About
HaGabay – “the software that does everything except throw the candies”.
The software was built by an experienced team that knows the needs of synagogue gabbaim and religious institutions, and built it to fit those needs exactly. But we are only human, so you can always write to us with ideas to improve it.
Since the first version, about 400 requests have been added, and everyone using the software has benefited from all of them. HaGabay Online continues that tradition: your requests decide where we go next.
The software is used by many synagogues in Israel and abroad.
Our story
- The ideaYehuda Polack z"l conceived the idea of computerising all of a synagogue's work, together with his friend Eliyahu Cohen Gindi.
- HaGabayThe software was built as a memorial to Yehuda.
- Kislev 5768 – HaGabay 2A new, separate program with a new design, new features and support for several languages.
- HaGabay OnlineThe same gabbai, from anywhere: in the browser, on the phone and on the synagogue screen.
In memory of Yehuda Polack z"l
Born on 19 Tishrei 5709 (22 October 1948)
Yehuda was the eldest son of Holocaust survivors, David z"l and Chava Polack.
For them he embodied the renewal of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel: a passage from darkness to light, from the despair of the Holocaust to the hope of rebirth.
He worked at Bank Mizrahi for 26 years and was known for his work ethic, precision, exemplary order and organisation, and the speed with which he carried out every task.
He took quickly to computing and contributed greatly to developing and deploying the bank's computer systems.
Yehuda initiated the founding of the Heichal Refael synagogue in Holon and saw it completed after great effort. He was also among the founders of the Yad Moshe synagogue in Hashmonaim.
Together with his friend Eliyahu Cohen Gindi, who computerised the Hebrew calendar (HaLuach HaTamidi), Yehuda conceived the idea of computerising all of a synagogue's work.
Sadly, Yehuda passed away before his time and did not complete the project. Eli Cohen Gindi continued developing the software, named HaGabay, as a memorial to Yehuda Polack z"l.
The software is used by many synagogues in Israel and abroad.
Yehuda combined greatness of character with a wide heart and endless generosity. He treated the simple person with the same respect as the distinguished one, and his family always knew there was someone to rely on, in everything.
Yehuda Polack passed away on 16 Adar 5759 (4 March 1999).
May his soul be bound in the bond of life.
May his memory be a blessing.