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“More and more kids are growing up with electronic devices in their hands,” says Rabbi Kaufmann, a Rebbi in Montreal and creator of TorahGames.org. “We may as well harness that for a positive learning experience.”
Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana and having attended the local day school – Torah Academy, Rabbi Kaufmann was accustomed to out-of-the-box and interactive style learning. It was no wonder then, that when he began teaching in Montreal he brought that creativity with him.

“Within a few weeks on the job, I quickly realized that the Talmidim were not interested in hearing me talk all day,” he says with a grin. “I knew I had to come up with another way of getting them to absorb the material.”

“I began experimenting with creating games for my Talmidim to better hone their Chumash skills. B”H my Talmidim really enjoyed the games. But even more important, I began seeing a sharp increase in their Chumash skills.”

After seeing amazing success in his own classroom, Rabbi Kaufmann reached out to other mechanchim throughout the world to offer use of the games in their classrooms. The feedback was consistently positive – many, many Talmidim were experiencing higher test scores and improved learning experiences.

“I realized it was time to take this concept to the next level. And so with very generous donations from Dovid & Malkie Smetana and the Gniwisch, Gansbourg & Krasnanski families I launched a new web site www.TorahGames.org.”

The new site was launched in August 2016 and is already averaging over 2,000 unique visits a month.

While the site already boasts an impressive range of games from Alef Beis to Chumash skills to Gemara vocabulary and more, Rabbi Kaufmann believes it’s only the tip of the iceberg. He sees this as the future of learning.

“We’ve barely scratched the surface. I believe there are many areas where we can grow and improve. Being that we’re still in the developmental stages, feedback and critique from students, parents and teachers really helps to guide the direction of the site.”

As an example, after receiving many requests to make the games available on iPad and touch devices, Rabbi Kaufmann starting making apps for the games. (You can download the free Alef Beis, Nekudos, Shoresh Find & Suffix Snake apps on GooglePlay. The games will soon be available for Apple devices, as well.)

He concludes the interview with a unique offer…

“I can certainly appreciate how difficult it is to keep the children engaged and how much time it takes to prepare engaging lesson plans. If there are any teachers (or parents) that would like a game customized to their unique subject material (for FREE), please contact me at [email protected].”