Shomerli was born from the observation that the dangers of the internet for the observant Jewish home are not diminishing — they are multiplying.
Twenty years ago, an observant Jewish home could reasonably keep its children away from the internet. The problem was simple: don't have a computer. Today, the problem is reversed. Every smartphone, every tablet, every connected watch is an open door into a world that grows month after month more brutal, more exploitative, more predatory.
This is not exaggeration. The numbers bear it out: involuntary exposure to inappropriate content has grown exponentially in observant communities over the last decade. Platform algorithms are engineered to maximize engagement — that is, to push every user, regardless of their original intent, toward content that is steadily more extreme.
The result: even a Heimishe Yid who never sought to transgress can, within minutes, find himself exposed to content that would have been unimaginable a generation ago. The ways to fall multiply ח״ו. And every year, the pace accelerates.
Faced with this acceleration, two responses are possible. The first: accept it, give up, treat it as "the modern world." The second: act, technically and halakhically, to preserve what can be preserved.
Shomerli exists to provide observant Jewish homes with a professional-grade halakhic tool — not just an alternative to generic parental filters, but infrastructure built for the observant community by people who understand its requirements and sensitivities.
Pillar I
Adding kedusha to Am Yisrael
Kedusha is not an absence — it is an active presence. Every home where the digital environment is protected becomes a space where Torah can flourish, where children can grow without constant pollution, where couples can sustain their sacred intimacy. Multiplying these homes increases the collective kedusha of Am Yisrael.
Pillar II
Saving batim and zivugim
We know — not by theory, but by direct observation — how many marriages have been weakened or destroyed by addiction to inappropriate content. How many bochurim have seen their tahara compromised. How many talmidot have been exposed to images that mark them. Every Shomerli installation is, potentially, a bayis preserved.
Pillar III
Distancing from the mikhshol
The verse "Lo tashim damim be-veitecha" (Devarim 22:8) commands the removal of any obstacle that may cause stumbling. The Shla HaKadosh extends this obligation to spiritual dangers. Our role: to make this halakhic obligation technically possible for families who lack the IT expertise required.
Pillar IV
Bringing merit to the many
The Hafetz Hayim teaches that the merit of positive actions is multiplied when they reach a great number. Every Shomerli home is not isolated — it is part of a collective project: equipping the observant community halakhically to face a challenge that will not disappear.
A mission is not executed through declarations — it is executed through daily operational choices. Here are the principles we have adopted.
When a product choice pits what sells better against what is halakhically more rigorous, we choose rigor. It may cost us conversions. We accept that.
Our business model is paid subscription. Not advertising. Not data sales. Not aggressive upsell. If Shomerli does not serve your family, you cancel in one click. That is intentional and structural.
We are not a team of fifty people. We do not pretend to be. Our scale matches our stage: focused, accessible, direct. You write to our team and you receive a personal reply — not an outsourced support ticket.
Shomerli is anchored in a community: the observant Jewish community of Montréal. Our primary servers are in Québec. Our team is local. We are reachable in person — at the barber, leaving Maariv, at the market in Côte-des-Neiges. That is an advantage, not a limitation.
Missions without operational commitments are slogans. Here is what we commit to do — and not do.
If you ever see us publish marketing that contradicts these commitments — if you see us selling data, courting hostile acquirers, or pivoting toward a business that exploits our users — close your subscription immediately. We will have failed.
/halakhaSources from the Talmud, Rambam, Shulchan Arukh and Hafetz Hayim on the obligation of internet filtering.
See our security architecture/securityTechnical whitepaper for IT, Vaad and compliance officers.
Read our magazine/magazineIn-depth articles on digital halakha, observant education and kosher technology.
Shomerli is based in Montréal.
For rabbanim evaluating a haskama, for school directors considering a deployment, for parents with questions: write to us directly.
steve@shomerli.com · WhatsApp +1 (514) 638-9213
No impersonal form. You write to a human who replies personally.