Imagine entering a secret door to a world of adventure and wonder, where a plucky child can take on challenges and puzzles that seem leagues greater than himself. That’s a standard premise for any video game. But now imagine that game is one where the protagonist takes on the superhero identity of Rabbiman, and suddenly it opens the door to a more unique gaming experience.
Rabbiman Adventures is a video game available on mobiles and has recently been released on the popular PC gaming platform Steam. Developed by Charity Fund “770”, Israchem LTD, and Teamtiferet Team, the game is similar to its contemporaries with its colorful visuals, 3D-platforming gameplay interspersed with puzzles, and a 10-hour campaign. But where it stands out is the nearly unprecedented Jewish representation in gaming and the unique story behind it.
The Magazine sat down with some of the people behind the development of Rabbiman Adventures to learn about this ambitious foray of Judaism into the video game industry.
The origins of ‘Rabbiman Adventures’
Rabbiman Adventures has had an interesting development story, beginning with the Chabad movement in Russia.
It started as the idea of Rabbi Yehuda Davydov, founder and chairman of the 770 charitable foundation. This organization is a behemoth and is regularly active in Jewish life throughout Russia, from crafting mezuzot and building mikvaot (ritual baths) to aiding in the distribution of tefillin and kosher food. This is in line with Chabad’s values of Jewish outreach, as well as the 10-point mitzvah campaign of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to raise Jewish awareness and observance.
One of these 10 points is chinuch, education. It is the idea that every Jew should have a Jewish education and learn about their faith.
Rabbi Davydov’s wife, 770 CEO Elina Ilyasova, explained to the Magazine that this value is what spurred them in the direction that led to Rabbiman Adventures.
“At first, we started to produce Jewish books for children,” she said. “But after that, my husband had a dream about a Jewish cartoon.”
This project would eventually become known as the Secret Room which, according to Ilyasova, was groundbreaking.
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“In Israel and in America, they don’t have normal cartoons about Judaism for kids,” she said, noting that she wanted to make exactly that.
The Secret Room series tells the story of a Modern Orthodox Jewish family with three children: an older brother, a middle sister, and a youngest sibling named Yasha. The three of them can enter the titular secret room, the entrance to a fantastical world, where Yasha is able to take on the guise of Rabbiman.
The Secret Room, available in Russian and English on Chabad’s streaming platform, Toveedo, has three seasons and a total of 40 seven-minute episodes. It seeks to tackle Jewish themes and Judaism in a way that is educational and entertaining. The first season focuses on the Jewish holidays, while the third season discusses mitzvot and morality, such as respecting one’s parents and being kind to animals.
“We’re very Chabad, but we’re also always trying to think outside the box,” expalined David Vilednik, COO of Charity Fund “770” and CEO of Israchem LTD.
“We met one guy named Gershom Vaisman in the Jewish community in Moscow who, before he was a ba’al teshuva [a Jew from a secular background who becomes religiously observant], worked in a company and made video games. We started speaking with him and tried to make a game for Jewish kids. They’re already playing games like Sonic, Super Mario, and so on, and we needed to give them a good alternative.”
PLAYERS CAN utilize a number of items in ‘Rabbiman Adventures,’ such as a glide-inducing tallit, to explore a world inspired by Jewish values. (credit: Israchem LTD)
So what is ‘Rabbiman Adventures’?
Players in Rabbiman Adventures take control of Yasha, the titular Rabbiman, as he explores a magical forest he must save. He does this through the use of his tallit (prayer shawl), which can be used for long jumps, and a multipurpose hat for puzzle-solving, teleportation, and more.
The game currently has two main game worlds with several levels, one based on Tu Bishvat and the other on Hanukkah.
The gameplay is very reminiscent of other 3D platformers, such as Super Mario Odyssey, which makes it a very accessible game for newcomers.
One way the game stands out, though, is through the music, which has a soundtrack of hassidic niggunim (tunes) with modern remixes. In addition, Vilednik noted that several other tips and hints throughout the game are rooted in Hassidism, Pirkei Avot, and other Jewish sources.
But what may be the most remarkable aspect of the game is how accessible it is for players.
At a time when many video games increasingly strive for better graphics and music to the point that it takes the latest hardware to effectively play them, Rabbiman Adventures opted to make it playable by everyone.
“Many of our target audience is in Russia, and they may not have access to the latest iPhone,” Vilednik explained. “It was our goal that children in Russia, Belarus, and everywhere else in the world can take their or their parents’ smartphones and play Rabbiman [Adventures].”
All of this reflects Chabad’s general values of outreach, connecting with Jews all over the world regardless of background or level of observance.
“We believe that even the small things like the niggun in Rabbiman Adventures or small tips from Pirkei Avot that children can hear in the game can change their family, can lead to a player to ask their parents to go to synagogue to learn more about Judaism,” Vilednik said.
Next up, the team wants to help make Rabbiman Adventures even bigger, focusing on marketing and collaborations and building the game up further. The game is already available in Hebrew, with Israeli actor Yuval Mebulbal being involved in the project.
Their other big project is a feature film based on the Secret Room. After that, the goal is to make more games and work on merchandising from their existing intellectual property. The goal for all of it, though, is to continue the goal of education through cartoons and video games.
“We hope to use AI to make more content, where Rabbiman can teach more about everything from physics and mathematics to the weekly Torah portion,” Vilednik said.
It remains to be seen where the future will take Rabbiman Adventures, but it is clear that this was a long time coming, building off years of previous efforts in making Jewish educational content in outside-the-box ways. The doors to the secret room have opened, and a new world of entertaining and educational efforts relating to Judaism is on the horizon.
WITH ITS colorful, whimsical art style and its gameplay hybrid of platforming and puzzle solving, ‘Rabbiman Adventures’ fits right in with many of its contemporaries. (credit: Israchem LTD)
Jewish representation in gaming
Jews haven’t seen much representation in video games over the years compared to other demographics. And when they are present, they tend to be side characters or a subtle aspect of a character that isn’t as relevant to the plot.
For example, some video game franchises such as the Mafia and Grand Theft Auto series have Jewish characters, but they are usually meant to fill in the niche of “Jewish mobster” that crime dramas often have. Games like Insomniac’s Spider-Man feature plenty of Jews in the background, but that’s intended to fit with the overall character of New York City.
Historical games, on occasion, feature Jews, but these are also few and far between. Despite the popularity of World War II as a setting for video games, the Holocaust itself is rarely touched upon, at least until games such as Wolfenstein: The New Order and Call of Duty: WW II attempted to address the subject.
Wolfenstein, in fact, was a trailblazer for Jews in gaming, even if most people never realized it. B.J. Blazkowicz, the protagonist of this highly successful and influential franchise about a soldier fighting Nazis as they utilize hi-tech weaponry or supernatural capabilities, has Jewish ancestry, though this was never stated outright until 2017’s Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus.
This is also the case for Hal “Otacon” Emmerich of the widely popular Metal Gear Solid franchise, whose Jewishness is seldom, if ever, mentioned in the games themselves.
Some Jewish characters in gaming are only Jewish by technicality or outside the medium of gaming itself. For example, the superhero Batman is no stranger to video games. However, the fact that Bruce Wayne is Jewish according to Halacha, as his mother, Martha Kane, was Jewish, is never discussed in gaming and barely ever in comics, either. In fact, Bruce Wayne’s religious background seems to be that of a lapsed Episcopalian.
The real starting point for Jews in gaming was the 2006 indie game The Shivah. A point and click adventure game, players take control of Rabbi Russel Stone. The leader of a diminishing congregation, he is struggling in the face of modern Jewish ideas that he can’t accept as he investigates the murder of a former member of his synagogue.
As a video game discussing Jews and Judaism, it was groundbreaking and revolutionary. Some other games, such as 2022’s Perfect Tides or 2023’s Mask of the Rose, have come to feature Jewish topics, themes, or characters.
Rabbiman Adventures is the next step in this tradition as it fully attempts to realize themes of Judaism in video game form.
