that there's a market for Judaic soft-
ware — a lesson that other software
developers are quickly learning.
One of the Mizrahis' most attrac-
tive offerings is the "Super Jewish
Juke Box," a program that features
some 120 common synagogue
melodies in a forniat designed to
promote easy learning even for the
linguistically inept.
When the user makes a selection,
the computer begins to play the
melody in unearthly electronic
tones, and the screen presents the
words. Hebrew lyrics are
transliterated, and translations are
also given.
The sound may not approach the
New York Philharmonic, but the
written lyrics are clear and easy to
follow: all the program lacks is a
bouncing ball of the sort used by
Mitch Miller.
Each song continues to play until
the user presses any key. The only
possible flaw in the program is the
mandatory "America the Beautiful"
that plays before the user can exit.
The senior Mizrahi handled the
programming and designed the slick
user interface which should pose no
problem for adult computer klutzes;
for today's generation of computer-
smart kids, of course, the program is
child's play.
The Mizrahis have not limited
themselves to musical offerings. In
"Judaica Quiz," users are asked
questions from a pool of more than
700 brain-busters, like "Who were
the Zealots fighting?" Correct an-
swers are rewarded with the sound
of Jewish songs.
I
•
412trol*
s.,,, N.••••it.e ftig,
"I have about 70 subscribers, all adults, who are professionals."
First, enter (313) 553-9274 in your
communications software. Next, set
the software for either 1200 baud,
2400 baud or 9600 HST, then N-8-1.
If this sounds like Greek to you,
don't panic; popular communica-
tions packages like "Procomm" lead
you through the setup process in a
way that assumes about a fourth-
grade education. 0
28
FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 1990
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