A Conversation with Rabbi David Paskin, the Torah Tech Guy, on Creating the Apps You Need
The App You Keep Looking For Might Be One You Can Make
Most of us have spent an evening scrolling an app store for something that does exactly what we need, and settled for something that nearly does. The subscription renews, the workaround stays, and the real problem never quite gets solved. That is starting to change, because building a small app of your own is no longer a job reserved for developers. This week Tony sits down with Rabbi David Paskin to learn how.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026 8:00 – 9:00 PM ET Live at conversationswithtonymobley.com
Who Is Rabbi David Paskin
Rabbi David, as he is known, describes himself as the Torah Tech Guy. His work is about finding the tools and resources that help rabbis, cantors and educators inspire, teach and stay connected with their communities.
He is also a familiar face here: he joined Tony in July to walk through what is new in Canva. This time the subject moves from using other people’s software to building your own, which is something he now does for others under the name apps by dAvId.
Why This Conversation, and Why Now
AI has changed who gets to build software. Tools that turn a plain description into a working web app have made it realistic for a teacher, a small business owner or a community organiser to create something tailored to the way they actually work.
That opens a genuinely new question for anyone paying for a stack of subscriptions: when is it worth buying an app, and when is it better to make the one you need? Tony’s card puts it simply. Let us learn together.
What We Expect to Explore
Buy It or Build It
- How to tell when an off-the-shelf app is the right answer
- The signs that a problem deserves a tool of its own
- What building your own really costs in time, attention and upkeep
From Idea to Working App
- Turning a pain point in your week into a clear description of what to build
- Where AI does the heavy lifting, and where human judgement still matters
- Starting with a simple first version and improving it as you use it
Real Apps for Real Communities
- What kinds of everyday problems small custom apps are well suited to solve
- Building for congregations, classrooms and small organisations
- Keeping an app easy enough that the people around you will actually use it
Learning Together
- What a complete beginner needs to know before trying this
- Common mistakes first-time app builders make, and how to avoid them
- How to keep learning once your first app is up and running
Who This Conversation Is For
If you have ever wished an app worked just a little differently, if you run a congregation, a classroom or a small organisation on a patchwork of tools, or if you are simply curious about what AI makes possible for people who do not write code, this one is for you.
You do not need any technical background to follow along. Bring the problem you would most like an app to solve and put it to Tony and Rabbi David in the live chat.
Join the Conversation
The show airs live on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, from 8:00 to 9:00 PM ET, here at conversationswithtonymobley.com. Bring your questions and your ideas, and let us find out together what you could build.