The Palo Alto–based company that offers Magic Yad, a smartpen that “reads” Hebrew text to help bar or bat mitzvah students learn their Torah portion, has introduced several products for the upcoming High Holy Days.
The new products will help participants with their Torah and Haftorah preparation. The products include readings for the Rosh Hashanah morning services and Yom Kippur morning and afternoon services, and are organized by traditional and Reform.
The new High Holy Days application is now available at www.magicyad.com. Pricing begins at $40 for Magic Yad’s “standard” cantor’s voice and at $50 for any other cantor or teacher’s voice. A Livescribe Pulse smartpen, which retails for about $150, is required for Magic Yad operation, and is also available on the website.
Magic Yad works by playing back pre-recorded, professional chanting by tapping different parts of a specially printed page of trope or verse with a Pulse smartpen. Additional icons allow users to record and hear themselves chanting a phrase or slow down the audio playback to fine-tune pronunciation and cantillation.
The company lists Palo Alto and Needhman, Mass., as its locations.