• Includes Ashkenazi Pronunciation
• Fully recorded interactive reading of Torah Blessings
• Fully recorded interactive reading of Cantillations (Taamim)
• Fully recorded interactive reading of all Torah Portions...
• Fully recorded interactive reading of all Haftara Portions...
• Fully recorded interactive reading of all Torah Holiday Readings...
• Words are highlighted IN HEBREW AND ENGLISH as cantor reads...
• Special features increase reading accuracy and fluency...
• Full control of learning unit size from a single word to a full Aliya...
• Easy repetition of hard to pronounce words - just click the word...
• Torah is displayed in Special Torah Font or conventional Font...
• Cantillation and Punctuation are displayed or removed from screen by a single click...
• Ability to show text in large easy reading fonts...
• Ability to view Torah exactly as the actual Torah Scroll looks...
• User editable colors for various parts of the scroll...
• Ability to hear each word Chanted and pronounced in clear Hebrew...
• Ability to hear each word chanted as a Musical Note...
• Special glyphs for Shevva Na and Kammatz kattan
• Easy to use software.
• Works in all versions of Windows NO ADDITIONAL software or hardware to buy!

Judy Siegel-Itzkovich - Jerusalem Post (7/1/2002) wrote:

Kol Kore Bar Mitzva Tutor, a CD-ROM in Hebrew with English translation, by
Kol Kore in Bnei Brak, distributed by Torah Educational Software
(www.jewishsoftware.com), requires Windows 95 and up and a Pentium 133 Mhz
PC or better, for boys (and girls) of pre-bar mitzva (and pre-bat mitzva)
age, or any adult who wants to polish up reading of the Torah.

Rating: ***** FIVE GRAPHIC STARS


My first job, at the age of 17 in my native New York, was to prepare
Jewishly ignorant 12-and-a-half-year-old boys for their Bar Mitzva. Since
these boys didn¹t know a word of Hebrew or even the letters of the Alef-Bet,
I was pleased if they learned merely how to read text and were able to
memorize the blessings for the Torah readings ­ and ecstatic if they
developed some fondness for or curiosity in their Jewish heritage. Learning
how to chant their Torah portion and Haftara was out of the question.
This excellent teaching program would not have replaced me, as users have to
know how to read Hebrew to benefit from it. But anyone who can read the
language (that means all Israelis, secular and observant) and is willing to
invest hours of study in preparing for his Bar or Bat Mitzva would benefit
from this piece of software; the more-diligent, well-motivated child could
make a convincing performance on his day of man/womanhood even without any
input from a knowing adult.
The developer is justifiably concerned that someone who wants to save money
would buy a disk for his child and then lend (or sell) it to a relative or
friend with a Bar/Bat Mitzva coming up ­ something they could not do with a
human Bar Mitzva tutor. Thus the company reminds users through the the
printed manual that ³to our dismay, some people think that using a program
without paying for it is not theft. This is NOT SO. This program is designed
to help fulfil a mitzva. There is nothing more strictly forbidden than a
mitzva that is the result of a sin.² But the developers impressively add:
³If you know of any person who needs this program but cannot afford it,
please write to us, and we will be glad to accommodate.² Not only is there a
key code on the disk¹s crystal case, but you also have to call in or e-mail
the company to obtain an additional code, which is suited only to the
computer from which the message is sent. The disadvantage here, for
legitimate purchasers, is that they can¹t use the program they purchased on
a new computer ­ unless they explain this to Kol Kore. And anyone who
doesn¹t formally register for the pass-key can use the program only three
times; only after getting this do you have unlimited access.
Once you pass this hurdle, go to the Portion of the Week determined by your
Hebrew birthday. One had best consult a rabbi or another expert so that you
don¹t make a mistake and end up studying for months, only to learn that
you¹ve learned the wrong one.
The user-friendly program lets you pull down the Book of the Torah menu to
choose one, and then the section within it that you need to study. There are
many options to suit the learning environment to you, most importantly the
cantillation style. Choose among Ashkenazic-Israeli style (mostly commonly
used among Ashkenazi modern Orthodox); Sephardic-Jerusalem style; and
Ashkenazic-Ashkenazi style (most often used among haredim who speak
Ashkenazi-style Hebrew). Sephardi Jews are a bit shortchanged, as there are
nearly a dozen different Sephardi styles, but would be impossible to fit
them all onto a single disk. You can also choose the font styles, sizes, an
ordinary or ³parchment² background to the text, any of a dozen colors aside
from white as the background and colors for the letters and the size of the
reading unit. You may also decide that you want to display the text with the
vowel and cantillation marks (as they appear in a printed book) or without
(as in the actual Torah scroll), to hear voice of the ba¹al kore (person who
sings the cantillation) or to mute the sound completely after you¹ve learned
it well enough to do it yourself. You can also pause at any time in the text.
Learn the cantillation marks, which are in a different order and contain a
different set of symbols depending on Ashkenazi or Sephardi modes, for the
Torah and Haftara by watching the highlighted words and hearing the reader
chant them repeatedly. The blessings before and after going up to the Torah
(aliya) and preceding and following the reading of the Haftara. Also
available on the disk are special readings for the Shabbat before a Rosh
Hodesh that falls on a Sunday, a Shabbat that coincides with the new Hebrew
month, the special readings before Yom Kippur, Pessah, Purim, and other
holidays. Any verse can be translated into English with a click of a button
on the screen.
Work hard at this, at your own pace and whenever you have time, and all
that¹s left to do is buy a new outfit, write a speech for the festive dinner
and prepare to collect all those presents.