By COLlive reporter
Three Lubavitch affiliated groups are in the midst of a wrestle over the hearts and clicks of religious Jewish women, as they all launched online calendars for family purity in recent weeks.
For thousands of years, Jewish women calculated dates of Taharas Hamishpacha themselves or by consulting an orthodox rabbi.
Part of the complexity for working out these dates is that the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar, in which each new day starts at nightfall. Most people are used to the civil calendar, in which the new day begins at midnight.
Innovation and computer technology has led to the establishment of no less than three websites – MYmikvahcalendar.com, mikvahminder.com and MikvahCalendar.com – with the same goals, each boasting its own tools, design, and rabbinical supervision.
COLlive has mapped out the competition for you:
Website: www.MYmikvahcalendar.com
Owner: Mikvah.org/Taharas Hamishpacha International, a division of Machne Israel Inc.
Supervision: Rabbi Sholom Ber Chaikin of Cleveland, OH, and renowned Chosson teacher.
Timeline: N/A
Tools: Interactive calendar, SMS and email alerts, video tutorials, ‘Ask A Rabbi,’ adapts to travel past International Time Line, toll free number for live help 1-866-908-2468.
Price: Free for now (sponsored in part by the Rohr Family Foundation through Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch).
Pitch: “The Rolls Royce of online mikvah calendars and the only one launched under the auspices of Merkos. We include many of the same familiar features that THI has incorporated in their signature hard copy.”
* * *
Website: www.MikvahMinder.com
Owner: MikvahMinder L.L.C. / Avraham Dubosky, Tuvia Givre.
Supervision: Rabbi Elchonon Lisbon, Rav of Congregation Ohel Levi Yitzchok, Baltimore, Maryland.
Timeline: Idea born in November 2006. Givre: “My wife and I were having trouble remembering all the details, and I was wondering why there wasn’t a computer program to help.” It took two years to develop.
Tools: Interactive calendar, SMS and email alerts, global Mikvah directory, newsletter, purchase Mikvah supplies.
Price: $18 per year. Free trial for three months.
Pitch: “If we can help one woman keep Taharas HaMishpacha who would have not otherwise kept it, I feel we have done our job. Although, we hope a lot more people will benefit from our project.”
* * *
Website: www.MikvahCalendar.com
Owner: Cheshbon LaNefesh / Rivkah Bloom.
Supervision: Rabbi Fishel Jacobs of Kfar Chabad, author of “Family Purity – A Guide to Marital Fulfillment.”
Timeline: It took Mrs. Bloom four years to develop together with a colleague from MIT who “would like to remain anonymous.”
Tools: Interactive calendar with choice of visual backgrounds, Chabad and Ashkenazic customs (Sephardic coming soon), SMS and email alerts, ‘Ask the rabbi’ section.
Price: Free until July 15. After that, $18 per year.
Pitch: “Even single women and men and people of other faiths would enjoy the website because they can understand in a tangible way how every aspect of a Jewish life can be holy.”
B”H I have just seen this article. I oppose the base assumption suggesting an underlying competition. I supplied an approbation to the http://www.mikvahcalendar.com site, not as a competition to any other holy site. Simply because the developers have consulted me for years during development. And I have examined the site’s capabilities. I have not had time, due to infinite responsibilities, to look over the other sites, those which have asked for my approbation. That is a technical issue of time. All of these sites, from what I have seen, are a tremendous kiddush Hashem. Suggesting there is a competition is… Read more »
After having read all the comments for this article, I have to say that I’m a little saddened by the lack of ahavas yisrael displayed here, and on other news sites in the responses on similar articles. I created MikvahMinder with the intent of making Taharas HaMishpacha easy for people to fulfill. What is not mentioned in the article, is that I did do it for personal reasons as well. My wife an I have had nearly 10 (or more) miscarriages, and we learned that a way to get a Bracha for children is to be more exacting with your… Read more »
Although I see there is much controversy over using an online system, I do believe the benefits outweigh a regular calendar.
I for one have made mistakes with my dates before, and would rather trust an automatic system.
There are many women who are not as committed to spending much time figuring out the proper dates, and if this can help them be more accurate its worth it!!!
Thanks col for bringing these to our attention. I’ll be sure to try them out!
who said that any of the 3 knew about the other projects which have all been in the planning for years….
this is embarrasing
The only one I would recommend would be Mikvah.org/Calendar I would not trust those other FOR PROFIT sites.. Who knows who they might sell my info to for a profit.
1. If they were doing it for 5 years, I’m glad somone else started. Maybe that’s why they finally finished it. And now it’s free.
2. TH website looks to be the best and it is approved by Rabbi Chaikin.
3. As it says on their site, it is only meant for double checking and learning how to do it. There are some opinions that you must actually make the cheshbon yourself.
Thanks to all 3 of the sites for making it easier for myself to calculate and to get others to keep the laws of Tahras Hamishpacha.
Great job – we waited soooo long for this
I dont know… im still skeptical about using a computer program. how can you trust it 100% and know that it will never mess up?
I am using the TH calendar and it is great! saves me alot of time and is easy to use
I am very impressed with the Taharas Hamishpacha online Calendar. I used to use their hardcopy of the Calendar and the online calendar is similar and easy to follow. (I still copy down into the hardcopy just incase…) Thank you Tahras Hamishpacha and Hatzlacha!!
i’m going to try them all and then decide
this is a great resouce bec i usually make mistakes on the regular calendar
the first time i heard of the calandar idea online was through our own local (crown heights) t. h. organization.
The one from isreal, although under Rabbi Jacobs who wrote a fabulous book, i would like to say that i never heard of the website for the calandars till now.
Thank you to our branch of T.H.
I know for a fact that TH has been planning and working on an online calendar for about 7yrs. Actively for 5. I can give you the list of ppl they were in touch with over the years.
Competition is always better for the consumer.
You are 100% correct.
Shame on you, COLLIVE, for sowing Machlokes, especially at such a shaky time, and during Sefirah…
This is not great reporting, this is creating rifts and competitions…
(I will not be shocked if you are too cowardly to post my comment.)
Someone needs to ask Rabbi Tzinner who does he endorse; many shluchim speak to him on a daily basis
However, I won’t be surprised if he says that one would be better off not using online calculator at all [imagine you loose Internet connection or are in a place without any or perhaps there is a glitch i the program and you didn’t get the memo]
why do you call this “controversy”? This is just reporting. Thanks COLlive for doing a great job
YOU HAVE THE BEST REPORTING AROUND
how is it possible to rely on a computer for these kind of important things? what if there is a glitch and it makes a mistake???
I stiill use the chart on the cardboard booklet . works fine and not complicated. all these programs are intimidating.
Anyone tried any of them? are they any good?
That in Lubavitch we keep wasting efforts. Instead of doing things together and utilize each ones talent, we have competition
Creating rifts is NOT OUR WAY. Collive, this is inappropriate and I think you should think about repercussions before posting articles like this.