by Yehudah Meth. Meet the new player on the market, the kosher radio that’s making waves for delivering a full selection of live entertainment on a family-friendly device.

Certified and approved by the Machane Kadosh organization, NakiRadio is a Wifi Radio Player built on state-of-the-art technology but only offering access to pre-selected radio programming. There’s no need to add any filtering to the device because it is specifically designed to access only pre-approved channels. Not surprisingly, educators are applauding the breakthrough.

“It wasn’t long ago that children had to wander off to find and do things that were inappropriate—things that would harm them. Now, those harmful things are available right in the home, or right on a portable device with the click of a button,” laments Rabbi Berel Leiner, Menahel of YBH of Passaic. A talmid of Rav Pam זצ”ל, Rabbi Leiner is particularly sensitive to the influences of current technology on children and frequently speaks about the dangers that exposure to smartphones and other devices can have on a child.

“Technology is a tremendous nisayon for anyone, and particularly children,” says Rabbi Leiner. “Too many B’nei Torah have fallen into the trap of listening to or watching things that are spiritually harmful, and that spirals into other problems. An innovation like NakiRadio can really help prevent that. Having kosher outlets for young adults and children to listen to is a special way to channel their curiosity. Young people will always be curious, so we need to supply them with constructive ways to keep them on track. I was very happy to learn about this device.”

Dr. Eli Shapiro, an expert on the social and emotional functioning of families, leads an on-going national study on Jewish families and the impact of technology. As the creator and director of The Digital Citizenship Project, Dr. Shapiro is regarded as a leading voice on the harmful effects of exposing children to technology—but he applauded NakiRadio.

“When parents do things that demonstrate balance, that projects a positive message to children,” said Dr. Shapiro. “Technology is not a bad thing, but we all know what’s out there and we need to protect our families. I believe that we’d all be better off without constant exposure to the internet, but that’s not the world we live in. Technology is socially driven and it’s going to find its way into every community. A device like this, like NakiRadio, is particularly valuable, especially if other devices are not available to children. It’s great when we can cater to the needs of families and allow them to enjoy the benefits of technology without exposing them to the dangers.”

NakiRadio was created by a group of askanim involved in TAG (the Technology Awareness Group) and Machne Kadosh who saw the need for a kosher device. “My kids love to tune in to The Children’s Hour on New York Jewish Radio, or Jroot’s Storytime, but I had no easy way for them to play these channels,” said Rabbi Dovid Churba, who heads TAG Flatbush. “As a parent, I work hard to protect my children and try to come up with ideas that will safeguard them. A radio that utilizes the latest technology and offers only kosher, pre-approved content is something I would have gladly purchased for my kids—but since one didn’t exist, we decided to create it.”

NakiRadio is currently streaming Geula FM, Israel Radio 1, Jewish Hits, Jewish Music Stream, Jewish Radio Network, Jroot, Jroot Hebrew, New York Jewish Radio, Scoop Radio and Scoop Kids. There are plans to add other pre-approved programming. The device itself connects external devices to the device’s speaker via a 3.5 mm jack auxiliary input and features a 10-hour rechargeable battery as well as an alarm clock.

The radio player promises to be something the whole family will love. There are already requests from happy customers for multiple players so every family member can access their favorite content.

For more information, visit NakiRadio.com