Getting to Know Shmitta!

by Eytan Spevack

Last week, we played games about shmitta. They were on a CD-ROM on Shmitta which was made in Israel. One game taught us about some details of shmitta that we may want to incorporate into the app. We learned about the source of shmitta in the Torah, and how to sell your land. Also, we learned about the holiness of the produce and the ways you are allowed to eat, but not do business with it . We learned about the institution of the Otzar Beit Din.

Beginning to Find the Content

By Hillel Schwab

 Today,(October 7th) we looked over a few halachot related to Shmita. We chose Halachot out of literature we read that we wanted to include in the game.  We thought of ways we could educate players about these halachot. We had a few ideas. The Otzar Beit Din could be the store, and you could also find "Shmita Scrolls" that give you hints from the Tanach and the Talmud for Shmita trivia. We had a lot of fun this session and worked hard. 

שנה טובה! 

Looking for the Features of the Ideal Game

JT here. I wrote this a few weeks ago.


Last week we discussed several different popular video games to see which features we wanted to include in our own. We looked at Angry Birds, Temple Run and 2048, and then Sparks of Eternity. We skyped with Corinne and decided to make an RPG based on Sparks of Eternity. The reason we

chose ah RPG is because it's not repetitive and you can choose your own path.

Introducing Ourselves

We are a group of middle school students in the SAR Academy in Riverdale, NY. We are designing an app in collaboration with the great folks at Jewish Interactive. Because this is a Shmitta year, our app is going to have something to do with Shmitta. We don't know what form it is going to take yet but we are excited about the journey and invite you to join us as we discover things, step by step.

In our first session we were introduced to our mentor at Jewish Interactive: Corinne Ossendryver. We skyped with her between NY and South Africa.

Before we go further, we'd just like to introduce ourselves:

Hi, I'm Rachel and I'm in 6th grade at S.A.R. Academy in Riverdale, NY. Something that I really enjoy is watching all of the NY Rangers games. I like learning new things so I'm excited to be able to learn about how to go about creating an app.

hi i am Joshua i am in 6th grade. i like eating and sleeping while playing video games and watching tv.

Hi, I'm Hillel.  I am in 6th grade.  I love sports.  My favorite sports team is the New York Mets.  I am excited to create an app about Shmita.

hellu i am JT (da boss) I love to play video games. i live in the milky way on earth in north America in the united states of America  an the east side of America in new England in new york in new york city in the Bronx in Riverdale. i go to SAR.

Hi, I'm Eytan. I live in Riverdale, and I go to SAR. I love playing sports, and I'm a big Yankees fan. I'm excited to learn how to create an app.

Hi, i'm Gabe this is all i have to say.LATER!!

Hello, my name is Mikey.  I go to SAR, and am 13 years old.  I want to create an app very much, and I am excited to see what we make.

Hi, I'm Rabbi Rosenberg--I'm the advisor to this group of very talented and individualistic kids. In our session today, we are trying out a few popular games to see what features we might want to incorporate into our game. Stay tuned!!