Haredi students build apps for prayer alerts and finding the nearest minyan at Bab-a-Da hackathon

More than 100 Haredi students from schools across Israel completed a first-of-its-kind app development pilot run by the Haredi technology and science nonprofit Bab-a-Da. The program ended on Monday, the first day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, with a festive development marathon held in Jerusalem.

The event, described by the organization as an "hackathon" or development marathon, gave eight teams a real-world problem to solve. Each group chose its challenge in advance and built a technological solution with close guidance from industry mentors and the teachers who taught the course.

The projects included advanced drone technology applications for control, safety checks and flight-zone identification, smart home management and automation systems, and artificial intelligence projects with dedicated databases for intelligent identification. Some apps were tailored to Jewish daily life, including tools to navigate to the nearest minyan, alerts for prayer times, and similar uses.

Judging was based on originality, sophisticated use of sensors, design and user experience, and the quality of the presentation. The winning teams received valuable prizes. Bab-a-Da director Michal Ivgi said that after a difficult period, the marathon was a meaningful end to an innovative, breakthrough program. She said the nonprofit sees it as a privilege to provide professional and educational support to thousands of Haredi children and adults, while preserving their values. The program was run with the Technion and the Leshem organization, with the aim of making advanced technology, including AI and automation, accessible in a religiously appropriate and supervised framework.