Audio: AskMoses on NPR

Religious Jews have long experimented with ways to maintain their observance despite the advent of technology. Chabad Lubavitch’s AskMoses.com allows visitors to chat with a Jewish scholar every day except on the Sabbath and holidays. Rabbi Simcha Backman says the Web site is a form of outreach.

“We don’t claim to replace human connection or human interaction,” Backman says. “Our claim is that we’re another level that can actually help a person reach a goal that otherwise may be impossible without this.”

Whether it’s an application that sounds the Muslim call to prayer or a podcast of your favorite preacher, observance and community are quite literally at your fingertips.