About OrQuest
OrQuest (אור־קווסט) is an app for learning to read Hebrew and to study Torah. It is not Orquest (orquest.com), the workforce-scheduling software, or its employee app.
What OrQuest is
OrQuest teaches Hebrew, Jewish practice and the places where both of them happened, as one course rather than three. The app is still being built and is not yet in the App Store or Google Play.
On this site
- Torah stories
- 28 stories
- Torah passages, verse by verse
- 29 passages, 132 verses
- Parashah calendar
- When each of the 54 parashot is read in Israel, and pages for 33 of them
- Siddur
- A line on each of the app’s 21 prayers, in 7 sections and three nusachim, each with its full Hebrew text
- Places
- 24 places, 17 in Israel and 7 abroad
- Hebrew alphabet
- 22 letters and 5 final forms
- Hebrew vowels
- 13 vowels and 3 other marks
- Hebrew phrases
- 157 phrases in 12 groups
Where the texts come from
The stories, explanations, place guides, phrases, letter and vowel notes, lessons and holiday notes come from the OrQuest app, with their pictures.
The verses
The verses are from Miqra according to the Masorah (Wikisource, CC BY-SA 4.0), via Sefaria, without the cantillation marks. On this site the four-letter Name is written ה׳. Every verse on this site was compared letter by letter with a second, independent edition. Shemot 20:1-3 is still waiting for that check, so it is not on this site yet.
The siddur
In the app, every prayer is quoted from these editions, via Sefaria:
- The Metsudah siddur, 1981
- Torat Emet 357
- Daat Siddur Ashkenaz
- Shaliehsaboo Edition
The reading calendar
The Israeli reading calendar is from Hebcal (CC BY 4.0), checked against Sefaria.
The commentators
When an explanation draws on a commentator’s reading, it names the commentator. Across the 29 passages on this site: Rashi in every passage, Ramban in 26, Ibn Ezra in 17, Rambam in 16, Sforno in 8, Rashbam in 4, Onkelos and Or HaChaim in 3 each.
Media made with AI
In the app: The illustrations, films and reward icons were made with AI image and video models. The verses of the Torah passages are read by an AI voice. No one was recorded for OrQuest. The details are in Credits and licences.
How it handles disagreement
We describe customs rather than rule on them. Where communities differ, each is named. For a question of halakhah, ask a rabbi.
What it does not do
It is not a substitute for a teacher
Use OrQuest alongside a teacher, a class or a congregation.
Pronunciation is not graded
Nothing you say is recorded, uploaded or scored.
History here is a summary
Short accounts to read before a visit, not scholarship.
Who runs OrQuest, and how to reach us
The operator’s details and how to write to us are on Contact and business details. Found a mistake? Tell us.
Last updated:
orquestapp.com/about/
OrQuest is coming to iPhone and Android.
One email, when OrQuest reaches the app stores.