Monster Media 1993 #2/Image.iso/internet/cld9z130.zip/CLD9Z130.TXT

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Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/01-FAQ-intro
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
            Part 1: Introduction to the FAQ and Soc.Culture.Jewish
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:15:36 $ $Revision: 1.6 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:00:06 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work. The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

The following is a summary list of all the questions asked in the FAQ. This
portion of the FAQ contains answers to those questions in Section 1.  For
other questions, the appropriate part in which the answer can be found is
indicated.

                                 [Part 1/10]
Section 1. Network and Soc.Culture.Jewish Information
  1.1. Why is this group called soc.culture.jewish?
  1.2. I just found S.C.J.  What is this network?
  1.3. What topics are appropriate for S.C.J?
  1.4. What topics are *not* appropriate for S.C.J?
  1.5. When should I post to talk.politics.mideast?
  1.6. Is it appropriate to discuss Israel in soc.culture.jewish?
  1.7. How should I respond to inappropriate articles?
  1.8. But I don't get T.P.M?  Now what?
  1.9. A. Random Jew posted X to a.b.c; I disagree.  What should I do?
  1.10. Can non-Jews post to S.C.J?
  1.11. May I post this great Jewish essay I just read?
  1.12. (Hebrew Usage) I have a question nogaiah hilchos...
  1.13. Do S.C.J readers want to make it into a moderated group?
  1.14. How do I keep up with the volume? Should I try a KILL file?
  1.15. I've just found (insert name here) ...
  1.16. What are the Do's and Don'ts?

                                 [Part 2/10]
Section 2. Who We Are
  2.1. Who reads soc.culture.jewish?
  2.2. What are the major Jewish movements?
  2.3. What are OCR (O-C-R) wars?  Why all the flames?
  2.4. What is Conservative Judaism?
  2.5. What is Orthodox Judaism?
  2.6. What is Reform Judaism?
  2.7. What about other movements?
  2.8. What are some of the Orthodox sub-groups?
  2.9. Why shouldn't I say "ultra-Orthodox" or "reformed"?
  2.10. What is Chassidism and how does it differ from other Orthodox...
  2.11. How does a Chassid differ from Misnagid?
  2.12. What is a "Torah Jew?"
  2.13. Is it true that Jews are all (fill-in-the-blank)?
  2.14. How many Jews are there today in the U.S.A.?

                                 [Part 3/10]
Section 3. Torah
  3.1. What are the books of the Jewish Bible?
  3.2. Why, in the Tanakh, does G-d have so many Names?
  3.3. What is the Talmud?
  3.4. Who wrote the Torah?
Section 4. Halachic Authority
  4.1. What is "Halacha"?  How is it determined?
  4.2. In Orthodox Judaism, what are the levels of halacha?
  4.3. In Orthodox Judaism, what are the different rabbinic eras?
  4.4. How can differing halachic rulings all be considered valid?
  4.5. How does the Conservative movement deal with Halachic questions?
  4.6. How do Ortho/Ortho disagreements differ from Ortho/Reform?
  4.7. Who is RAMBAM that is mentioned & what are his 13 principles
  4.8. Who was Rashi?
  4.9. Who was the Ramban?
  4.10. What is Kabbalah and how can I learn about it?
  4.11. Who is allowed to study Kabbalah?

                                 [Part 4/10]
Section 5. Jewish Holidays
  5.1 What are the different holidays
  5.2. What are the dates of the upcoming Jewish holidays?
  5.3. How can I get a Jewish calendar
  5.4. Why do some people take off one day, and others two?
Section 6. Jewish Dietary Law and Kashrut
  6.1. What is Kosher?  Doesn't a rabbi just bless the food
  6.2. Do I need to have a kosher kitchen and kosher home to keep kosher?
  6.3. Why do different groups wait different times?
  6.4. Why are there different customs on Pesach (i.e., Kitniyos)?
  6.5. I'm a vegetarian health-food proponent.  Is kosher food healthier?
  6.6. Is vegetarianism kosher?
Section 7. Sabbath and Holiday Observance
  7.1. What is the Jewish Sabbath and why is it on Saturday?
  7.2. Why do my Orthodox Jewish friends leave work early on Fridays
       and before Jewish holidays?
Section 8. Woman and Marriage
  8.1. What role do women play in Judaism?
  8.2. What is the Conservative view of the role of women in Judaism?
  8.3. What is the Reform view of the role of women in Judaism?
  8.4. What is the Orthodox view of the role of women in Judaism?
  8.5. I've heard the Orthodox men are grateful for not being women...
  8.6. What about polygamy?
  8.7. What does clean/unclean refer to?

                                 [Part 5/10]
Section 9. Jewish Worship
  9.1. How does a rabbi differ from a priest?
  9.2. Do you need a rabbi for a wedding?
  9.3. How do Jews pray?
  9.4. Is there a distinctly Jewish form of meditation?
  9.5. Does Judaism have a strong tradition of religious art and music?
Section 10. Conversion, Intermarriage, and "Who is a Jew?"
  10.1. Does Halacha (Jewish law) permit intermarriage?
  10.2. I'm a Jew who married a gentile.  Am I still Jewish?
  10.3. I'm a Jew who left Judaism. Can I return?
  10.4. Apart from Halacha, why do Jews oppose intermarriage?
  10.5. Is objection to intermarriage a form of bigotry?
  10.6. How does one convert?
  10.7. What does the word "Jew" mean?
  10.8. Who is a Jew?
Section 11. Miscellaneous Practice Questions
  11.1. Why do some Jewish women cover their hair?
  11.2. Why do many Jewish men wear head coverings?
  11.3. Why do some people write "G-d" with a hyphen instead of an `o'?
  11.4. Why do some Jews write "J-s-s" and "Xianity?"
  11.5. What is a Tallis?  Tzit-tzit(those fringes)?  Why do Jews wear them?
  11.6. What are those black boxes and leather straps Jewish men wear?
  11.7. Why do many Jewish men sport beards?
  11.8. What's this I've heard about a hole in a sheet?
  11.9. Why do some Jews wear black coats, fur hats, etc.?
  11.10. Does Judaism permit slavery?
  11.11. What does "eye for an eye" mean?

                                 [Part 6/10]
Section 12. Jewish Thought
  12.1. What is the Jewish concept of G-d?
  12.2. Can one doubt G-d's existence and still be a good Jew?
  12.3. How does traditional Judaism relate to modern science?
  12.4. Does modern science contradict liberal readings of the Torah?
  12.5. Can one be Orthodox and a scientist too?
  12.6. What does "chosen people" mean?
  12.7. What is the Jewish concept of the Messiah?
  12.8. What happens when a person dies?
  12.9. What was the job of a prophet?
  12.10. Are there prophets today?
  12.11. Who were the prophets?  How many?
  12.12. What is the Jewish view on the question of "free will."
  12.13. What about angels, demons, miracles, and the supernatural?
  12.14. What do Jews hope/expect of the future?
  12.15. How can Jews reject (insert true belief here)?
  12.16. Isn't it good enough to be a good person?
  12.17. How does Judaism differ from (insert -ism here)?
  12.18. Where can a Gentile learn about Judaism?
  12.19. What does Judaism say about non-Jews?

                                 [Part 7/10]
Section 13. Jews as a Nation
  13.1. What are the different racial and cultural groups of Jews?
  13.2. What are the differences between Sephardim and Ashkenazim?
  13.3. Where did the Beita Yisrael (Falashas) come from?
  13.4. Who were the Khazars?  Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from the
        Khazars?
  13.5. Who are Crypto-Jews (also known as "marranos")?
  13.6. Sephardi/Ashkenazi vs. O/C/R?

                                 [Part 8/10]
Section 14. Jews and Israel
  14.1. Who is an Israeli?  Who may enter Israel under its Law of Return?
  14.2. What is Zion?
  14.3. What is Zionism?
  14.4. Are all Jews Zionists?
  14.5. Do Diaspora Jews (Jews outside Israel) support Zionism?
  14.6. I've heard there are Orthodox Jews who are against Israel?
  14.7. Did Zionism end with the establishment of Israel?
  14.8. Are antisemitism and anti-Zionism the same thing?
  14.9. Is Zionism racist?
  14.10. What are the roots of Arab opposition to Zionism?
  14.11. Can't you criticize Israel without being antisemitic?
  14.12. Why is opposition to Israel often seen as being antisemitic?
  14.13. Why is Jerusalem so important to Jews?
  14.14. I want to move to Israel.  Can I become a citizen?
  14.15. What is the Wailing Wall and why is it so important?
  14.16. Questions on aliyah, military service for olim and more

                                 [Part 9/10]
Section 15. Churban Europa (The Holocaust)
  15.1. Why do Jews seem to treat the Holocaust as their tragedy alone?
  15.2. Where can I get information on the Holocaust?
  15.3. How do I get tickets to see the United States Holocaust Memorial
        Museum?
Section 16. Antisemitism
  16.1. Why is antisemitism used to mean anti-Jewish?
  16.2. Is there any truth to the myth of the Jewish American Princess?
Section 17. Countering Missionaries
  17.1. What about (sic) "Jews for Jesus" or (sis) "Messianic Jews"?
  17.2. Is belief in Jesus-as-God compatible with any Jewish movements?
  17.3. What do missionary groups believe?
  17.4. What sort of deceptive terminology do missionaries use?
  17.5. How can these missionaries be countered?
  17.6. Who is financing "Jews for Jesus" and similar groups?

                                 [Part 10/10]
Section 18. Miscellaneous
  18.1. I want to become more observant.  Where do I start?
  18.2. Why is "shabbat" spelled sometimes shabbath, shabbath, shabbos,
  18.3. What are some common Hebrew and Yiddish phrases I see on S.C.J?
  18.4. What do all those abbreviations like Z"L mean?
  18.5. Is "shvartze" offensive?  Is "goyim" offensive?
  18.6. What does "shiksa" and "shaygetz" mean?
  18.7. Can you provide me with a list of kosher restaurants in <xxx>?
  18.8. I am going to be in <>, where can I eat, stay for Shabbat.
  18.9. What do bagels, lox, ... have to do with being a Jew?
  18.10. What does Warren Burstein's signature mean?
  18.11. What does the funny pattern in Rob Levene's signature mean?
  18.12. Who was the sixth Marx brother?
  18.13. Why do Hebrew clocks run clockwise, not counter-clockwise?
  18.14. How do I show my love for the Jewish people?
  18.15. What is the origin of the word "kike"?
Section 19. References and Getting Connected
  19.1. I'd like to learn more? Do you have any books to recommend?
  19.2. What are the different hechsher symbols?
  19.3. What are the Jewish-oriented mailing lists?
  19.4. Are there any moderated mailing lists?
  19.5. How do I get access to S.C.J?
  19.6. Is S.C.J available via a Listserv or other e-mail means?
  19.7. What divrei Torah are posted to Usenet?
  19.8. Where can I find collected divrei Torah?
  19.9. What software is available for Hebrew applications?
  19.10. Are there conversion programs for the Jewish and other calendars?

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn.  Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

The Frequently Asked Questions were developed by a committee consisting of
Mike Allen, Jerry Altzman, Rabbi Charles Arian, Jacob Baltuch (Past Chair),
Joseph Berry, Warren Burstein, Stewart Clamen, Daniel Faigin, Avi Feldblum,
Itzhak "Jeff" Finger, Yechezkal Gutfreund, Art Kamlet, Alan Lustiger, Hillel
Markowitz, Len Moskowitz, Aliza Panitz, Eliot Shimoff, Mark Steinberger,
Steven Weintraub, Matthew Wiener, and headed by Robert Levene.  The
organization and structuring of the lists for posting purposes was done by D.
Faigin, who is currently maintaining the lists.  Other contributors include
Ken Arromdee, Josh Backon, Todd J. Dicker, Seth Ness, and Art Werschulz.
Comments and corrections are welcome.  You may address comments either to the
maintainer ([e-mail]) or to the SCJ FAQ committee
([e-mail]).  Note that the goal is to present a balanced view
of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular movement only, this
will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the text, all responses
reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.1. Why is this group called soc.culture.jewish?  Wouldn't
        soc.religion.jewish be more appropriate?

The name "soc.culture.jewish" (S.C.J) is a net.historical relic.  In the
early years of Usenet, the newsgroup was named net.religion.jewish.  When the
Great Renaming was looming (see _The New Hacker's Dictionary_), there was a
common belief that renaming it talk.religion.jewish would be detrimental to
the group's success.  So the net's collective Yiddishe kopfe did an end run
around this, by proposing that the group be moved into the soc.culture.*
hierarchy.  And here we are.

While Jews have argued forever about whether Judaism is more of a "culture" or
a "religion" or a something else, the choice of name for this newsgroup is not
proof of anything.  So if you start arguing "but this group is
soc.CULTURE.jewish, so...," please, as a well known character in a 1970's US
television comedy series says: "just stifle."


------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.2. I just found S.C.J.  What is this network?

S.C.J is part of Usenet, and is gatewayed to other networks, such as Fidonet
and Keshernet.  Read the posts in news.announce.newusers for details.  They're
available via anonymous ftp from rtfm.mit.edu in
pub/usenet/news.announce.newusers.

      %  ftp rtfm.mit.edu
      Enter userid: anonymous
      Enter password: [e-mail]
      ftp> cd pub/usenet/news.announce.newusers
      ftp> mget Emily*
       (respond 'y')
      ftp> mget Answers*
       (respond 'y')
      ftp> mget A_Primer*
       (respond 'y')
      ftp> quit
      %


------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.3. What topics are appropriate for S.C.J?

Soc.culture.jewish is for discussions concerning Judaism and the surrounding
culture (Yiddishkeit, Hebrew, Jewish motherhood, etc.).  This includes
discussions regarding the various recognized movements within Judaism, debates
over halacha, Torah interpretations, etc.

"Divrey Torah" - long or short sermons relating to Judaism and Torah, are
especially welcome.

Survey questions are also appropriate, such as "How does your community
organize its free loan societies and scholarships for poor Jews who want a
Jewish education?"

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.4. What topics are *not* appropriate for S.C.J?

Middle East politics, especially international issues concerning Israel,
belong in talk.politics.mideast, not S.C.J.  You certainly should not
crosspost between S.C.J and T.P.M.  Pick whichever one is appropriate.

Readers of S.C.J are committed to their religion; it is inappropriate to
"witness" or preach. Discussions of so-called "Messianic Judaism[sic]," and
the Christian missionary organization calling itself "Jews for Jesus," and
similar topics belong in alt.messianic or the appropriate talk.religion.*
group; don't crosspost them to S.C.J.

Lastly, try to avoid personal attacks.  Don't write "Lashon Hara", derogatory
information about people or groups.  (If slanderous and *false*, it's called
"Motzei Shem Ra") It is also forbidden to embarrass others in public.  (Rare
exceptions exist, so read a book such as R' Pliskin's _Guard your Tongue_ for
details.)

As Josh Backon reminded us:

  The Bible states (Leviticus 19:17): "You shall surely rebuke your neighbor
  and not bear sin because of him".  The Talmud comments that you may reprove
  your neighbor as long as you do not insult him but if you embarrass him by
  making him blush or turn pale from shame or fury then you have incurred
  guilt because of him (Sifra, Kedoshim 4:8; Talmud Arachin 16b).  The Talmud
  (Shevuot 36a) mentions a general prohibition against insulting a fellow man.
  Pirke Avot (3:11) states that he who causes embarrassment to a fellow man
  has no share in the world-to-come.  The Talmud (Bava Metzia 58b) compared
  the slanderer to a shedder of blood, and the Rambam (Hilchot Chovel Umazzik
  3:7) characterized all slanderers as wicked and stupid.  The later scholars
  instituted disciplinary floggings for cases of slander (Choshen Mishpat
  420:41).


------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.5. When should I post to talk.politics.mideast?
        Soc.culture.Arabic?

T.P.M was created specifically for discussions of the politics of the
interaction of middle eastern countries.  The Arab-Israeli conflict, the
Turkish-Armenian conflict, and similar battles are appropriate topics for the
list, at least until separate groups are created for those subtopics.  A post
about the PLO or terrorism probably belongs in T.P.M.

Internal Israeli and Arab politics generally belong on soc.culture.Arabic and
soc.culture.jewish.  However, internal Israeli politics will probably be moved
to a future newsgroup about Israel - look for alt.culture.israel, or
soc.culture.israel sometime in the future, IY'H.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.6. Is it appropriate to discuss Israel in soc.culture.jewish?

Yes, Israel may be discussed in S.C.J, at least until an Israeli newsgroup is
created.  Discussions about the religious basis for Zionism and religious
legislation in Israel are OK for S.C.J.

But interaction with other countries is really a matter for
talk.politics.mideast.


------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.7. How should I respond to inappropriate articles?  Somebody posted
        an inappropriate article to S.C.J or T.P.M.

Respond once where the person directed followups, or where the article was
posted.  Set the Followup-To: header line to the appropriate group, and start
your article with a note that you are re-setting followups to the appropriate
group, and will not continue discussion in the inappropriate group.


------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.8. But I don't get T.P.M?  Now what?

You don't get T.P.M?  Ask yourself, why not?  Whoever owns your machine has
made a strategic decision about the costs of getting S.C.J and T.P.M.  You
have no right to overrule that decision.  You can discuss it with your site
management, but please, leave S.C.J out of it.  T.P.M was created a spinoff
from S.C.J, just to get rid of the endless Mideast discussions.

If you still feel this strongly, then get an account on a machine that has
T.P.M access.  Alternately, you can subscribe via Listserv to receive T.P.M by
mail (note that this will put a heavy mail load on your machine). To receive
T.P.M by mail, send a message to [e-mail], saying:

subscribe tpm "John Doe"

Substitute your name for "John Doe"

Do not specify a Subject: line in the message, and do not include any
other lines (e.g. do not include your signature).  Specify your real
name, not your computer address.  Don't say "please" or "thank you" as
this will only confuse the computer. Also, do not put any punctuation marks in
your message.

Since T.P.M sends out a lot of messages (over 100 a day sometimes), you might
prefer to receive digests.  Digests go out when 1000 lines of messages have
accumlated, or at least once a day.  To change your subscription so that you
receive digests, send a message to [e-mail], saying

set tpm mail digest

You can put the SUBSCRIBE and SET commands in the same message, as long as
each is on a separate line.

Note that internal Israeli politics, or discussions about the IDF, are not
considered "Mideast politics".


------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.9. A. Random Jew posted X to a.b.c; I disagree. What should I do?

Although the poster may be Jewish, that is not a valid reason to include S.C.J
in your list of followup newsgroups.  If you are disputing what the poster
said, it is always best to (after pausing to reflect) respond via private
Email.  If you feel the answer has wide public interest, you should followup
the response in the groups to which the article was originally posted.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.10. Can non-Jews post to S.C.J?

All Usenet readers have equal right to post to S.C.J..  However, as with all
newsgroups, you should note that the collective readership has a general
consensus on what types of posting are acceptable.  In the case of S.C.J.,
this consensus reflects the fact that most of the readers are Jewish.  Also,
don't post general questions which can be answered in this FAQ or in a
library.  If your motivation is simply to get an answer to a question, you can
send e-mail to a few regular posters.

If you choose to ask your question of the S.C.J readership, you may be placed
under suspicion of being a missionary, especially if you "innocently" ask
something like "Someone please explain to me why Jews stubbornly refuse to
accept my faith, when it's written right in your Bible..."

We've seen it all a thousand times before, and unsolicited declarations of
belief in <your religion> in S.C.J convey the message "<your religion> supports
harassing Jews." You're welcome to observe, participate, and learn about
Judaism.  Proselytizing is inappropriate.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.11. May I post this great Jewish essay I just read?

Yes, if you obtain permission from the publisher.  They are often glad to give
permission to republish articles occasionally, provided that you include
subscription information.  Point out to them that several S.C.J readers have
subscribed to journals after seeing articles republished electronically.  All
it usually takes is a phone call or letter.

If you only wish to discuss the essayist's ideas, just post a summary and a
pointer to the article for interested readers.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.12. I have a question nogaiah hilchos maaser...

QUESTION: I have a question nogaiah hilchos maaser kesafim b'zman hazeh... Eem
yeish lee meah or fewer shekalim and some are hefker ...

ANSWER: Please!  The primary language for Usenet is English.  Translate your
Hebrew and Aramaic when you post in order to maximize the understanding of
what you write.  Include a glossary for the lesser known terms.  Some common
ones are part of this FAQ (see Section 17 in Part 10).

Usenet is a bad place to ask technical questions of Jewish law.  Instead, ask
a qualified rabbi.  If you know of none, then post a request for rabbinic
advice - many have access to electronic mail, and many readers can find a
rabbi near you.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.13. Do S.C.J readers want to make it into a moderated group?

Some do, but most hope that this very list will reduce the need for spending
bandwidth re-answering common questions.  We'll see what happens.

This question gets put before the readership of S.C.J about every three years.
So far the overwhelming response has been to leave S.C.J unmoderated.  There
do exist moderated mailing lists for those who wish.

Many on S.C.J feel that part of its appeal and taam (flavor/tang/spice) comes
from the freewheeling unmoderated approach which brings together posters from
all parts of the spectrum.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.14. How do I keep up with the volume?  Should I try a KILL file?

QUESTION: Whew, there's a lot of volume on S.C.J.  I can hardly keep up.  How
can I eliminate cross-posted articles, or articles by annoying netflamer J.
Random Luser, or any article with "legitimate" in its Subject?

ANSWER: You need to use a "kill file."  It's an algorithm which scans articles
and eliminates those meeting criteria you specify.  If you read news with "rn"
you need to create a file News/soc/culture/jewish/KILL consisting of lines
such as:

  /talk.politics/h:j      [skip all articles cross-posted to talk.politics.*]
  /J. Random Luser/h:j    [skip all articles written by J. Random Luser]
  /egitimate/j            [skip all articles with "egitimate" in Subject]

Other newsreaders implement this feature differently.  Your best bet is to ask
someone at your local site how to create killfiles, or Read the Manual about
your newsreading program.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.15. I've just found (insert name here) ...

QUESTION: I've just found Jesus/ LaRouche/ Muhammad/ Marx/ Moon/ L.RonHubbard/
Cthulhu and I'd like you to find him, too.  Here's an essay written by someone
raised in a Jewish home who converted to my faith...

ANSWER: Proselytizing on S.C.J is highly rude and unwelcome, and will greatly
diminish the respect S.C.J readers have for you and your group.  Although we
could direct you to some other group in which to post, you should be aware
that proselytizing over the network is, in general, not well accepted.  You
would just as likely be rebuffed in another group as well.

That said, if you want to explore your religion more (and it isn't Judaism),
there are plenty of groups that are more appropriate.  Please consult your
list of newsgroups.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.16. What are the Do's and Don'ts?

Here's a summary.

Learn about Usenet before you post.  Follow S.C.J and read
news.announce.newusers.  Know your audience and make your posts
understandable.  Direct specific halachic questions to rabbis, but you can
discuss the general concept on S.C.J.  Do post divrey Torah [short sermons on
Jewish topics].  Don't challenge the validity of Judaism or assert the
superiority of other religions and prophets thereof.  Don't write "lashon
hara" [true slander] or "motzei sheim ra" [false slander].  Don't start
posting until you've finished reading this FAQ.

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of S.C.J FAQ Part 1 (FAQ Intro and S.C.J Intro) Digest
**************************
-------
--
[W]:The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228
[Email]:[e-mail]              [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#13149
      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/02-Who-We-Are
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
             Part 2: Who We Are: The Group and Jewish Movements
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:15:43 $ $Revision: 1.5 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:00:12 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

Section 2. Who We Are
  2.1. Who reads soc.culture.jewish? (2)
  2.2. What are the major Jewish movements? (2)
  2.3. What are OCR (O-C-R) wars?  Why all the flames? (2)
  2.4. What is Conservative Judaism? (2)
  2.5. What is Orthodox Judaism? (2)
  2.6. What is Reform Judaism? (2)
  2.7. What about other movements?  (2)
  2.8. What are some of the Orthodox sub-groups? (2)
  2.9. Why shouldn't I say "ultra-Orthodox" or "reformed"? (2)
  2.10. What is Chassidism and how does it differ from other Orthodox (2)
  2.11. How does a Chassid differ from Misnagid? (2)
  2.12. What is a "Torah Jew?" (2)
  2.13. Is it true that Jews are all (fill-in-the-blank)? (2)
  2.14. How many Jews are there today in the U.S.A.? (2)

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn.  Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present
a balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.1. Who reads soc.culture.jewish?

The most recent survey of the group is scheduled to end on June 30, 1993.
Currently, with 245 responses, the breakdown is as follows:

    JO [Orthodox            ]:  31.43%
    JC [Conservative        ]:  22.86%
    JL [Liberal/Reform      ]:  13.06%
    JS [Secular/Humanistic  ]:   5.71%
    JU [Unspecified Jewish  ]:   4.49%
    JT [Traditional         ]:   4.08%

The remaining percentages are divided over the following categories
(in order): Other, Jewish Non-Affiliated, Agnostic/Atheist, Catholic, Jewish
Reconstructionist, Christian Fundamentalist, Christian Other, Christian
Mainstream, and Hindu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.2. What are the major Jewish movements?

The three major denominations in Judaism are, in alphabetical order,
Conservative Judaism, Orthodox Judaism, and Reform Judaism.

Outside of the United States and Israel, the distinction tends to be along
Orthodox/Liberal lines.

There are also a fourth movement which is considered major by some:
Reconstructionist.  It is an offshoot of Conservative.

"Messianic Judaism[sic]" and other groups accepting the tenets of Christianity
are *not* considered Jewish movements.

Sephardic(Southern European/Spanish/North African) Orthodox tend not to bother
with liberal/traditional distinctions as much as Ashkenazi (Northern
European/Franco-German/Russian) Jews.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.3. What are OCR (O-C-R) wars?  Why all the flames?

These are disputes among Orthodox-Conservative-Reform Jews, perhaps the most
regular and least productive discussion topic.

Why is this?  Perhaps it's a carryover from Talmudic study, in which decisions
are reached by proposing a series of ideas, vigorously attacking them, and
seeing which remain standing when the dust clears.  Everyone is expected to be
able to state his first principles and demonstrate how his practices are
consistent with said principles.

If the correctness of one of your practices is attacked, the best defense is
to show that it is consistent with your principles, but not the attacker's.
Once a debate boils down to different principles, there's nothing more to add,
except to try to change each others' principles somehow.

Another form of attack is to assert that another group's practices harm the
Jewish people or Jewish survival.  That group may well disagree with your
assessment.  If the different assessments are due to different principles,
there's nothing more to add.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.4. What is Conservative Judaism?

Conservative Judaism attempts to combine a positive attitude toward modern
culture, acceptance of critical secular scholarship regarding Judaism's sacred
texts, and also commitment to Jewish observance.  Conservative Jews believe
that scholarly study of Jewish texts indicates that Judaism has constantly
been evolving to meet the needs of the Jewish people in varying circumstances.
The extent to which Conservativism permits this evolution distinguishes it
from Orthodoxy.  At the same time, it differs from more liberal Jewish
movements by affirming that the halachic process reflects the Divine will;
thus it rejects absolute individual autonomy.  In a sense, Conservative
Judaism reclaims rabbinic prerogatives which Orthodoxy considers Judaism as a
whole to have ceded in Mishnaic times.

Conservative Judaism's pluralism derives from the fact that the central
halachic authority of the movement, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards,
will often set out more than one acceptable position.  In such a case, the
rabbi of the congregation (mara d'atra) is free to choose from the range of
acceptable positions, and his congregation is expected to abide by his
choice.

The name derives from the idea that the movement would be necessary to
conserve Jewish traditions in the U.S., a culture in which Reform and
Orthodoxy were not believed to be viable.

Additional information may be found in the Conservative Reading List,
available as usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/conservative from
rtfm.mit.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.5. What is Orthodox Judaism?

Orthodox Judaism is not a unified movement with a single governing body, but
rather many different movements adhering to common principles.  All of the
Orthodox movements are very similar in their observance and beliefs, differing
only in the details that are emphasized.  They all share one key feature: a
dedication to Torah, both Written and Oral.

Orthodox Judaism views itself as the continuation of the beliefs and
practices of normative Judaism, as accepted by the Jewish nation at Mt. Sinai
and codified in successive generations in an ongoing process that continues
to this day.  The specific term "Orthodox Judaism" is of rather recent origin
and is used more as a generic term to differentiate the movements following
traditional practices from the Liberal Jewish movements.

Orthodox Jews believe that both the Written and Oral Torah are of divine
origin, and represent the word of G-d.  For the details of the Orthodox view
of the origin of Torah, see Section 3.4 in Part 3.  For the Orthodoxy, the
term "Torah" refers to the "Written Law" as interpreted by the "Oral Law",
interpreted in turn by the Rishonim (Medieval commentators), and eventually
codified in the Codices: R. Joseph Karo's _Shul`han Arukh_ and/or R. Moshe
Isserlis's _Mapah_" (printed as parenthetical text in the _Shul`han Arukh_).
As practical questions arise, Orthodox Authorities apply the Halachic process
(the system of legal reasoning and interpretation described in the Oral Torah)
using the Torah (both Oral and Written) to determine how best to live in
accordance with G-d's will as directed by the Halacha.  In this way, Orthodoxy
evolves to meet the demands of the times.

An excellent summary of the core beliefs of Orthodox Judaism may be found in
the Rambam's 13 Principles of Faith. [See Section 4.7, in Part 3, for a
listing of the 13 Principles]

One of the hallmarks of Orthodox Jews is an openness (and encouragement) to
question what it is that G-d requires of us, and then to answer those
questions within the system that G-d gave us.

In addition, among the major movements only Orthodoxy has preserved the
"mystical" foundations of Jewish theology, most obviously in the Chasidic
movements though no less so in many Yeshivah movements, both Ashkenazi and
Sephardi.

Additional information may be found in the Traditional Reading List,
available as usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/traditional from
rtfm.mit.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.6. What is Reform Judaism?

Reform is the most liberal of the major movements within Judaism today.  It
started in the 1800s in Germany during the emancipation, and encouraged
examination of religion with an eye towards rationality and egalitarianism.
Viewed from the light of today's Reform practice, the original adherents went
a little-too-far; often, this early form (which lasted until the 1960s, in
some respects) is referred to as "Classic German Reform".

Reform differs from the other major movements in that it views both the Oral
and Written laws as a product of Man's hand (specifically, it views the Torah
as Divinely inspired, but written in the language of the time in which it was
given).  The laws reflect their times, but contain many timeless truths.  The
Reform movement stresses retention of the key principles of Judaism (as it
sees them; for details, consult the Reform Reading List).  As for practice, it
strongly recommends individual study of the traditional practices; however,
the adherent is free to follow only those practices that increase the sanctity
of their relationship to G-d.  Reform also stresses equality between Men and
Women.

Reform requires familiarity with the laws before choosing not to observe them.
A non-observant Jew unfamiliar with the laws would not be a "serious" Reform
Jew.  Also, Reform rejects the faith tenets of other religions as a matter of
first principles.

It should be noted that many of the paths taken by the Reform movement differ
from those of traditional Judaism.  These differences result in many of the
discussions you will see on S.C.J.

Additional information may be found in the Reform Reading List, available as
usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/reform from rtfm.mit.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.7. What about other movements?

Reconstructionism
  At the beginning of this century Conservative Rabbi Mordechai Kaplan
  asserted that Judaism was a culture rather than a religion.  That the
  rituals we do (keep shabbat, keep kosher) we do because they are part of the
  culture we grew up in and not because of a divine law set.  This meant, that
  G-d, as interpreted in traditional Judaism, was not relevant.  As a result,
  the religion should be practiced much as one practices any other cultural
  practice.  We should keep shabbat and kosher because that is what our
  culture prescribes, but if our culture matures and discards these practices
  or creates new one, this is fine too.

  Additional information may be found in the Reconstructionist Reading List,
  available as usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/reconstructionist
  from rtfm.mit.edu.

Traditional Judaism (formerly "Conservadox")
  A new offshoot from Conservative, but philosophically closer to Orthodox.
  They attempt to be as lenient as possible within an Orthodox framework,
  although many Orthodox would not accept their leniencies, such as using
  microphones on shabbat.  It has yet to be determined if conversions and
  divorces under Traditional auspices are acceptable within the Orthodox
  world.

Humanistic Judaism
  A combination of Reform and Reconstructionist beliefs.  That the religion is
  a culture and philosophy that is important for many of the high cultural
  beliefs evident in western society.  As such it is important to respect and
  practice the religion for what it has done for the West, not necessarily
  because of being bound by the belief set.  Fortunately, many Humanists do
  have moral absolutes, (don't murder, etc.) although they don't derive them
  from G-d.

  Additional information may be found in the Humanistic Reading List,
  available as usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/humanistic from
  rtfm.mit.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.8. What are some of the Orthodox sub-groups?

"Traditional" can be either a synonym for Orthodox (especially when using the
dichotomy Traditional/Liberal), or a synonym for "Conservadox".  In recent
years "Traditional" has come to denote the group listed above, and associated
with R' Irving Greenberg and CLAL.

"Centrist/modern/cosmopolitan" (colloquially [sometimes pejorative, sometimes
affectionate] "kipa sruga" [crocheted skull cap]) Orthodox usually mean an
Orthodoxy which approves of many aspects of secular culture, especially
secular education, in addition to traditional Torah study.  They tend to be
Zionist.  The precise term depends on the speaker - R' Norman Lamm uses
"centrist," R' Shlomo Riskin uses "cosmopolitan" and R' Emmanuel Rackman uses
"modern."  The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, Yeshiva University, and
the Rabbinical Council of America in some sense represents this group.  In
Israel, the Mizrachi organization is a well-known representative.

"Yeshivish" (colloquially, [sometimes pejorative, sometimes affectionate]
"black hat" or "black") suggests an Orthodox outlook in which the focus of
life is Torah study, as is done in Lithuanian-style Yeshivos.  Secular culture
is either tolerated or criticized for its corrupting influences.  This group
tends to be "non-Zionist" in the sense that they love the land of Israel and
its holiness (many spend years in Israel for Torah study), but are
unenthusiastic about secular Zionism and Israeli secular culture.  Agudath
Israel tends to represent this group.

The Chassidic style of Orthodox Judaism is described in a later section.

In Israel, the "Dati/Chareidi" distinction is more a matter of political
affiliation than religious views.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.9. Why shouldn't I say "ultra-Orthodox" or "reformed"?

"Ultra-Orthodox", when used properly, refers to the most carefully and
detailed observant among the Orthodox, and who go to great lengths to keep
away from most of Western culture.  It arose as a reaction to the "Neologue"
movement in 19th century Hungary, an extremely limp attempt at Reform (today
they'd be called modern Orthodox, but such fine gradations didn't exist then).

In practice, the term is usually used as a disparaging synonym for Orthodox or
Chassidic.  What passes for an unremarkable level of observance is
inaccurately elevated into a form of "fanaticism".  Many people outside the
Orthodox community mistakenly identify those who wear Chassidic garb (long
black coats, earlocks for men, wigs/kerchiefs for women) as "ultra-Orthodox."
In fact, the Chassidic groups are no more or less observant than other
Orthodox groups who do not dress so distinctively.

The term "Chareidi" (literally: "trembling" as in "trembling before G-d")
tends to refer to the same people as described by "Ultra-Orthodox" but is more
acceptable.  It hasn't caught on in the U.S. yet.

Many people outside the Orthodox community mistakenly identify those who wear
Chassidic garb (long black coats, earlocks for men, wigs/kerchiefs for women)
as "ultra-Orthodox."  In fact, the Chassidic groups are no more or less
observant than other Orthodox groups who do not dress so distinctively.

Also, please note that the correct term for the Liberal Branch is "Reform",
*not* "ReformED".  "Reformed" implies that the adherents used to be Jews, but
they learned and are now something else (e.g., early Christians were
"Reformed" Jews).  "Reform", on the other hand, indicates a belief in the
ability to change (i.e., "Reform") the practices while still remaining Jews.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.10. What is Chassidism and how does it differ from other Orthodox
        groups?

The Chassidic movement started in the 1700's (Common Era) in Eastern Europe in
response to a void felt by many average observant Jews of the day.  The
founder of Chassidism, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (referred to as the "Besht,"
an acronym of his name) was a great scholar and mystic, devoted to both the
revealed, outer aspect, and hidden, inner aspect of Torah.  He and his
followers, without veering from a commitment to Torah, created a way of Jewish
life that emphasized the ability of all Jews to grow closer to G-d via
everything that we do, say, and think.  In contrast to the somewhat
intellectual style of the mainstream Jewish leaders of his day and their
emphasis on the primacy of Torah study, the Besht emphasized a constant focus
on attachment to G-d and Torah no matter what one is involved with.

Early on, there was a schism between the Chassidic and non-Chassidic (i.e.
Misnagdim, lit. 'opponents') Jewish movements, primarily over real or imagined
issues of halachic observance.  The opposition was often based on surprise at
the exuberance of Chassidic worship, or a concern that it might be an offshoot
of false messiahs Shabbtai Zvi or Jacob Frank.  Within a generation or two the
rift was closed.  Since then, many Chassidic practices have influenced the
Misnagdim, while the Misnagdim, in turn, moderated some of the extremes of
early Chassidism.  Nevertheless, the dispute between particular groups of
Chassidim and Misnagdim continues to this day, especially in Israel, and
occasionally on soc.culture.jewish.

Today, Chassidim are differentiated from other Orthodox Jews by their devotion
to a dynastic leader (referred to as a "Rebbe"), their wearing of distinctive
clothing, and a greater than average study of the inner aspects of Torah.

There are perhaps a dozen major Chassidic movements today, the largest of
which (with perhaps 100,000 followers) is the Lubavitch group headquartered in
Brooklyn NY.  Other groups include the Bobov, Bostoner, Belzer, Gerer, Satmar,
Vizhnitz, Breslov, Puppa, Bianer, Munkacz, and Rimnitz.

Many recommend the book _Inyonim shel Torah Chassidus [and its translation "On
the Essense of Chassidus"]_, by the current Lubavitcher Rebbe, as an
eye-opener into the distinction between Chassidus and the other four levels of
PARDES (pshat, remez, drush, sod).

Additional information may be found in the Chasidism Reading List, available
as usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/chasidism from rtfm.mit.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.11. How does a Chassid differ from Misnagid?

Chassidism comes in many forms.  One distinguishing characteristic is an
emphasis on the importance of a personal/emotional/ecstatic touch to the doing
of the mitzvos.  Another is the reliance on a Rebbe, especially for any
important life decisions.  A third characteristic is the telling of tales.
Misnagdim will often have some of these characteristics, but the Chassidic
approach elevates them to worthy goals in their own right.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.12. What is a "Torah Jew?"

The expression "the Torah world" and "Torah Jew" tends to be used primarily by
the "yeshivish" world, as other groups prefer other buzzwords.  But many other
Jews object to the term, as they also claim to be true to Torah principles in
their practice.

In general, if someone dislikes a particular term, switch to another term
which conveys the same information.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.13. Is it true that Jews are all (fill-in-the-blank)?
 rich? (or smart, or ...)

No.  There are many poor Jews who need your support.  Consider contributing to
Jewish charities, and/or volunteering your time or services to them.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 2.14. How many Jews are there today in the U.S.A.?

A 1990 National Jewish Population Survey of the Council of Jewish Federations
reports the following:

American Jews:  (TOTAL......5,515,000)
     Born Jews, Consider Judaism their religion.....4,210,000
     Born Jews, Citing no religion..................1,120,000
     Jews by Choice (formerly gentiles)...............185,000

Reform.......................41.4%  "Traditional"*............... 3.2%
Conservative.................40.4%  Reconstructionist............ 1.6%
Orthodox..................... 6.8%  Miscellaneous "Jewish"*...... 1.4%
"Just Jewish"*............... 5.2%

Survey Criteria for the classifications:

  Orthodox: emphasizes the binding unchanging character of Jewish law

  Conservative: asserts the continuing authority of Jewish law as part
                of a dynamic and developing tradition.

  Reform: emphasizes the Jewish prophetic values and accepts Jewish
          practices that it considers relevant for modern times.

  Reconstructionism: a humanistic approach to Jewish tradition that
                     redefines the idea of G-d in humanistic terms.

        *: self-description, though not a denomination.


------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of S.C.J FAQ Part 2 (Who We Are) Digest
**************************
-------
--
[W]:The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228
[Email]:[e-mail]              [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#13149
      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
                    Part 3: Torah and Halachic Authority
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:15:48 $ $Revision: 1.5 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:00:20 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

Section 3. Torah
  3.1. What are the books of the Jewish Bible? (3)
  3.2. Why, in the Tanakh, does G-d have so many Names? (3)
  3.3. What is the Talmud? (3)
  3.4. Who wrote the Torah? (3)
Section 4. Halachic Authority
  4.1. What is "Halacha"?  How is it determined? (3)
  4.2. In Orthodox Judaism, what are the levels of halacha? (3)
  4.3. In Orthodox Judaism, what are the different rabbinic eras? (3)
  4.4. How can differing halachic rulings all be considered valid? (3)
  4.5. How does the Conservative movement deal with Halachic questions? (3)
  4.6. How do Ortho/Ortho disagreements differ from Ortho/Reform? (3)
  4.7. Who is RAMBAM that is mentioned & what are his 13 principles (3)
  4.8. Who was Rashi? (3)
  4.9. Who was the Ramban? (3)
  4.10. What is Kabbalah and how can I learn about it? (3)
  4.11. Who is allowed to study Kabbalah? (3)

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn.  Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present a
balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 3.1. What are the books of the Jewish Bible?

First, it should be noted that "Bible" is more commonly used by non-Jews, as
are the terms "old testament" and "new testament", although "scripture" is a
synonym used by both Jews and non-Jews.  The appropriate term to use is
Tanakh.  This word is derived from the Hebrew letters of the three parts that
make it up:

Torah: Books of Genesis (B'reishis), Exodus (Sh'mos), Leviticus (Vayikra),
                Numbers(Bamidbar), and Deuteronomy (D'varim).

N'viim (Prophets): Books of Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I
        Kings, II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel,
        Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habukkuk, Zephaniah,
        Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.  (The last twelve are
        sometimes grouped together as "Trei Asar." ["Twelve"])

K'Tuvim (Writings): Books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs,
        Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel (although
        not all that is included in the Xian Canon), Ezra and
        Nehemiah, I Chronicles, and II Chronicles.

It should be noted that the breaking of Samuel (Shmuel), Kings (Melachim), and
Chronicles (Divrei hayamim) into two parts is strictly an artifact of the
Christian printers who first issued the books.  They were too big to be issued
as single volumes.  Because every one followed these de facto standards, the
titles of Volume 1 and Volume 2 were attached to the names.  The Chapter
numbers are also an artifact of the original printers.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 3.2. Why, in the Tanakh, does G-d have so many Names?

Traditional Jews answer that each name represents a different aspect
of G-d, similar (l'havdil) to the way the U.S. President is known as
"President," "Commander-in-Chief," "Chief Executive," or "Mr. So-and-so"
depending upon the role he's playing at the moment.

("L'havdil" denotes that the writer acknowledges a distinction between the
sacred and the secular.)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 3.3. What is the Talmud?

The Talmud is a compilation of the "torah she-ba`al peh" (Oral Law),
traditionally said to have been given by G-d to Moses on Mount Sinai while the
"torah she-biktav" (Written Law, the Five Books of Moses/Pentateuch) was being
written there.  Liberal Jews tend not to accept that the oral law was given by
G-d, and ascribe it to well-intentioned human innovation.

The Talmud consists of two parts: the Mishnah (written mostly in Hebrew),
codified during the Great Assembly and compiled by Yehuda hanasi (Judah the
Prince) around the second century C.E., and the Gemara (written mostly in
Babylonian legal Aramaic) compiled in Israel (Talmud Yerushalmi) and
Babylon (Talmud Bavli) in the subsequent centuries.  Note that Talmud
Yerushalmi, name notwithstanding, was not written in Jerusalem, but by
scholars living in northern Israel, mainly in the city of Teveriah (Tiberias).

A citation "Check the gemara, _Yevamos_ 12b" means tractate _Yevamos_, folio
12, reverse side of the folio as per the organization of the Vilna edition of
the Babylonian Talmud.  Similarly, _Chullin_ 5a would be the obverse side of
the fifth folio of tractate _Chullin_.  "Daf Yomi" is a program in which the
participants study both sides of a folio of the Babylonian Talmud every day
of the year.  It takes about 7.5 years to complete the cycle.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject 3.4. Who wrote the Torah?

Ah, yet another *easy* question. :-)

The traditional view is that G-d gave the Jewish people the entire Torah;
hence the Torah is the word of G-d.  As described above, the Torah consists
of a written and an oral portion (although much of the oral portion is now
written down).  Of the written portion:

 o The first five books (Pentateuch, Chumash) were dictated by G-d to Moses.

 o N'viim (the Prophetic writings) were not dictated word for word by G-d;
   instead, the message was transmitted by G-d to the prophets by various
   means (such as by a dream or vision) and transcribed by the prophet in his
   (or her) own style and wording.  These writings are considered a level
   "below" that of Moses.  Specific laws are not derived from the Prophets,
   except through examples of how a mitzvah was actually performed.  There
   were many more prophets in the history of Israel than are recorded in the
   Neviim.  See Section 12.11 "Who were the prophets?"  (in Part 6 of the FAQ)

 o K'Tuvim (Sacred Writings) were the result of "Ruach HaKodesh" (roughly:
   "Divine Inspiration"), which is one level below "prophecy".  Visions from
   the writings are more mystical and may be complete allegory.  Unlike
   prophecy, they do not have to come true.

   The Rambam defines a number of different "levels" of prophecy (based on the
   method through which the prophet received the message and the clarity with
   which he /she received it) and points out that they do not have to function
   on the same level at all times.  For example, many people include Daniel
   among the prophets while his book is in K'Tuvim.  Other examples are King
   David and Tehillim or Jeremiah and Eichah (Lamentations).

The Oral Torah (the Talmud, halachic responsa, and oral/written Kabbalah)
includes the system of legal reasoning and interpretation ("Halacha" --
literally "the Path") by which Torah is applied in every generation. The Oral
Torah, along with the system of legal reasoning, was given by G-d at Mt.
Sinai and transmitted orally.  It gradually began to be written down in the
form of the Talmud during the time of Yehuda HaNasi (circa 200 CE). The
process continues today, as responsa are still being authored and qualify as
Oral Torah.

The Liberal movements hold less with the notion of the Torah being the actual
word of G-d, and more with the notion of the Torah being of divine
inspiration, written in the language and context of its time.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.1. What is "Halacha?"  How is it determined?

Halacha means "Way" or "Path".  Halacha is the application of the Law (Torah)
to everyday living.

The traditional viewpoint is that Halacha should be decided by those who are
most knowledgable in all aspects of Jewish law.  Since the Halacha of each
generation is decided by its greatest Torah scholars, and the Torah doesn't
change, there is usually little change in the Halacha from one generation to
the next.  The development of Halacha is most evident when new situations
arise for which rulings must be made, such as the destruction of the Temple,
the development of electricity, and the increasing complexity of modern food
processing technology.

Since the non-traditional viewpoint is that the the Torah itself was written
by people, both the interpretation of the Law and its application are
re-evaluated in each generation, using the interpretations of the past to serve
primarily as non-binding guidance in how to continue this process.

Both viewpoints encourages all Jews to study halacha, and apply it to their
daily lives in order that they be brought closer to G-d.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.2. In Orthodox Judaism, what are the levels of halacha?

ANSWER:

1. Minhag, custom.  Custom, although not really part of Halachah, can change.
   Minhag is any act that the masses, on their own, accept.  Any minhag that
   is against actual Halachah, is called a minhag ta'os, a mistaken minhag.
   Any that is based on a misunderstanding is a minhag shtus, a foolish
   custom.  These two should not be followed.  Any nearly universal minhag is
   called a Minhag Yisroel, and has most of the stringencies of law.
   (Yarmulka, and Ma'ariv services are two examples of a Minhag Yisroel.)

2. Din dirabanan.  A rabbinic law.  These are set up by the rabbinate, instead
   of the masses, in order to preserve the spirit of the law.  For example,
   Purim and Chanukah.  There are 7 new commandments that are entirely
   rabbinic, bringing the famous total of 613 mitzvot up to 620.

3. Gezeira dirabanan.  A rabbinic "fence".  These are enacted to prevent a
   common cause for breaking the act of the law.  For example, one may not
   place food directly on a fire before Shabbas in order to keep it heated
   during Shabbos.  This is a fence around the law against cooking on
   Shabbos.  To prevent the gezeira from being violated, a metal cover,
   called a blech in Yiddish, is placed on the stove top before Shabbos with
   the flame (turned to a low setting) under one section and the pot with
   food placed on the blech. This blech serves as a fence, allowing heating
   of the food without any danger of violating the law. Note that a "gezeira
   dirabanan" becomes binding only if it is accepted by the community.

4. P'sak.  A rabbinic ruling in determining the questionable area of some law
   or custom.  A p'sak can only be over ruled by another body which is both
   larger in number, and greater in "chochmah".  (The ability to know how to
   use the facts.  Not more knowledgeable book-wise, but more steeped in the
   Torah weltanschauung.)

The distinction between the second and third categories is subtle.  In order
to be a Din (or Issur, or Melachah) Dirabanan, the prohibited action must be
similar in purpose to the permitted one.  A gezeira does not even require an
action.  In the example I gave, it was inaction, leaving the pot where it is,
that is prohibited.  The category includes things that are similar in means to
the prohibited act, and will therefore cause confusion about what is and what
isn't okay; and things which will allow people to be caught up in habit, and
forget about the prohibition.  Only a gezeira may defy an actual Divine law
(although a p'sak will often define one), and even so only under specific
circumstances.  All of the following must be satisfied:

  - The law being protected is more stringent than the one being
    violated.  This determination isn't easy.
  - The law is being violated only through inaction.  No one is being
    told to actively violate G-d's commandment.
  - The law being violated will still be applicable in most situations.
    It still must exist in some form.

On the other hand, a gezeira is less powerful than a normal rabbinic law in
that they can not be compounded.  One may not make a "fence" for the express
purpose of protecting another "fence".  A law is considered accepted if it
becomes common practice.  Any din or gezeira which does not get accepted by
the masses in the short run, does not become binding in the long run.
Similarly, there are rules for p'sak, but they are violated if the masses
choose to follows some other rabbinic body's p'sak.  (For example, Beis
Shammai outnumbered Beis Hillel.  Since, however, Beis Hillel's style is more
geared toward the masses, we almost universally accept their rulings.) Notice,
however, that this is only in the short run.  Once a law is accepted, it may
only be overruled by p'sak.  It cannot just fade into non-practice.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.3. In Orthodox Judaism, what are the different rabbinic eras?

The end of each era is marked by a book that gets accepted by the masses as
authoritative.  This seals the acts of that era as a whole as accepted,
authoritative p'sak.  Therefore, any ruling by those who live after this era
must be supported by an opinion of that era.

The first such book (and the first written book of the Oral law) is the
Mishna.  There are other compilations of the Tanaitic material, the Braisos,
and the Tosefta, but it is the Mishna that marks the end of the Tanaitic era.
It was the Mishna that was accepted by the people.

The second is the Babylonian Talmud.  The Jerusalem Talmud is less
authoritative because it was developed for a shorter time than the Babylonian
Talmud.  The Talmud marks the end of the Amoraic era.

There is a Ga'onic era in Jewish history, but not in Jewish law, since there
is no book that was accepted as the end of that era.  The next such book(s) is
the Shulchan Aruch (by R' Caro), the authoritative Sephardic resource, and the
Mappah (Ramah), which has the Ashkenazic rulings when different (Note that
both are in the same book; see the general reading list).  This delineated the
period of the Rishonim.  A Rishon may argue with another Rishon, or with a
Ga'on (since there is no Halachic concept of the Gaonic era), but can only
argue with an Amora if he has another Amora in his support.  He cannot use a
Tana that was rejected by the Amora'im as support, since that would be
overruling a p'sak of someone greater in chochmah.

Anyone after the Shulchan Aruch is called an Acharon.  An Acharon can only
disagree with a Rishon when he is taking the position of another Rishon.
There are strict rules for change.

Liberal Jews tend to justify halachic change by ascribing greater authority to
present generations (or even to individuals) than to past generations of
sages.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.4. How can differing halachic rulings all be considered valid?

ANSWER: When both parties agree upon the underlying requirements.  For
example, rabbis would agree that one may only eat a kosher animal which was
slaughtered properly.  But they might differ as to the particulars of what
constitutes proper kosher slaughtering.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.5. How does the Conservative movement deal with Halachic questions?

The organization of Conservative rabbis is the Rabbinical Assembly (RA), an
organization affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
(USCJ).  The Rabbinical Assembly has appointed the Committee on Jewish Law and
Standards, which considers questions dealing with Jewish Law (Halacha.)
Responsa issued by the Committee may be adopted by congregational rabbis, each
acting as mara d'atra (Aramaic idiom for local rabbinic authority) for that
congregation, provided at least 6 members of the Committee concurred with that
opinion.  This allows several minority opinions to be adopted.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.6. How do Ortho/Ortho disagreements differ from Ortho/Reform?

QUESTION: What is the difference between two Orthodox rabbis who disagree and
an Orthodox and a Reform who disagree?

ANSWER: How could two people have two different, logically developed opinions
on *any* issue? The question is that:

- Most decisions are not simply bilateral yes/no decisions
- Valid interpretations according to traditional hermeneutics which differ
  in particulars of a particular place/time can survive concurrently (cf.
  any modern legal system)

The Orthodox rabbis would both say that their halachic rulings are in line
with the tradition of Torah learning, all the way from Sinai, and that their
difference is in details.  The Reform rabbi, however, might derive a ruling
from other sources of morality, such as secular ethical notions of equality.

Reform Rabbi Walter Jacob writes, in _Contemporary American Reform Responsa_
that "Our path in America is clear and our halakhic stance is akin to the
pluralism of the past from the days of Hillel and Shammai in the first century
through the entire rabbinic period to our own time."  Orthodox rabbis would
counter that Hillel and Shammai differed on the particulars of halacha, but
not the first principles, while Orthodox and Reform differ significantly on
major principles, such as Torah being from G-d, and the authority of
individuals to decide halacha for themselves.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.7. Who is RAMBAM that is mentioned & what are his 13 principles

Moses Maimonides (1135 - 1204 C.E.), "Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (R'MbM)" was
among the greatest of Jewish sages and leaders, about whom a few lines of
biography cannot begin to do justice.  His 13 principles, as expressed in the
Artscroll Siddur (pages 178-180) follow:

1. G-d's Existence                      8. The entire Torah is G-d-given
2. G-d is a complete and total unity    9. The Torah is unchangeable
3. G-d is not physical                 10. G-d knows man's thoughts and deeds
4. G-d is eternal and the First Source 11. Reward and punishment
5. Prayers should be directed to G-d   12. The Messiah will come
6. G-d communicates with man           13. The dead will live again
7. Moses' prophecy is unique

It would take volumes to explain what these mean, but a good "catechism" of
Jewish beliefs is the _Handbook of Jewish Thought_ by R' Aryeh Kaplan.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.8. Who was Rashi?

Rabbi Shlomo Ben Yitzchak, 1040-1105.  Usually called Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki
author of a massive commentary on almost all of Tanach and most of the Talmud.
His fame rests not only on the content of his explanations but on their style
which remains clear and concise throughout.  His commentary has become the
most comprehensive and popular in existence and provided the basis for most
subsequent studies of the Tanach, Talmud, and Jewish Law.

His commentary on Chumash, first printed in 1465, was the first dated Hebrew
book, and appears in a special script now know as "Rashi script".  His
commentaries are considered the standard work without which it is impossible
to understand the Talmud.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.9. Who was the Ramban?

Rabbi Moshe Ben Nachmon, Nachmanides, 1194-1270.  He wrote a commentary on
Torah and halachah, and more than 50 other lucid and logical works.  He
participated in a disputation (theological argument with the Catholic Church)
in Barcelona in 1263; although he won, he was forced to flee Spain, and as a
result all future disputations forbade the Jewish participants to answer
frankly.  At age 72 he settled in Jerusalem, reorganized the Jewish community,
and moved to Acco to become head its Jewish community.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.10. What is Kabbalah and how can I learn about it?

It's important to differentiate between the popular notion of Kabbalah and the
concept within traditional Judaism.  In the popular culture, Kabbalah is
perceived as a form of magic or the occult, studied for selfish personal gain.
This misinformed idea resulted from those who adapted Jewish ideas out of the
context of Jewish belief and practice, warping it away from its foundations to
their own purposes.  These include medieval Christian mystics, neo-pagan
groups, and contemporary "new age" movements.

Within Judaism, though, Kabbalah is the part of Torah that addresses the
process of creation ("Ma'aseh B'raisheet") and the relationship that G-d
maintains with creation ("Ma'aseh Merkavah").  As such it is the Torah's inner
aspect.  Some traditions say that some of the key texts go as far back as the
Patriarch Abraham.

Parts of Kabbalah, such as the Zohar and Rabbi Moshe Cordovero's "Pardes
Rimonim," are accessible but difficult to understand without a firm grounding
in the more basic Jewish sources and an informed teacher.  Other parts remain
hidden and unavailable to the public.  Parts have been committed to print but
others remain as closely held, orally transmitted tradition.

The most accessible, traditionally accurate books for English language study
of the topic are Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's "Innerspace, Introduction to Kabbalah,
Meditation and Prophecy" (Moznaim Publishing, Brooklyn NY), "Meditation and
Kabbalah," "Kabbalah and the Bible" (Samuel Weiser and Sons, New York), and
"Jewish Meditation" (Schocken, New York).  Lubavitcher Chassidim recommend
directed study of the _Tanya_.  (Kehot Publications, New York)

Additional information may be found in the Chasidism Reading List, available
as usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/chasidism from rtfm.mit.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 4.11. Who is allowed to study Kabbalah?

The Kabbalah deals with sensitive topics and the knowledge it offers has been
warped, even within the Jewish community.  This resulted in severe disruption
of the Eastern European Jewish community (ref: the false messiah Shabbtai Tzvi
and the Frankists).  As a result the non-Chassidic sages there placed a ban on
the study of three basic texts until the age of 30, until the age of 40 for
general study, and in all cases until one has studied the more basic Jewish
sources (Tanakh, Talmud, Halacha) in depth.  However, in Sephardic and
Chassidic communities, some basic texts are studied even by young folks.

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of SCJ FAQ Part 3 (Torah and Halachic Authority) Digest
**************************
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      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/04-Observance
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
  Part 4: Observance, Marriage, Women in Judaism
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:15:54 $ $Revision: 1.5 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:00:28 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

Section 5. Jewish Holidays
  5.1 What are the different holidays (4)
  5.2. What are the dates of the upcoming Jewish holidays? (4)
  5.3. How can I get a Jewish calendar (4)
  5.4. Why do some people take off one day, and others two? (4)
Section 6. Jewish Dietary Law and Kashrut
  6.1. What is Kosher?  Doesn't a rabbi just bless the food (4)
  6.2. Do I need to have a kosher kitchen and kosher home to keep kosher?  (4)
  6.3. Why do different groups wait different times? (4)
  6.4. Why are there different customs on Pesach (i.e., Kitniyos)? (4)
  6.5. I'm a vegetarian health-food proponent.  Is kosher food healthier?  (4)
  6.6. Is vegetarianism kosher? (4)
Section 7. Sabbath and Holiday Observance
  7.1. What is the Jewish Sabbath and why is it on Saturday? (4)
  7.2. Why do my Orthodox Jewish friends leave work early on Fridays (4)
Section 8. Woman and Marriage
  8.1. What role do women play in Judaism? (4)
  8.2. What is the Conservative view of the role of women in Judaism? (4)
  8.3. What is the Reform view of the role of women in Judaism? (4)
  8.4. What is the Orthodox view of the role of women in Judaism? (4)
  8.5. I've heard the Orthodox men are greatful for not being women... (4)
  8.6. What about polygamy? (4)
  8.7. What does clean/unclean refer to? (4)

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn.  Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present
a balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 5.1 What are the different holidays

See the list below.  R' Donin's book _To Be a Jew_ gives a good overview of
the holidays from a traditional perspective.

Note that liberal Jews do not observe all of these holidays, nor do they all
follow the practice of two-days of observance of certain holidays in the
diaspora.  The principle year-cycle events observed by liberal Jews are:
Shabbat, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Chanukkah, Tu
B'Shevat, Purim, Pesach (Passover), Lag B'Omer, Shavuot, and Tish'a B'Av.

Yom Hashoah, Yom HaAtzma'ut, and Yom Yerushalayim commemorate Churban Europa
(lit: the Holocaust of Europe), Israel's Independence, and the liberation of
Jerusalem, respectively.  Many liberal Jews observe them (and create new
liturgies for them).  Traditional Jews vary in the observance of these days.
Some observe them.  Some prefer to commemorate Churban Europa on Tisha B'Av
along with the other catastrophes which have befallen the Jewish people.  Some
celebrate the Israel-related days, but don't assign them religious
significance, and others ignore all three.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 5.2. What are the dates of the upcoming Jewish holidays?

Sun, May  9, 1993: Lag BaOmer
Wed, May 19, 1993: Yom Yerushalim
Wed, May 26, 1993: Shavuot
Thu, May 27, 1993: Shavuot (second day) [Diaspora only]
Tue, Jul  6, 1993: Shiv'ah-Asar b'Tammuz
Tue, Jul 27, 1993: Tisha B'Av
Thu, Sep 16, 1993: Rosh HaShanah 5754
Fri, Sep 17, 1993: Rosh HaShanah 5754 (second day)
Sun, Sep 19, 1993: Tzom Gedaliah
Sat, Sep 25, 1993: Yom Kippur
Thu, Sep 30, 1993: Sukkot
Fri, Sep 31, 1993: Sukkot (2nd day) [Yom Tov in Diaspora only]
Wed, Oct  6, 1993: Hoshannah Rabbah
Thu, Oct  7, 1993: Shemini Atzeret [Simchat Torah in Israel]
Fri, Oct  8, 1993: Simchat Torah
Thu, Dec  9, 1993: Hanukkah (first day)
Thu, Dec 16, 1993: Hanukkah (eighth day)
Fri, Dec 24, 1993: Asarah b'Teveth
Thu, Feb 24, 1994: Fast of Esther
Fri, Feb 25, 1994: Purim

Since the Jewish day starts at sunset, all of these holidays start at sunset
on the civil date before.  (See Subject 7.2 for details.)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 5.3. How can I get a Jewish calendar?

Chabad-Lubavitch and other organizations publish calendars which include
sunset times for various cities.  Jewish funeral homes often distribute Jewish
calendars to local synagogues around Rosh Hashana.  Jewish bookstores and gift
shops sell them as well.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 5.4. Why do some people take off one day, and others two?

QUESTION: Why do some people take off one day & some two days for certain
holidays?

ANSWER: The Jewish calendar is based on a lunar system in which each month
begins at the new moon.  A month can consist of 29 or 30 days.

Originally the determination of the new moon was by the Sanhedrin (highest
rabbinic court, 70 members) when witnesses declared that they had seen the new
moon.  Once the Sanhedrin declared the new month, messages were sent to the
various communities stating which day (of the two possible) began the new
month.

Note that this does not say that the Sanhedrin did not know the methods of
calculating the new moon, but merely that proper procedure required the
witnesses.  The astronomical calculations could be used to verify the validity
of the witnesses, if necessary.

In those months in which holidays occurred, (such as Nisan for Pesach), the
exact date was critical for determining when the holiday began.  Since the
messengers could not reach every community in the time allotted, those
communities they could not reach would celebrate both possible days.

In 325 CE, the Byzantine (Holy Roman Empire) administration in what was then
Palestine limited the rights of the Sanhedrin to disseminate calendrical
information.  Hillel II, the Sanhedrin President at the time, published a set
of rules for the maintenance of the calendar, which is still used today.

The Sanhedrin also determined that those communities outside of Eretz Yisrael
would continue to keep the second day of the holiday because of a principal
"Minhag Avoseinu Beyadeinu", the customs of our fathers [remain] in our hands,
and to remember the law for when the Sanhedrin is reestablished and the month
is determined by witnesses again.

Reform Jews believe that since the calendar is defined exactly, there is no
longer a need to keep the second day of Yom Tov outside of Eretz Yisrael.
However some Reform Jews do choose to observe two days.

Many Orthodox Jews feel that once the Sanhedrin is reestablished, that the
declaration will be disseminated by CNN [Cable News Network] or maybe even
soc.culture.jewish, and even the Jews outside of Eretz Yisrael will only be
required to keep one day.  However, until that time comes, the requirement is
to maintain the calendar as established by the original Sanhedrin which
includes two days.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 6.1. What is Kosher?  Doesn't a rabbi just bless the food

Kosher ("fit") food must meet the complex requirements of Jewish law, and the
supervising rabbi verifies that such is the case for a given food item, or
item which will come in contact with food.  There are restrictions on which
foods are permitted during different times of the year, and a procedure for
slaughtering permissible animals with minimal pain to the animal.

The rabbi's role is to decide questions of Jewish law.  In the area of
kashrus, there are hundreds of details that must be met, and thousands of
"oops, now what?" questions that must be answered.  Animals, for example, are
killed in a very precise manner, by a "shochet", and they must be checked
internally for disease, have their blood removed by salting, feathers removed
in cold water, and so on.  Kosher wine may not come into gentile contact
before pasteurization.  Because meat and dairy have to be carefully separated,
precautions against milk-based additives have to taken.  The complications can
be immense.

A rabbi will hire a mashgioch to do the actual supervision.  The latter is
supposed to call in the rabbi when a novel situation comes up.

Note that the Reform movement does not mandate observance of the laws of
Kashrut.  Instead, it advises its members to study the laws of Kashrut and to
follow those that the individual feels increases the sanctity of their life
and their relationship to G-d.  As a result, there are some Reform Jews who do
keep kosher.  Also, many Jews keep some aspect of the kosher laws, such as not
eating pork or shellfish.

Rabbis (and others) sometimes recommend avoiding certain food products based
on concerns other than kashruth, for example:

 * Environmental (e.g. its manufacture harms the environment more than
                   necessary),
 * Religious (e.g. a Jewish-owned bakery selling kosher food, but open on the
                   Sabbath)
 * 'Tikun olam' [repairing the world] (e.g. the manufacturer complies with the
                   Arab boycott of Israel, or mistreats its employees)

Some rabbis choose not to supervise certain products based on considerations
of the above sort.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 6.2. Do I need to have a kosher kitchen and kosher home to keep
kosher?

No, all you have to do is avoid non-kosher food.  Preparing kosher food in a
non-kosher kitchen is possible (this arises when visiting or living with
relatives who don't keep kosher) but it is much more difficult than preparing
kosher food in a kosher kitchen.

The practice of keeping kosher in the home, but eating non-kosher food outside
the home is certainly better than eating non-kosher food *all* the time, but
the kosher laws deal with *what* to eat, not where to eat it.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 6.3. Why do different groups wait different times?

QUESTION: I have heard that Polish Orthodox Jews wait 6 hours between eating
milchig and fleishig and Dutch Orthodox Jews wait about an hour.  Why?

ANSWER: Both agree that there must be a delay, it's just that the different
communities came to different conclusions about the length.  It's a matter of
custom.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 6.4. Why are there different customs on Pesach (i.e., Kitniyos)?

QUESTION: Why do Sephardim and Ashkenazim have different customs regarding
permissible foods on Pesach (Passover)?

ANSWER: Both agree that "Chometz" products are forbidden.  Ashkenazi
authorities additionally forbade "kitniyos" [some legumes], a class of foods
in some ways similar to chometz, but not classified as "chometz."  Sephardic
authorities didn't consider this stringency to be necessary.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 6.5. I'm a vegetarian health-food proponent. Is kosher food healthier?


We don't know.  Traditional Jews keep kosher because G-d demands it of us.
However, we wouldn't be at all surprised if something which G-d demands would
also be good for us.

Note that vegetarian food is not always kosher: there are problems with
cheese, vinegar, oils, grape jelly, fish, insects, gentile cooking, and lots
more.  (No, we don't mean vegetarians eat insects.  But strict kashrus
requires careful inspection for insects.)

Side note for meat eaters: kosher meat is healthier.  USDA standards are
disgustingly lenient regarding the animal's health.  "Sixty Minutes" once did
an expose on this--many kosher butchers reported a large increase in gentile
customers.  Cold-water plucking helps prevent the spread of salmonella
bacteria, and meat from diseased animals cannot be considered kosher.  Kosher
slaughter is more humane than non-kosher slaughter, as it kills the animal in
a painless fashion. Although kosher slaughter does not kill the animal
instantly, the animal passes out from the sudden drop in cranial blood
pressure and dies in a minute or so.  There is no pain.

Some Jews boycott particular foods or manufacturers as a political or human
rights gesture.  However, even if a rabbi declares a food prohibited in his
community, although it is equally as forbidden as non-kosher food, this does
not affect its kosher status.  (For example, utensils coming in contact with
morally-forbidden products do not become non-kosher.)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 6.6. Is vegetarianism kosher?

If done for the "right" reasons--you don't like meat, or the level of kashrus
is inadequate, or you don't think the animals are cared for properly--it is
not a problem.  If done for the "wrong" reasons--you believe animals have
equal rights as people--it is a problem.

Note that when the Temple is rebuilt, all Jewish men of bar mitzvah age, and
their families, will be obligated to partake of the paschal lamb.  Nothing
short of a severe lamb allergy permits vegetarianism here.  There are various
positions on this issue, which have been well discussed in Kashrus magazine.
Consult your local rabbi for details.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 7.1. What is the Jewish Sabbath and why is it on Saturday?

The Sabbath/Shabbat/Shabbos/Shabbath is the seventh day of the week.  It
begins around sunset Friday night and ends around nightfall Saturday night.
In some Western languages the word for "Saturday" means "The Sabbath", such as
"el Sa'bado" in Spanish.

The Sabbath commemorates G-d's refraining from continuing creation on account
of the world being "complete."  We emulate this by refraining from various
categories of "creative work," such as starting a fire, building items, and
ploughing fields, and lots of smaller-scale activities related to these.
However, Sabbath meals are festive and song-filled, Torah learning is
encouraged, and married couples are encouraged to reconsummate their union.
The idea is to refrain from weekday activity in order to devote the day to
sacred matters.

The laws of Shabbat are *extremely* complicated, and the various movements
differ considerably concerning which activities are permissible and which
activities are encouraged.  A popular thumbnail sketch is _The Sabbath_ by
Dayan I. Grunfeld.

The Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday because of the passage in Torah (Bereishis
[Genesis] 2:1-3) that describes how G-d rested on the seventh day and how we
are commanded to similarly rest (see Sh'mot [Exodus] 16:28-30, 23:12,
31:12-17, and others).

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 7.2. Why do my Orthodox Jewish friends leave work early on Fridays
        and before Jewish holidays?

First, all Sabbath-observant and holiday-observant Jews do this, not just
Orthodox.

The Jewish "day" begins at sunset and continues to the following sunset.  Thus
Shabbos observance begins before sunset on Friday.  (generally 18 minutes,
sometimes more depending upon local custom) Since activities such as cooking,
driving a car, etc. are forbidden on the Shabbos, one must arrive home and
finish the preparations (including showering, changing clothes) sufficiently
early to light the candles and go to shul before sunset.  In the winter sunset
comes early, so Shabbos observers have to leave work early.  They arrange with
their management to make up the time by working extra hours other days or by
coming in early on Friday to make up for leaving early.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 8.1. What role do women play in Judaism?

The basic answer is that everything that G-d created serves a unique and vital
role in fulfilling G-d's goals for this world/universe.  In particular,
humanity (man and woman, gentile and jew) is both the pinnacle and purpose for
the creation in the first place.  The details of how/if women's roles differ
from men's in achieving these goals in the various Jewish movements is
discussed below.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 8.2. What is the Conservative view of the role of women in Judaism?

The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, has considered and approved a
number of responsa which deal with the role of women in Jewish law.  A quick
summary is that women are accorded the same rights and privileges as men in
most areas of Jewish ritual and practice.  A congregational rabbi may or may
not decide to adopt particular rulings for the congregation. So some
Conservative congregations will be more or less egalitarian than others, in
areas such as women:

 - Publicly reading the Torah   - Serving as cantor
 - Being part of the minyan     - Serving as rabbi
 - Being called to the Torah    - Serving as the representative
 - Sitting together with men      of the congregation

There are other areas where differences remain between men and women,
including:

     - Matrilineal descent -- the child of a Jewish mother
       is born Jewish;  the child of a Jewish father is born
       Jewish if and only if the mother is Jewish.

     - Women do not serve as legal witnesses in those cases
       where Jewish law requires two witnesses.  (However,
       some Conservative rabbis accept conversions performed
       under Reform auspices.)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 8.3. What is the Reform view of the role of women in Judaism?

Reform believes in the equality of men and women, and, where necessary, has
introduced alternative mitzvot and rituals to address religious needs in this
fashion.  Reform allows women to be both rabbis and cantors, counts them as
part of the minyon (quorum for public prayer), allows women to initiate a
divorce, and provides a berit-equivalent ceremony for girls (no medical
procedure is done, however).

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 8.4. What is the Orthodox view of the role of women in Judaism?

Traditional Judaism views men and women as having complementary roles in life,
with the women being spiritually superior.  As a consequence of the different
roles, men and women have different obligations (positive ways of fulfilling
the will of our Creator).  Jewish men, for example, have an obligation to pray
at three fixed times each day.  Men need this structure to come closer to G-d.
Jewish women on the other hand, don't need this obligation because they start
off on a higher level.  It is noteworthy that a woman is considered complete
in Jewish Law, but a man needs a wife to achieve that status.  In fact, a man
cannot fulfill his obligations as Jew without the help of a woman.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 8.5. I've heard the Orthodox men are grateful for not being women...

QUESTION: Is it true that Orthodox men bless G-d every morning for not making
them a woman?  What do you mean, this isn't terrible?

ANSWER: The answer is yes, we do.  Sit down.  There's a reason for
everything...

Among the morning blessings are three that go "Blessed art You, L-rd our G-d,
King of the Universe, who has not made me a ...", where "..."  is
"gentile","slave","woman", in that order.

This upsets you? Some of us have a very hard time comprehending why anyone
would react.  Men are men, women are women, and if the men happen to be glad
that they are not women, what of it?

Oh, to you this is derogatory? What makes you think any mention of differences
between men and women is secret code for "men good, women bad"? It just isn't
so, and 2000 years of language/culture/social change have given never-intended
meanings to innumerable phrases.  The above misreading of the blessing is one
such.

Go back to the original reference in the Talmud (Berachos 60b).  The sequence
of three "who has not made me a" blessings was originally proposed by one
rabbi as gentile/idiot/woman.  The other rabbis could not comprehend this.  It
made no sense.  And then it was noticed that if "idiot" was replaced with
"slave", the three blessings fit into a neat logical pattern, with the
blessings carrying a progression of greater yoke of commandments.  It is for
the chance to do more mitzvos than gentiles/slaves/women that Orthodox men
bless G-d every morning.

Note that if derogatory intent were meant, nothing would have prevented it
from being expressed.  And no one would have changed "idiot".

Rabbi Aharon Soloveichik, one of Orthodox Judaism's foremost halachic
authorities, addresses this question in his book _Logic of the Heart, Logic of
the Mind_.  His key points are:

 1. Whatever is superior was created later.  In the human species, the female
    gender was created later, showing that women have innate spiritual
    advantages as compared with men.  The question then becomes: what is the
    nature of those advantages?

 2. The gifts that G-d gave to humanity are two: "One blessing is the gift of
    conquest, of power and of grasping (in Hebrew: "kibbush").  The other is
    the gift of cultivation, of work and dedication and of reaching unto
    things and people through love, consideration, and guidance ("chazakah").
    We can attain great heights through kibbush, but we can't succeed in
    establishing a Paradise on earth unless we couple it with chazakah.

    The gift of kibbush was bestowed upon men, and to be exercised by the
    males of the eleven tribes excluding Levi.  The mandate of the woman is
    that of chazakah.

 3. He goes on to describe why women are exempted from obligatory mitzvos
    created by a time element, from Torah study, and the meaning of the
    morning blessing.

    G-d imposed more mitzvos upon men to limit their natural predisposition
    towards excessive and abusive kibbush.  If not tempered, this abundance of
    male energy can be destructive.

    Women don't need such restrictions.  As per the brachah (blessing) that
    they recite: "She'asani kirtzono -- Who has made me according to His
    will."  Women's innate qualities as the last created creature (Rabbi
    Soloveichik words this as "the crown of Creation"), are already aimed at
    the fulfillment of G-d's ultimate desire for mankind.  What is that
    desire?  In the time of the Messiah, there will be no pursuit of kibbush,
    rather everyone will pursue the gift of chazakah.  So women's Divine
    endowment and her mandate to be true to that endowment is consonant with
    humanity's spiritual and moral goals in the Messianic Era.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 8.6. What about polygamy?

QUESTION: I've heard polygamy is permissible among Sephardic and Yemenite
Jews.  Doesn't Judaism mandate monogamy?

ANSWER: Polygamy is permitted among non-Ashkenazi Jews, and among Ashkenazi
Jews who obtain special permission of 100 rabbis (as in the case of (G-d
forbid) a wife who becomes incapacitated).  But this is largely an academic
question, since most Jews live in countries which ban polygamy by civil law.
Furthermore, the Sephardic community in Israel has its own ban on performing
polygamous marriages in Israel.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 8.7. What does clean/unclean refer to?

The Hebrew words are "tahor" and "tameh".  Translating them as "clean" and
"unclean" (or "pure" and "impure") is always erroneous.  Tahor is a state of
spiritual fitness and life, while tumah connotes the opposite.  Touching a
corpse, or even touching something that has touched a corpse brings one a high
level of tumah.  Another source of tumah is a niddah, a woman who has had a
menstrual flow, indicating the loss of a potential life.

Another way of looking at it is: Tahara is a carefully-defined state where
one CAN perform sacrifices at the Temple and tumah is a state where that
is NOT permitted.  Pretty much as simple as that.

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of SCJ FAQ Part 4 (Observance and Women) Digest
**************************
-------
--
[W]:The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228
[Email]:[e-mail]              [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#13149
      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/05-Worship
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
   Part 5: Worship, Conversion, Intermarriage, and other Practice Questions
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:15:58 $ $Revision: 1.5 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:00:35 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

Section 9. Jewish Worship
  9.1. How does a rabbi differ from a priest? (5)
  9.2. Do you need a rabbi for a wedding? (5)
  9.3. How do Jews pray?    (5)
  9.4. Is there a distinctly Jewish form of meditation? (5)
  9.5. Does Judaism have a strong tradition of religious art and music? (5)
Section 10. Conversion, Intermarriage, and "Who is a Jew?"
  10.1. Does Halacha (Jewish law) permit intermarriage? (5)
  10.2. I'm a Jew who married a gentile.  Am I still Jewish? (5)
  10.3. I'm a Jew who left Judaism.  Can I return? (5)
  10.4. Apart from Halacha, why do Jews oppose intermarriage? (5)
  10.5. Is objection to intermarriage a form of bigotry? (5)
  10.6. How does one convert? (5)
  10.7. What does the word "Jew" mean? (5)
  10.8. Who is a Jew? (5)
Section 11. Miscellaneous Practice Questions
  11.1. Why do some Jewish women cover their hair? (5)
  11.2. Why do many Jewish men wear head coverings? (5)
  11.3. Why do some people write "G-d" with a hyphen instead of an `o'? (5)
  11.4. Why do some Jews write "J-s-s" and "Xianity?" (5)
  11.5. What is a Tallis?  Tzit-tzit(those fringes)?  Why do Jews wear them?
  11.6. What are those black boxes and leather straps Jewish men wear? (5)
  11.7. Why do many Jewish men sport beards? (5)
  11.8. What's this I've heard about a hole in a sheet? (5)
  11.9. Why do some Jews wear black coats, fur hats, etc.? (5)
  11.10. Does Judaism permit slavery? (5)
  11.11. What does "eye for an eye" mean? (5)

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn. Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present a
balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 9.1. How does a rabbi differ from a priest?

A rabbi has no actual powers in Jewish law other than judgment.  Because of
his learning, he often takes on other roles.  Rabbinical presence at religious
services is desired insofar as everyone likes the rabbi and he can rule on
questions that come up related to the service (e.g. does a particular smudge
render a Torah scroll unkosher?) If he has a nice voice, and no one else has
priority, he may even lead the services.  The state gives rabbis the
permission to perform weddings and so on since the state trusts them.

Priests are male descendants from Aaron, the brother of Moses.  They are
usually called cohanim [cohen singular].  The cohanim perform Birkat Cohanim
(blessing the congregation using the Hebrew text found in Bamidbar [Numbers]
6:23-25) on the following occasions:

      Daily                   in Jerusalem
      Shabbat and Yom Tov     in Israel outside of Jerusalem, and in
                              many non-Israeli Sephardic congregations
      Yom Tov                 otherwise (non-Israeli Ashkenazic congregations)

There is a custom of not doing Birkat Cohanim on Simchat Torah, since the
priests were not allowed to minister in the Temple in Jerusalem after
drinking, and *everybody* drinks on Simchat Torah!

Cohanim are traditionally granted priority in numerous details.  They are also
traditionally forbidden to attend funerals other than their closest relatives
and may not marry divorcees or converts.  When the Temple is standing, the
cohanim run most of the Temple service.

The "Star Trek" Vulcan "live long and prosper" sign is roughly one-half of the
gesture the cohanim make when blessing the congregation.  You can see it
engraved on many cohen tombstones:

                            \\//_ _\\//
                             \ /   \ /

The Pharisee/Sadduccee conflict was a rabbi/priest conflict.  When the Second
Temple was destroyed, the priests lost most of their power.

Oh wait, you meant maybe, like Catholic/Anglican priests?  Heh.

On this note: Priests are often used as intermediaries between man and G-d.
Rabbis are nothing more than regular people who have learned much Torah.
Catholic priests can give absolution for sins, rabbis can't (unless you're
asking forgiveness for something you've done against the rabbi personally)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 9.2. Do you need a rabbi for a wedding?

QUESTION: I have been told that you don't need a rabbi to perform a wedding,
etc.

ANSWER: Technically correct, but it's very important to have a rabbi in order
to make sure that the complicated marriage ceremony is done properly.  Valid
witnesses are needed to make the marriage official.  The criteria constituting
a valid witness differ among the movements.

The purpose of a rabbi is like that of using a judge or a lawyer in civil
matters to ensure that the law is complied with.  This differs from the
non-Jewish concept of a minister having some necessary mystical connection
with G-d that is required to make the ceremony valid.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 9.3. How do Jews pray?

In public and in private; in groups and alone.  Jews pray loudly and in
silence; in Hebrew, English, and any other language you can name.  Sometimes
Jews even pray without language.  Jews pray from the depth of their souls, at
the tops of their lungs, and from the quiet of their hearts.  It is difficult
to point to a specific "Jewish" way of praying.

However, one's prayers must fulfill certain daily obligations, so a standard
order of prayers has been developed to accomplish this.  Still, even in a
structured prayer service, there are many opportunities for a silent, personal
supplication to G-d.

The introduction to the Artscroll Siddur (Orthodox) provides a good overview
of the Jewish view of prayer, and the book _To Pray as a Jew_ discusses more
of the particulars.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 9.4. Is there a distinctly Jewish form of meditation?

Yes.  See [KQ]abbalah above.  The silent "shemoneh esrei" prayer is also a
form of meditation.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 9.5. Does Judaism have a strong tradition of religious art and music?

Emphatically, yes!  Cantorial music goes back a long way, and there have been
Jewish artists since Abraham's time.  You should investigate many of the
exhibits at the local Jewish Community Centers, synagogues, and rabbinical
schools (such as the Skirball Museum at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles).
Often, Jewish art focuses on ceremonial objects, such as spice boxes, menorot,
mezzuzot, wimples, kippahs, breastplates for the Torah, Torah covers, etc, as
opposed to portraits or statues.

Judaism does have a strong tradition of religious music, it's just that there
haven't been that many Jewish composers with great popular success outside of
the small Jewish circles (as opposed to classical composers of the 17th-19th
centuries who wrote liturgical music that was a great success in its own
right, without the liturgy underneath it)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10.1. Does Halacha (Jewish law) permit intermarriage?

According to post-Sinaitic Jewish law, a marriage can be contracted only
between two Jews, so an intermarriage is not recognized.

Some liberal Jews recognize civil marriages as Jewishly valid, irrespective of
religion.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10.2. I'm a Jew who married a gentile.  Am I still Jewish?

Yes.

According to Conservative and Orthodox Judaism, the children of Jewish mothers
are Jewish, and the children of gentile women are gentile unless converted.
(An adult who converts must accept the Obligation of the Commandments at the
time of conversion.  A child who converts delays this acceptance until age 13
(12 for girls), thereby validating the childhood-conversion.  If he doesn't
accept the commandments, he is not considered Jewish.  Reform requires that a
child born of a mixed marriage, identify publicly with Judaism to be
considered Jewish by Reform.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10.3. I'm a Jew who left Judaism.  Can I return?

QUESTION: I'm a Jew who accepted the tenets of another religion, but now wants
to practice Judaism again.  Am I allowed?  Am I still Jewish?

A Jew cannot become a non-Jew.  This is because any Jew can do tshuva
(repentance or "return") up to the moment of death, and this includes
forsaking one's estrangement from Judaism.

A Jew who sins (e.g. by joining another religion) may lose the privileges of
being a Jew (e.g. participation in the Jewish community) but at no point does
a Jew become a non-Jew.  For example, if a particular activity is permitted to
non-Jews, but forbidden only to Jews, it remains a sin for this person.

In Judaism, repentance consists of admitting the sin, regretting that one
sinned, and resolving not to repeat the sin.  In the case of a sin that
consisted of joining another religion, recanting would certainly be involved -
one would (in addition to admitting "I believed in X") say "I regret that I
believed in X" and "I will no longer believe in X".

In English, one does not "repent to", one repents.  In Hebrew, "to repent" and
"to return" are the same word.  One returns to G-d.  But one returns to G-d by
doing the above three actions.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10.4. Apart from Halacha, why do Jews oppose intermarriage?

QUESTION: OK, then _apart_from_halachic_considerations_, why do many Jews of
all types oppose intermarriage?

ANSWER: Children of intermarriages are statistically less likely to identify
with Judaism than children raised by Jewish parents, so intermarriage weakens
the Jewish people.  Therefore, Jews across the spectrum oppose intermarriage
in order to prevent this weakening.

A large part of Jewish observance and identity centers on the home, family,
and community.  Religion is a part of daily life, in areas as diverse as
making a blessing before wearing new clothes for the first time to thanking
G-d before and after meals.  Special occasions such as Shabbat and holidays
carry special customs and observances.  A home made by a Jew and a non-Jew is
much less likely to be a "Jewish home".  Where children are involved, they are
most likely to grow up with a positive Jewish identity when they see both
parents Jewishly connected.

Also, for many people, a difference in religion is an added stress on a
relationship.  For this reason, many Jewish parents discourage intermarriage
in their children in an honest attempt to help their children find long-term
happiness.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10.5. Is objection to intermarriage a form of bigotry?

No, the traditional objection to intermarriage is simply that it is one of the
613 Mitzvot (commandments) that a Jew cannot and may not marry a non-Jew.  Of
course one may and should look for reasons for this Mitzvah, but the bottom
line is that we do the Mitzvot because they were commanded by our Creator and
Sustainer.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10.6. How does one convert?

(It is important that potential converts be made aware in advance which
movements will or will not recognize their conversion, and, if there's any
possibility that they will make aliyah, if the Israeli rabbinate will accept
it.)

Conservative and Orthodox Jews require that the potential convert be
instructed about how to live as a Jew, and undergo kabbalat ol mitzvot
[agreement to do the commandments], mila [circumcision], and tevila [immersion
in a 'mikvah' ritual bath], and that the procedure be supervised by a beit din
[court] of three.  Note that the members of the Bet Din must be
acceptable witnesses.  According to the Orthodox Jewish law, a witness
must scrupulously observe all the laws, particuarly Shabbat.  From an
Orthodox standpoint, therefore, any Jew who does not follow Orthodox
standards of practice -- rabbi or not -- would not be qualified to sit
on a Bet Din.

The Reform movement requires that the potential convert agree to observe the
commandments (according to Reform standards) and participate publicly in the
community, but they do not require mikva or mila.  Reform recommends that the
potential convert be made aware of mikva and mila, and that their conversion
would be unacceptable to Orthodox Jews, but such notification is not required.

Note also that many Conservative rabbis will not accept Reform conversions
lacking mila and tevila; but will accept Reform conversions performed with
acceptable mila and tevila, focusing on the act performed rather than the
identity of the supervising rabbi.  Others will accept Reform conversions
outright for the sake of intergroup harmony.

The debate among movements as to the acceptability of different procedures
remains unresolved, and is unlikely to ever be resolved (and certainly *will
not* be resolved in network discussions).  The reasons for this depend on from
which movement the question is asked.  And so the reasoning of each movement
needs to be stated separately.

Liberal Judaism views this as a question of stringency.  Therefore, for
Liberal Judaism to say "I will comply with the Orthodox standard" is to
acknowledge an insufficiency of its own standards.  Obviously, then,
non-Orthodox rabbis are unwilling to leave all conversions to the Orthodox
(even though this may *seem* like an efficient compromise from a practical
point of view.)  Conversely, for a Orthodox Judaism to say "Liberal standards
are acceptable" is to acknowledge a superfluity of its stricter standards, an
equally unlikely scenario.

Orthodox Judaism views this as a question of objective reality.  A non-Jew
does or does not become Jewish by a particular procedure.  This is in some
ways analagous to the procedure by which a person becomes a naturalized
citizen.  Just as the oath of allegiance that the person takes to become a
citizen is only the end of a process, and only certain judges may administer
that oath; so to (l'havdil) the Beit Din, Tevilah (immersion), and
circumcision (if male) are the culmination of a process and may only be
administered by certain rabbis.  This is obviously unacceptable to Liberal
Judaism, as part of the procedure is an understanding and acceptance of the
world view of Orthodox Judaism.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10.7. What does the word "Jew" mean?

There are at least two totally distinct meanings of the word Jew.

The one that is germane to most of the issues of SCJ is what might best be
described as a "member of the Jewish people."  The people who are generally
considered to belong to this group are enumerated under the heading "Who is a
Jew", below.

Although membership in "Am Yisrael," as we call the Jewish people, is
determined by religious criteria, these criteria do not include the actual
practice of Judaism.  So Am Yisrael is truly a group of people who identify
themselves as such, and not just a religion.  Some people refer to Am Yisrael
as a nation.

Because many people have joined Am Yisrael through conversion over the years,
Jews are not, at this point, a single ethnic group, any more than the French
people.  There are Jews of several different ethnicities, as described
elsewhere in this FAQ.

Nevertheless, there is an ethnic group that, for better or worse, is often
described as Jews: the descendants of the ancient Hebrews, many of whom were
dispersed across much of the earth during Roman times.  And the vast majority
of Am Yisrael belong to this ethnic group, which is of semitic, rather than
European stock.  To avoid confusion, we shall refer to this group as "Jews by
ethnicity."

It is sometimes unclear whether a frequently asked question about Jews refers
to Am Yisrael or to Jews by ethnicity.  We shall give separate answers in case
of confusion.

In soc.culture.jewish, speaking as a Jew has the implication that one is
currently Jewish, and not practicing another religion.  Hence, a person born
Jewish but practicing Islam should not write "I'm a Jew who accepts Muhammad's
prophecy" but rather the more truthful "I'm a practicing Muslim of Jewish
ancestry."  Of course, Jews who practice other religions are welcomed and
encouraged to return to practicing Judaism at any time.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 10.8. Who is a Jew?

You had to ask this question? You really had to ask "who is a Jew?"??  Come
on, couldn't you have asked a *hard* question, like whether Adam had a pippik
or not? (pippik means navel, a/k/a 'belly button')

For thousands of years the answer was simply someone born of a Jewish mother,
or someone who undertook a conversion, which involved accepting the yoke of
the commandments, an immersion in a mikveh [ritual bath], and for men,
circumcision, the latter two in the presense of witnesses.  And then came
modern times.  Hooboy.  You sure you aren't interested in Adam's pippik?

Anyway, then came modern times, and along came new answers.  First the
oldtimers complained that the newtimers weren't kosher to do a conversion and
then the newtimers got newfangled about the yoke and/or the immersion and/or
the circumcision and boy did the oldtimers really got unhappy with this and
then the issue got more confusing when the Israeli government started
guaranteeing automatic citizenship to Jews resulting in a play it by ear like
no one who takes up other religions is accepted but the latest round of
yelling was when the newtimers started accepting Jewish father and Jewish
upbringing and at this point we give up and are asking all prospective posters
of this question to first tell us whether Adam had a pippik.

The only thing that is universally agreed is that the practicing of other
religions is the same as the rejection of Judaism.

Even within Orthodoxy the answer gets, uh, "flexible" at times.  (You thought
this was just newfangled vs oldfangled? Heh!) When the Nazis were trying to
figure out whether to murder the Karaites quickly or slowly, they asked
several Orthodox rabbis if the Karaites were Jewish or not.  (You figured out
the answer? Maybe you belong in yeshiva!)  Nineteenth century Samaritan
massacres by Islamic zealots were stopped when they got official word that
Samaritans are Jews, i.e., people of the book.  There have been conflicting
answers regarding the Ethiopian Jews.

Another bit of Orthodox "flexibility" comes regarding Conservative
conversions.  Such a person (a sofek) is not counted as Jewish for anything
positive, but is often treated as Jewish for things negative, just in case.
Thus, a sofek may not be called to the Torah, or even be counted for a minyan,
but would not be treated as a Shabbos goy.  (He would be expected to do a
divorce in the traditional manner, but this shouldn't be a problem, since as a
Conservative he holds by that too.)  Conservatives often act the same towards
Reform conversions, and even within all three movements, there is often
rejection of lenient leaning conversions.

Reform Judaism rules that the children of two Jewish parents are considered
Jewish.  Reform also rules that when one parent is Jewish and the other
gentile, the identity of the child as Jewish must be established subsequently
through Jewish education and positive Jewish acts such as Bar Mitzvah,
Confirmation, etc.  This is known as the "Patrilineal descent" ruling, because
it considers the child of a Jewish father and gentile mother to be Jewish
without a conversion ceremony, as opposed to "Matrilineal descent" in which
the child of a Jewish woman is automatically Jewish, irrespective of paternity
or subsequent practice.  If you want to look at the text of the decision,
which is a recurring debate topic on S.C.J, it may be found in the nysernet
archives in the directory ~ftp/israel/lists/mail.liberal-judiasm/info-files.
The file name is "patrilineal-descent".

While countless treatises have been written on this subject, some readers
recommend the Chabad/Lubavitch booklet "Who is a Jew?" by R' J.  Immanuel
Schochet, available from SIE, 788 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11213.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.1. Why do some Jewish women cover their hair?

QUESTION: Why do some Jewish women wear wigs or cover their hair with a snood,
beret, tichel, turban, kerchief or hat?

ANSWER: Within Orthodoxy, it is considered a breach of modesty for a married
woman to have uncovered hair while in the presence of men other than her
husband.  Customs differ as to how much hair can be showing beneath the head
covering, or if a wig is better/worse than a hat of some sort.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.2. Why do many Jewish men wear head coverings?

QUESTION: Why do many Jewish men wear head coverings (variously referred to as
"yarmulkas," "skullcaps," and "kipot")?

The yarmulka is a sign of humility for men, acknowledging what's "above" us
(G-d).  It's necessary for men to cover their heads during certain prayers
(whether it be by a kipa or another headcovering), and for one making
blessings all day, it's inconvenient to keep donning and removing a yarmulka.
In some places, the type of kippa and way of wearing it expresses affiliation
with a particular yeshiva or political viewpoint.  In other places, it doesn't
really matter.

Many Ashkenazi rabbis acknowledge that wearing a head covering at all times was
once considered an optional "midda chasida" [pious act] but that nowadays,
full-time head covering is the norm except under extenuating circumstances.

Sephardic communities generally did not have the custom of wearing a kipa all
the time.

Some diaspora Jews leave off the kipa at school, work, or when testifying in
court, because of real danger or uneasiness in appearing in the secular world
with an obvious symbol of Jewishness.

The wearing of the kipah at school and work has increased in recent years.
These are also affectionately called "beanies," "holy headgear," "Yamahas,"
"Yid-lids," and "Kapeles."  (Similarly, some hair coverings for married women
are affectionately called "shmattehs.")

On Usenet, some related, but not necessarily common, "Jewish" smilies might
be:

 (:-)    clean-shaven smiley wearing a kipa (yarmulka)
 @:-)    modest married smiley wearing snood/beret
 {:-)    modest married smiley wearing sheitel (wig)
 [|:-)}  smiley wearing black fedora and short beard
 {|B-)== smiley wearing glasses, streimel (fur hat), and long beard
 ({8-{)} smiling bearded guy with (most of) his own hair and a kippa
 :---)   antisemitic long-nosed smiley

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.3. Why do some people write "G-d" with a hyphen instead of an `o'?

The traditional names of G-d may not be destroyed.  One way to avoid this
problem is to not write the full name down in the first place.  Strictly
speaking, this only applies to Hebrew on a permanent medium, but many people
are careful here beyond the minimum.

Even some who are not strict (or even observant) in general will write "G-d",
to emphasize that Jewish conceptions of G-d are meant.  Note that if you
disagree with another poster's decision to omit or include the hyphen, you
should not publicly criticize or ridicule said poster.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.4. Why do some Jews write "J-s-s" and "Xianity?"

Some Jews consider Jesus to have been an ordinary man and write his name like
that of any other man.  Some question whether or not he even existed, possibly
being a myth borrowed from similar stories.  Others ascribe to him the status
of a "deity worshipped by others," whose name Jews should not pronounce.  Many
extend this ban to the written form.  Some write "Xianity" as a simple
shorthand, like "Xmas," while others prefer not to write "Christianity" lest
it appear that they consider Jesus to have been the Messiah.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.5. What is a Tallis?  Tzit-tzit(those fringes)?  Why do Jews wear
        them?

In the Torah, there is a commandment to wear "Fringes" on the corners of
garments.  That is, all garments of a certain size or larger which have at
least four corners must have strings known as tzitzit attached.  The original
requirement was to have a blue thread among the white threads.  However, since
we no longer know the precise shade of blue and the source of the dye used,
only the white threads are used (except among certain chassidic groups which
claim to know the dye formula.)

Since the normal clothing in our time does not have four square corners, we
wear a garment that is specifically made to have four corners so that we can
fulfill the mitzvah.  This is known as the "Tallit Katan" or "Tzitzit" and is
usually worn under the shirt.  Some people wear them with the tzitzit showing,
others conceal them.  The verses giving this commandment are found in the
third paragraph of the Sh'ma which is recited during the morning and evening
prayers.

During prayers, the custom is to wear a large rectangular garment with tzitzit
(Tallis Gadol) and pray while wrapped in it.  There are different customs as
to when this is done.  Most Ashkenazic men will begin wearing the Tallis when
they get married.  In some Sephardic and German-Ashkenazi communities, a boy
will put on a tallis when he becomes a bar-mitzvah (13 years old).  There are
some communities which begin this earlier.  Customs vary among liberal Jews as
to who wears a tallis, and when it's worn.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.6. What are those black boxes and leather straps Jewish men wear?

They are called "Tefillin" (mentioned in the Torah as 'totafos"), and contain
parchments with verses from the Torah.  During the weekday morning service
they are worn on the head ("between your eyes") and on the arm ("upon your
hand") in fulfillment of the Torah commandment in the Sh'ma.  If you go to a
shul and lack tefillin, you can be sure that someone will lend you his and
assist you in fulfilling this mitzvah.

One of the medieval blood libels was to tell gentile peasants that Jews
poisoned wells, and received coded magic instructions in small black boxes.
The mobs would destroy the expensive tefillin to open them, and mistake the
Hebrew verses as "magic codes," followed by the usual rape, murder, and
pillage of Jews which characterized much of medieval Europe.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.7. Why do many Jewish men sport beards?

There is a prohibition on shaving certain facial regions with a blade, so
before the days of scissors-action electric shavers it was difficult to shave
correctly, so most Jewish men wore beards.

On a practical level, shaving or trimming of the beard is not permitted on the
Sabbath or Holidays, and for a few stretches during the year [such as portions
of the time between Pesach and Shavuos].  A beardless man will grow days or
weeks of stubble, but a bearded man who doesn't shave or trim his beard during
that time will not look significantly different.

Also, in some communities in the past, Jewish men were _required_ to wear
beards, so they became part of a distinctive "Jewish" appearance.  Finally,
some Jewish men just don't like to shave.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.8. What's this I've heard about a hole in a sheet?

We don't know what you've heard, but what we've heard is that when it comes
time for three men to "witness" a woman's conversion [involving nude
immersion], what's commonly done is for the water's surface to be covered with
a thick, opaque sheet with a hole in it, just big enough to let her head
through while discreetly shielding the rest of her body.

Anything else is probably just your warped imagination, and no, we still have
no idea of what you're thinking, but you should be ashamed of yourself, just
in case.  And another thing, it's not true, so there.

According to a Jewish "urban legend," the myth derives from seeing Jews in
religious neighborhoods hanging their "talitot katan" out to dry.  This
poncho-like garment is about two feet by four feet, has a fringe on each
corner, and a hole in the center for the wearer's head, and it looks somewhat
like a small sheet with a hole, and many people have vivid and warped
imaginations.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.9. Why do some Jews wear black coats, fur hats, etc.?

QUESTION: Why do some Orthodox Jews, especially Chassidim, wear their
distinctive garb?  (i.e., fur hats, black coats, gartel)

The particular appearance is a matter of local custom for the group.

Black Clothes:
  Black is the color of Gevurah (severity), and thus is a symbolically
  appropriate garb for serious and important events (praying, holidays, etc.)
  Those who wear such clothes all week are thus indicating that their daily
  life is also bound up in divrei yirah shamayim [fearing heaven].

Gartel:
  It is required by the Shulchan Aruch (code of Jewish law) to have a
  separation between the top half of the body and the bottom while praying.
  Those who do not wear a gartel hold that other clothes satisfy the halacha,
  e.g. a regular belt or the waistband of his pants.

Hat:
  A double head covering (and more complete head covering than a kippot) is
  used during davening.  Some choose to wear it all the time, but it is not
  required.  Some wear it while eating.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.10. Does Judaism permit slavery?

No, in the sense of the enslavement of Africans in the U.S.  Treating a slave
like chattel and abusing him or her are against Jewish law.

"Slavery" in the Torah generally refers to temporary indentured servitude to
one's creditor.


------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 11.11. What does "eye for an eye" mean?

It means "if you injure a person such that he loses an eye, you must
compensate him for the loss of his eye."

It does NOT imply "lex talionis" - gouging out the perpetrator's eye as
retaliatory punishment.  Gandhi and many others misunderstood this verse.

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of SCJ FAQ Part 5 (Worship and Who is a Jew) Digest
**************************
-------
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      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/06-Jewish-Thought
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
                            Part 6: Jewish Thought
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/05/10 22:09:32 $ $Revision: 1.4 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:00:42 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

  12.1. What is the Jewish concept of G-d?   (6)
  12.2. Can one doubt G-d's existence and still be a good Jew? (6)
  12.3. How does traditional Judaism relate to modern science?  (6)
  12.4. Does modern science contradict liberal readings of the Torah? (6)
  12.5. Can one be Orthodox and a scientist too? (6)
  12.6. What does "chosen people" mean? (6)
  12.7. What is the Jewish concept of the Messiah? (6)
  12.8. What happens when a person dies? (6)
  12.9. What was the job of a prophet? (6)
  12.10. Are there prophets today? (6)
  12.11. Who were the prophets?  How many? (6)
  12.12. What is the Jewish view on the question of "free will." (6)
  12.13. What about angels, demons, miracles, and the supernatural? (6)
  12.14. What do Jews hope/expect of the future? (6)
  12.15. How can Jews reject (insert true belief here)? (6)
  12.16. Isn't it good enough to be a good person? (6)
  12.17. How does Judaism differ from (insert -ism here)? (6)
  12.18. Where can a Gentile learn about Judaism? (6)
  12.19. What does Judaism say about non-Jews? (6)

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn. Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present
a balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.1. What is the Jewish concept of G-d?

QUESTION: What is the Jewish concept of G-d?  Do Jews think of Him as an angry
old man with a long white beard?

ANSWER: No.  That image is an anthropomorphism of an extreme application of
judgment (seen as anger), and wisdom (associated with old men).  The image is
part of the "angry jealous Old Testament G-d" misconception, which ignores
G-d's showing kindness and mercy throughout the Torah.

Traditional Jews view G-d as omnipotent and unique, tempering judgment with
mercy.  The verse from Shemos [Exodus] 23:23 "And I will remove my hand and
you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen" is taken to mean that we
will come to know G-d through His works, and through observing his
commandments.  See _Handbook of Jewish Thought_ by R' Aryeh Kaplan.

Jews conceive of G-d as an absolutely simple Unity (implying absolutely no
constituent divisions), beyond all constraints (including time and place), and
beyond all limitations of human conception.  To the extent that we are even
able to refer to G-d, it is solely through our assignment of human-like
attributes to what we perceive as G-d's interactions with creation.  These
attributes provide us with simple terms to which we can relate, but in no way
limit or constrain G-d.

All descriptions of G-d which involve human characteristics are attempts by
human beings to understand the infinite.  These human characteristics can
only be crude approximations of the attributes of G-d, in the same way that
a robot's hand, while fashioned in the image of our own, can only be a
crude approximation of the complexity of a human hand.

Likewise, we often ascribe to G-d the ultimate expression of desirable
traits which fallible humans can only imperfectly attain. Thus the term
"Rachman," as used to refer to G-d, is not "merciful" but THE MERCIFUL, and
is the standard against which the human characteristic of mercy is
measured.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.2. Can one doubt G-d's existence and still be a good Jew?

What does it mean that one doubts G-d's existence?  It rarely means that one
does not believe that G-d exists ("no atheists in foxholes"), rather that a
person does not understand what G-d does.  That the way He runs the world is
not comprehensible.  (e.g. why does He allow things like famine or the
Holocaust to occur?)  G-d does not fit into our limited intellect.  And
defining G-d to be something that would fit into a human ideal of what G-d
should be, would mean that we are denying what G-d actually is: something
beyond our intellect.

So the answer is: we all have questions about G-d, but it does not prevent us
from being good Jews.  Because being good is not an end-goal, rather a process.
We struggle to get better despite any doubts.

What a Jew does is more important than what he or she believes, even though
Maimonides included belief in G-d as one of Judaism's key principles.  Full
and complete faith (emunah sh'laimah) in particular is a most difficult state
to achieve, but the seeds of faith find fertile ground in the person of one
who earnestly strives to live a Jewish life based on the Torah's
prescriptions.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.3. How does traditional Judaism relate to modern science?

QUESTION: Does modern science contradict traditional readings of the Torah?
In particular, Big Bang theory, evolution, age of the world, etc.

ANSWER: Probably, but science is getting better all the time and one can
expect agreement eventually...

Seriously, there are numerous neo-traditional readings that put new twists on
various commentaries and are allegedly compatible with strict Orthodoxy.
Rambam [Maimonides], for example, warns at the beginning of his _Mishneh
Torah_ that the literal reading of the opening of Bereshis [Genesis] is for
the masses.  [The non-literal reading he had in mind was Kabbalistic, not
Evolutionary.  See _The Guide for the Perplexed_.]

Most Orthodox Jews believe that Creation occurred 5750-and-change years ago
and that it took six days.  How long each of those days and years were
relative to today's time intervals (considering that time itself is one of
G-d's creations) is the subject of much discussion and commentary.  While the
basis for all their discussions is their belief in Torah, they also take into
account (and sometimes seek to reconcile) the evidence offered by modern
science and engineering.

A rabbi in the Los Angeles area mused that perhaps the year count is based on
the end of creation, when mankind had achieved intelligence.  Certainly all of
man's recorded history fits within the almost six thousand years.  The time
before "year 1" can be considered before the system was in multiuser mode :-).

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.4. Does modern science contradict liberal readings of the Torah?

The liberal Jewish movements who do not hold the text of the Torah as a
purely factual account don't need to reconcile it with science.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.5. Can one be Orthodox and a scientist too?

Definitely!  The Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists publishes a
quarterly, _Intercom_, which deals with ethical, technical, practical, and
philosophical issues.

There is an institute in Israel devoted to using modern technology within
Halachic constraints.  One example of their products is a Sabbath telephone
that doctors can use in an emergency without fear of violating the laws of the
Torah.

Tzomet (Tzivtei Mada V'Torah), a similar institute in Gush Etzion, can be
reached at TEL [phone] / FAX [phone] Tzomet -- Alon Shvut, Gush
Etzion 90940.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.6. What does "chosen people" mean?

QUESTION: I've heard that Jews consider themselves "chosen."  What does that
mean?

ANSWER: It's "chosen" to accept the Torah and its commandments.  This does not
imply superiority, since other nations can fulfill G-d's will with only seven
commandments, rather than the hundreds required of Jews.  The concept in fact
is "chosen to fulfill a responsibility," and implies a harder task rather than
a higher status in the world.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.7. What is the Jewish concept of the Messiah?

Moses Maimonides (RaMBaM, see Section 4.6) says the following about the
Messiah:

  "If a king will arise from the House of David who is learned in Torah and
  observant of the mitzvot [the Torah's commandments], as prescribed by the
  written law and the oral law, as David his ancestor was, and will compel all
  of Israel to walk in [the way of the Torah] and reinforce the breaches [in
  its observance]; and fight the wars of G-d, we may, with assurance, consider
  him the Messiah.

  "If he succeeds in the above, builds the Temple in its place, and gathers
  the dispersed of Israel, he is definitely the Messiah.  ...

  "If he did not succeed to this degree or he was killed, he surely is not
  [the redeemer] promised by the Torah.  [Rather,] he should be considered as
  all the other proper and complete kings of the Davidic dynasty who died.
  G-d only caused him to arise in order to test the many, as [Daniel 11:35]
  states; "and some of the wise men will stumble, to try them, to refine, and
  to clarify until the appointed time, because the set time is in the future."

The Rambam then continues by explaining why Judaism has rejected the claims
of other religions, notably Xianity, which "caused the Jews to be slain by
the sword, their remnants to be scattered and humbled, the Torah to be
altered, and the majority of the world to err and serve a god other than
the L-rd." Since, he said, the required criteria [as described in the
preceding paragraphs] have not been met, all messianic claims to date, such
as Xianity or the the beliefs of the followers of Shabtai Zvi, have been
proven false.

The full text is in his _Mishneh Torah_, Sefer Shoftim, Hilchot Melachim
U'Milchamoteihem, Chapter 11.  This translation was done by Rabbi Eliyahu
Touger, published by Moznaim Press, from Halacha 4.  A translation, published
by the Lubavitch organization "Sichos in English", can be found on
israel.nysernet.org in directory israel/chasidus/info as Rambam.moshiach and
is available for anonymous ftp.

The Rambam's statement is probably the definitive rendering of the
rationalist Jewish view on the subject.  Others believe that the Messiah
will usher in an age of miracles, and will come in a miraculous manner.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.8. What happens when a person dies?

QUESTION: What do Jews say happens when a person dies?  Do Jews believe in
reincarnation? In hell or heaven?

In general, and in contrast to some other religions, in day-to-day life Jews
don't pay much attention to questions like this.  The focus of Jewish life is
living according to G-d's will as expressed in the Torah.  What happens
afterwards is up to G-d.

That said, traditional Judaism does address this question.  Keep in mind that
there are dissenting viewpoints, though this is the dominant one:

A living person consists of both body and soul.  Both are complex in structure
and this short answer can't possibly address the details.  To summarize
briefly, when the body dies, if the person merits it, a small portion of the
soul remains with it to keep it connected with the soul's source, anticipating
the general revival of the dead at the time that G-d decrees.  Different parts
of the remainder of the soul may go to different places.  One might be
reincarnated into a new body in an attempt to rectify another of its spiritual
aspects, or for other purposes.  One part might go to a level of Paradise.
Another might go to Gehinnom for a period, to remove the sins of that life and
prepare it for a future one.  Another part might join temporarily with an
already living person, to assist it with its rectification and in the process
gather more merit.  The reassignments of the soul continues until the time
that G-d decrees.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.9. What was the job of a prophet?

The primary job of a prophet was not to foretell the future, but to arouse the
people and the government to repentance and observance.  Next time someone
bugs you about not being Jewish enough, and all sorts of nasty ideas float
through your head, remind yourself that Jeremiah was killed for his preaching.
Jonah did *not* want to be a prophet.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.10. Are there prophets today?

QUESTION: It seems that prophecy was once central to Judaism; why don't we
have prophets today?

ANSWER: Prophecy was removed from the world after the destruction of the First
Temple.  Those prophets who are mentioned after that (such as Mordechai and
Esther) were alive at the time of the destruction.  There are several
explanations as to why this is so.

1. The fact that the Jews did not heed the calls to repentance of the prophets
   showed that they were not worthy.  When most of the Jews remained in exile
   after Ezra returned, they showed that they were still not worthy of that
   level of holiness.  The second temple did not have the level of kedushah
   [holiness] of the first Temple even from the beginning.

2. This was actually a sign of G-d's mercy.  Had the Jews had a prophet and
   continued to disobey (as was probable based on the behavior of the
   following centuries) even after the punishment of the exile, they would
   have merited complete destruction.  Now they could say that had a prophet
   come they would have obeyed and thus mitigate the punishment (though our
   current exile is harsh enough).

3. After the destruction of the first Temple the sages prayed for the removal
   of the "Evil Inclination" of idolatry.  Since the world exists in a
   balance, the removal of the low point (idolatry) necessitated the removal
   of the high point (prophecy).

Another effect of losing prophecy is that we no longer know which specific
acts cause which specific good and bad consequences.  In the age of prophecy,
a person undergoing misfortunes could learn from a prophet what he was doing
wrong and how to do tshuva (repentance.)  Nowadays, we can only guess, and may
be wrong in identifying the source of difficulties.  This is what galus/galut
[physical and spiritual exile] is all about.  [R' Y. Frand]

Some feel that a tzaddik or a rebbe is particularly qualified to provide
spiritual guidance and advise paths for repentance.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.11. Who were the prophets?  How many?

(Note: "navi" (pl: neviim) = "prophet")

The Talmud (Megillah 14a) says that there had been twice as many prophets as
the number of people who left Egypt  (2*600,000) but only those whose
messages were for future generations were recorded.  This count was 48 male
and seven female Prophets.  Toward the bottom of the page the Talmud lists the
seven females as Sarah, Miriam, Devorah, Hannah (mother of Shmuel), Avigail
(who became a wife of David Hamelech), Huldah (from the time of Yirmiyahu),
and Esther.

One compilation of the male prophets (based on Seder Olam) lists the following:
 1. Avraham (Abraham)           24. Hoshea
 2. Yitzchak (Isaac)            25. Amos in the time of Yeravam Ben Yoash
 3. Yaakov (Jacob)              26. Micha in the time of Yosam
 4. Moshe (Moses)               27. Eliyahu (Elijah)
 5. Aharon (Aaron)              28. Elisha
 6. Yehoshuah (Joshua)          29. Yonah Ben Amitai
 7. Pinchas                     30. Yeshayah in the time of Menashe
 8. Elkanah (father of Shmuel)       in the time of Yoshea
 9. Eli                         31. Yoel (Joel)
10. Shmuel (Samuel)             32. Nachum
11. Gad                         33. Habakuk
12. Nosson                      34. Zephaniah
13. David Hamelech (King David) 35. Uriah from Kiryat Yearim
14. Shlomo Hamelech (King       36. Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah)
    Soloman)
15. Aidoin the Golah            37. Yehezkel
16. Micha Ben Yamla
    in the time of Achav
17. Ovadiah                     38. Daniel (second year of Darius)
18. Achiah Hashiloni            39. Baruch
19. Yehu Ben Hanani
     in the time of Asah        40. Neriah
20. Azaryah Ben Oded            41. Sharyah
     in the time of Yehoshaphat 42. Machsiyah
     from Divrei Hayamim        43. Hagai
21. Haziel from Bnei Masni      44. Zecharyah
22. Eliezer his cousin          45. Malachi
23. Morishah                    46. Mordechai

Rashi (Megillah 3a) suggests that Daniel wasn't a Navi and is to be replaced
in the list by Shemaia, who told Rehavam not to go to war with Yeravam and the
northern kingdom.

Rashi closes with "two I don't know" (47 & 48).

A commentator on the side says one is Oded & one is Hanani Haroeh.  When a
Navi is called by his name and his fathers name it is a sign that the father
is also a Navi.  Azriah Ben Oded, Yehu Ben Hanani, Zechariah Ben Yehoyada are
given as examples.

Rabbein Hananel and the Vilna Gaon start from Moshe and add in the sons of
Korach.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.12. What is the Jewish view on the question of "free will."

Can G-d make a stone so heavy that he cannot lift it?  Yes: a Jew. (:-)

One traditional Jewish view of free will is that in this phase of history,
G-d's omnipresence is hidden from our awareness specifically to allow us free
will.  If we were fully aware of G-d's presence at all times, we would be
incapable of sinning willfully.  As it stands we are freed to assume or reject
the Torah and its prescriptions for Jewish life and to be rewarded or punished
accordingly.  This will change at some future point when G-d's omnipresence is
fully revealed.

In Devarim (Deuteronomy) 30:19 "I [G-d] have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing: therefore choose life."  From this we learn that we have
free will.  Furthermore, reward and punishment only make sense if we have
knowledge and free will.  Angels cannot be rewarded because they do not have
free will, and animals are not rewarded because they do not have knowledge.
There have been a few notable exceptions to this last statement, but that is
the general rule.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.13. What about angels, demons, miracles, and the supernatural?

QUESTION: What do Jews say about Angels?  Demons? Miracles?  Astrology?
Supernatural events in general?

ANSWER: The Torah is full of what western secular culture would (somewhat
derogatorily) call "the supernatural."  Even the most fundamental of Jewish
beliefs, that there is a Creator, falls into this class -- how much more so
the Torah's recounting of events that include such out-of-the-ordinary
occurrences as prophecy in its many forms, birth of children to very aged
parents, the appearance of angels and their interaction with the physical
world, the occurrence of narrowly focussed plagues, the revelation on Sinai
with its attendant visions, talking mules, the falling of Manna,
revivification of the dead, and many, many others.  Traditional Judaism, in
accepting Torah as G-d's word, accepts that these things happened, even though
western science can't currently (and may never) explain them.

As Rabbi Kaplan (z"l) wrote in his _Handbook of Jewish Thought_, paraphrasing
Rabbi Elchanan Wasserman (z"l):

      "Science does not contradict, or even concern itself with miracles.
      Science deals with the laws of nature, while miracles are, by
      definition, exceptions to those laws.  Any disbelief in miracles is thus
      not scientific, but is based on arbitrary prejudices in conformity to
      popular styles of thought.  Such a disbelief can reduce a person's
      concept of G-d to a mere abstract philosophical idea, abolishing the
      obligation to serve and obey Him."

In addition, there are traditional Jewish sources (primarily in the Kabbalah)
that explain the roles that angels and demons play in the world, the Jewish
version of astrology, and the mechanisms through which miracles occur.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.14. What do Jews hope/expect of the future?

Traditional Jews hope for the arrival of the Messiah and the accompanying age.
(See the above question on the Messiah.)  Some liberal Jews reject the concept
of a Messiah, but still hope that man will create the same type of moral world
that the traditional Jews believe the arrival of the Messiah will usher in.
Traditional Jews also expect the revival of the dead at the end of days along
with G-d's presence manifested on Earth.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.15. How can Jews reject (insert true belief here)?

QUESTION: How is it possible for Jews to reject the One True Way, belief in
Jesus/Qetzalcoatl/Marx/Zoroaster/Muhammad/Zeus/Luther/Moon/Buddha?

Because the beliefs of those religions contradict fundamental tenets of
Judaism.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.16. Isn't it good enought to be a good person?

QUESTION: Why do Jews need organized religion or Jewish laws -- Isn't it good
enough to be a good person?  How about gentiles?

ANSWER: Traditional Jews believe in absolute morality backed by G-d's
authority, and liberal Jews tend to hold similar moral principles, even if
doubting their divine origin.  Thus, "good" implies "observes those moral
principles which one is obligated to follow."

According to Judaism, gentiles have seven very broad principles which they
must follow, and do not need Jewish law or organized religion.  But it's their
privilege to organize to worship, should they so choose.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.17. How does Judaism differ from (insert -ism here)?

QUESTION: How does Judaism differ from Xianity, Marxism, Communism, Humanism
and other -isms?

ANSWER: Communism and Marxism are discredited fin-de-siecle (late 19th
century) atheistic philosophies in which people are grouped by economic class,
seen as the primary force of history.  In contrast, Judaism postulates a set
of overriding moral principles, which traditional Jews believe came from G-d,
and recognizes the power of righteous and evil individuals.

Humanism places man above all else.  Judaism places G-d above all else,
especially above mankind.  "Jewish Humanism" usually describes the combination
of elements of Eastern European (Jewish) culture and an atheistic absolute
moral code which just so happens to be very similar to Judaism's.

Judaism rejects the possibility of G-d assuming human form.  (See Talmud
Yerushalmi, tractate Taanis 2:1 (9a) from Bamidbar [Numbers] 23:19) Judaism
also rejects the concept of a mandatory mediator between G-d and man, although
it accepts the idea that one person can petition G-d on behalf of others.
Branches of Xianity postulate salvation exclusively through faith, while
Judaism requires observance of the commandments, irrespective of one's level
of faith.

For more detail, see question 4 in Prager and Telushikin's "The Nine Questions
People Ask About Judaism" (Simon and Schuster, 1981, page 77)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.18. Where can a Gentile learn about Judaism?

QUESTION: Where can a gentile learn about the basics of Jewish belief and
practice?

ANSWER: Read Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin's _The Nine Questions People
Ask About Judaism_, Simon and Schuster, New York, NY, 1981.

Because major questions about Judaism are answered in this and other similar
books, gentiles who post "I'm just curious about why Jews reject my faith"
will be assumed to be missionaries until proven otherwise.  Too many
missionaries have posted, pretending to ask objective, curious questions, only
to end up preaching to the group.

Additional information may be found in the General Judaism Reading List,
available as usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general from
rtfm.mit.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 12.19. What does Judaism say about non-Jews?

QUESTION: What does Judaism say about non-Jews and their role?  What does G-d
demands of gentiles to get to Heaven/world-to-come?

ANSWER: "The Rabbis in Tractate Sanhedrin [57a] [derive from the Torah] the
[six] commandments which G-d forbids all of humanity: killing, stealing,
committing sexual immorality [such as adultery or incest], eating the flesh of
a living animal, serving idols (particularly the sexual excesses and the
killing of children which went along with idol worship), blaspheming against
G-d, and the one positive commandment of establishing a system of legal
justice." - R' Shlomo Riskin

The term "Noachide" describes a movement among non-Jews who observe the 7
commandments, and do not follow the tenets of non-Jewish religions.

See "The Root and Branch Noachide Guide," a 104 page paperback by Aryeh
Gallin, that can be ordered from:

        The Root and Branch Association, Ltd.
        504 Grand Street, #E51
        New York, NY 10002-4101

        Suggested donation is $10.

Also see _The Path of the Righteous Gentile_ by Chaim Clorfene and Yakov
Rogalsky, Targum Press/Feldheim, 1987.

In Northern New Jersey contact Rabbi Saul Zucker at the Frisch Academy in
Paramus.  In Athens, Tennessee contact Rev. J. David Davis.

The best known Noachide is archaeologist Vendyl Jones, model for the "Indiana
Jones" character of movie fame.  Like his fictional counterpart, Vendyl Jones
is also trying to locate vessels from the Temple, especially near its site in
Jerusalem.

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of SCJ FAQ Part 6 (Jewish Thought) Digest
**************************
-------
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      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/07-Jews-As-Nation
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
                           Part 7: Jews as a Nation
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:16:06 $ $Revision: 1.5 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:00:52 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

Section 13. Jews as a Nation
  13.1. What are the different racial and cultural groups of Jews? (7)
  13.2. What are the differences between Sephardim and Ashkenazim? (7)
  13.3. Where did the Beita Yisrael (Falashas) come from?    (7)
  13.4. Who were the Khazars?  Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from the
        Khazars? (7)
  13.5. Who are Crypto-Jews (also known as "marranos")? (7)
  13.6. Sephardi/Ashkenazi vs. O/C/R? (7)

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn. Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present
a balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 13.1. What are the different racial and cultural groups of Jews?

Among North American Jews, individuals of Eastern European Ashkenazi heritage
are predominant, although before the late 1800's, individuals of Sephardi
origin (i.e.  Jews who settled around the Mediterranean basin at the time of
the diaspora) were more common.

Other groups of Jews include the Arab and Yameni Jews.  There are also Jews of
Persian origin.  The larger groups of non-Caucasian Jews include the Jews from
Ethiopia.

Other Jewish communities include the Kaifeng Jews of China (now mostly
assimilated) and rumors of Jews in Mongolia.  Until 1960, there was a
community of cave-dwelling Jews in southern Libya.  A community in Burma
claimed to be Jews, and rumors and legends abound about African, Native
American, and other tribes claiming Jewish ancestry.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 13.2. What are the differences between Sephardim and Ashkenazim?

They came from different cultures, and so particular customs developed
differently, such as details of the prayer service and permitted foods on
Pesach.  The _Shulchan Aruch_ by R' Joseph Karo is the definitive Sephardic
work on halacha, and R' Moshe Isserles later added glosses to describe
Ashkenazi practice.  Other works describe the customs and practices of
particular communities.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 13.3. Where did the Beita Yisrael (Falashas) come from?

First off, know that "Falasha" (Amharic for "stranger") is considered very
derogatory.  Just say "Ethiopian Jew" if you can't remember "Beita Yisrael."
Older reference books will probably list them under "Falasha," i.e. the 1972
article in the Encyclopaedia Judaica.

Their own legends date them back to Shlomo ha-melech [King Solomon], and
ascribe their origin to the tribe of Dan.  See the book _The Lost Jews_ by
Rappoport.

Researchers also think some of the defeated Yemenite Jews from the Abu Duwas
Jewish Kingdom came to Ethiopia, and that some Elephantine Jews migrated south
from Egypt.  Another Ethiopian legend has one of Moses' sons migrating South
and establishing a Hebrew community before King Solomon.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 13.4. Who were the Khazars?  Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from the
        Khazars?

The Khazars were a Turko-Mongol tribe that migrated to the Russian steppes
region, and established a powerful military kingdom, some time before the
twelfth century.  Surrounded by the Islamic Eastern Caliphate of Persia and
the Christian Byzantine Empire, they chose Judaism as their state religion
to avoid being religiously (and hence politically) dominated by either
Empire, so that they could avoid being labelled as heathens without
identifying with either of their powerful neighbors.

The Khazars were a potent military force in the area until about the middle
of the twelfth century, their last power base being the Crimean peninsula.
The Khazars had a two king system, consisting of a military king (kaqhan)
and a civilian king (bek).  They defeated the Eastern Caliphate in several
key battles, thus ensuring the halt of Islam at what are essentially its
current boundaries, much the same as what the Carolingian rulers did to the
Western Caliphate at the Pyrenees.  (Ironically, these Jewish converts made
Eastern Europe safe for Christianity.)  The emerging Rus (Russians) were
also defeated, and tribute was exacted to allow Viking and Rus ships to
pass through Khazar dominated waterways to raid for treasure in the Persian
cities on the Caspian Sea coast. The Empress Theodora of the Byzantine
Empire was a Khazar princess given in marriage as a political alliance.

The Khazar ruling classes were were converted to Judaism by Persian Jewish
rabbis, who stayed with them and taught them (and probably provided Kohanim
and Levites as well).  Many of the Khazar soldiers were known to be either
Christians or Muslims, so the total conversion of the Khazars is unlikely.

Evidence of the Khazars comes from Arab travelogues of the period, from two
letters to Sephardic rabbis from the Khaqan Saul found in the Cairo Genizeh
(along with some important responsas from Maimonides), and from a single
archeological excavation in the USSR just after WWI.  (The site was later
flooded for a dam, and is not available for further research.)  A Russian
language book describing the excavation is available, as are translations
of the letters.  Secondary sources are the Al-Kuzari, a religious work
using the story of the Khazars as justification for Judaism in the face of
intense missionary pressure especially in Spain, and Arthur Koestler's
modern "The Thirteenth Tribe", which theorizes more than the facts we have
allow. Records of German Jews fleeing the earliest Crusades indicate that
small Khazar communities were already living in Poland in the 12th century
(see Encyclopedia Judaica article on Poland), and records exist of a
boatload of Khazars arriving in pre-Expulsion Spain.

The destruction of Khazaria ended what was probably the best chance of
re-establishment of Jewish sovereignty of the Holy Land prior to 1948,
since a confederation of Khazaria and Sephardic Jews could have negotiated
for, or purchased back, the Holy Land from its then Byzantine rulers.

Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from the Khazars?  The answer is probably
mixed.  As the Khazar kingdom broke up, some Khazars must have fled into
Eastern Europe, but from Sephardic travelogues we know that "Russian Jews"
were known to the Sephardi community as early as the 11th century, distinct
from Khazars.  We also know that the Ukraine, the most likely place for the
Khazars to have gone, experienced its largest growth in population not when
the Khazar kingdom was breaking up, but rather with its conquest by Poland
nearly 200 years later.  At that time, Polish Jews flooded into the
country, nearly tripling the Jewish population in 40 years.

There is no remnant of Khazar custom or Khazar names in Ashkenazi Jews. The
name Kogan is sometimes used to point to Khaqan, but the more likely
derivation has always been Ukrainian for Kohan (where the h-g substitution
is common as in Gitler).  No evidence of Turkic or Mongolian language
remains in Yiddish, although some Jews do have features that might be
considered almost Mongolian or Oriental.  There are, however, secondary
influences of Khazars in the Magyar culture, since the Magyars were allies
of the Khazars; early Hungarian monarchies were divided up into two
kingships like their former neighbors.

The accepted lineage of Eastern European Jews is still that they are
descendants of the refugees from the English and French expulsions, the
Crusades, and Black Plague massacres in Germany-Austria-Switzerland, and
Sephardim fleeing Spain early in the 16th century.  If converts are a part
of the heritage this is more likely to have been early among Romans,
Greeks, or Gauls. Jewish peasants and slaves being raped and forced to
breed with Germanic Roman legionnaires after the destruction of Jerusalem,
as well as during pogroms in the centuries that followed, is another source
of European features among Ashkenazi Jews.

The most likely explanation of what happened to the Khazars that they
became the ancestors of the Crimean Karaites.  Polish Karaites are also
known to exist (and are still in Poland), possibly descended from the early
Khazar settlers of Poland.  During WWII, the Karaites were spared the Nazi
exterminations because Jewish scholars at YIVO in Vilno advised the Germans
that they were not ethnic Jews, but rather Khazars.  It is possible this
explanation was given just to save lives, but Karaites' hostility to Jews
in the area suggests otherwise.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 13.5. Who are Crypto-Jews (also known as "marranos")?

At the time of the Spanish Inquisition and the expulsion from Spain in 1492,
Jews were offered conversion or expulsion.  Many chose to leave Spain, but
others stayed behind.

"Marranos" actually started appearing with the first riots in the Juderias of
Spain.  Many were forced to convert to save their lives.  These were naturally
not faithful Catholics.  The laws in 14th and 15th century Spain became
increasingly oppressive towards practicing Jews, while providing an easy
escape by conversion.  Large numbers of middle class Jews outwardly took on
Christianity to avoid the laws, while secretly practicing Judaism.

Most of the remaining Marranic practice in Spain and Portugal today is from
those religious Jews who escaped from Spain to Portugal in 1492, only to be
trapped there later when the expulsion was instituted there as well.  The most
active Marranism in the Iberian peninsula is in the mountainous border areas
between Spain and Portugal, in towns such as Belmonte'.  Jewish outreach in
these areas is achieving success in bringing them forward and restoring full
Judaic practice, but many still fear burning or other persecution if they go
public.

Some faithful Catholic converts were won by the efforts of famous apostates
like Pablo de Santa Maria who went around disputing the rabbis and ordinary
Jews, winning some converts.  In the most famous disputation, with
Nachmanides, he was soundly defeated, but the Franciscans published false
reports of the disputation to win more converts. Nachmanides, who had been
protected from heresy laws during the disputations, was forced to publish his
refutations in public.  He was forced into exile rather than be burned as a
heretic.  In any case, the faithfulness of these converts is doubtful, since
the Order of Expulsion was primarily due to the recidivism of Conversos once
they had to live next door to practicing Jews again.  It was felt that
expelling all open Jews was the only way to keep the Conversos Christian.

Among those who stayed behind were Jews who pretended to convert to Roman
Catholicism, but who secretly maintained a practice of Judaism.  The term
"Marrano" was at one time used to describe them, as the term refers to the
swine which they'd publicly eat to demonstrate their outward conversion.  It
isn't clear if the "Old Christians" or the practicing Jews called them
"marrano".

In Majorca the community was converted in the 1430's and are called Chuetas,
from "pork lard" since they regularly keep pork lard boiling in cauldrons on
their porches.  They themselves still call themselves Israelitas in private,
and ask forgiveness from el Grande Dio for worshipping in front of statues of
a man.  They typically sacrified (in a figurative, not literal, sense) their
first born sons to the Catholic priesthood as a means of getting protection
from Church persecution, so, ironically, many of the priests across the
Baleiric Islands are from Marrano families.

Crypto-Jew is the correct term, as it also refers to Jews forced to adopt
other religions and political philosophies while maintaining Jewish practices.
Crypto-Judaism pre-dates the Inquisition, as Jews were forced by the
Al-Mohavid invasions of Spain to become Muslims, creating Crypto-Jews who
gradually fled to Christian districts for protection from the Muslims (see
Roth's History of the Jews).  In modern times outwardly Muslim Crypto-Jews are
known to be in Meshed, Iran, and in Turkey.

A number of Crypto-Jewish communities survive today, especially in former
Spanish-influenced regions, such as the southwestern U.S.A.  They still
maintain extensive secrecy after centuries.  Other communities were lost to
assimilation, but maintained residual Jewish practices such as lighting
candles Friday night.  Based on information in Cohen's _The Marranos_ and
Prinz's _The Secret Jews_, the following are some examples of these
communities:

 o The Antiquen~as of Colombia.
 o Much of Northern Mexico's middle and upper classes (Nuevo Leon is the "New
   Lion of Judah").
 o The Naucalpan and Vallejo districts of Mexico City.
 o The Chuetas of Majorca.

Famous Hispanics who have acknowledged Marrano ancestry include Rita Moreno
and Fidel Castro.  Both of Cervantes' parents were forced converts.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 13.6. Sephardi/Ashkenazi vs. O/C/R?

QUESTION: How does the Sephardi/Ashkenazi differences differ from the O/C/R
differences.

ANSWER: Traditional Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jews agree that the oral and
written Torah are from G-d, and that the sages may rule on halachic matters.
The differences in practice are mostly in culture and customs.  Traditional
and liberal Jews disagree on the Divine origin of the oral and written Torah,
and on the ability of present-day sages and secular scholars to overrule
earlier halachic decisors.

Also, Sephardic Jews tend not to separate along "denominational" lines, but
rather "observant" and "non-observant."

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of SCJ FAQ Part 7 (Jewish as a Nation) Digest
**************************
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--
[W]:The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228
[Email]:[e-mail]              [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#13149
      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/08-Israel
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
                           Part 8: Jews and Israel
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:16:10 $ $Revision: 1.5 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:01:00 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

Section 14. Jews and Israel
  14.1. Who is an Israeli?  Who may enter Israel under its Law of Return? (8)
  14.2. What is Zion? (8)
  14.3. What is Zionism? (8)
  14.4. Are all Jews Zionists?  (8)
  14.5. Do Diaspora Jews (Jews outside Israel) support Zionism? (8)
  14.6. I've heard there are Orthodox Jews who are against Israel? (8)
  14.7. Did Zionism end with the establishment of Israel? (8)
  14.8. Are antisemitism and anti-Zionism the same thing? (8)
  14.9. Is Zionism racist? (8)
  14.10. What are the roots of Arab opposition to Zionism? (8)
  14.11. Can't you criticize Israel without being antisemitic? (8)
  14.12. Why is opposition to Israel often seen as being antisemitic? (8)
  14.13. Why is Jerusalem so important to Jews? (8)
  14.14. I want to move to Israel.  Can I become a citizen? (8)
  14.15. What is the Wailing Wall and why is it so important? (8)
  14.16. Questions on aliyah, military service for olim and more (8)

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn.  Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present
a balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.1. Who is an Israeli and who may enter under her Law of Return?

Israelis are citizens of Israel.  Jews may automatically become Israeli
citizens under the terms of the Law of Return (as long as they have not
renounced the Jewish faith), as may those associated with Jews, such as
certain close family members.  The Law of Return does not grant immediate
citizenship to Jews who, sadly, practice other religions.  In the case of
people whose status as Jews is uncertain, Israel will still rescue them,
especially if they risk being killed as a result of Jew-hatred.

There have been efforts to amend the law of Return to exclude from automatic
citizenship people whose conversions to Judaism would be unacceptable by
Orthodox halachic standards.  While this might only affect tens of people, it
is an extremely sensitive issue.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.2. What is Zion?

Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, and one of the names by which Jews have always
referred to their homeland, the Land of Israel (Eretz Israel).  The name
'Zion' is used in Tanakh both for the land of Israel and for its national and
spiritual capital, Jerusalem.

Zion (Pronounced 'tsee-ohn' in Hebrew) has had a continuous Jewish population
for thousands of years.  For many centuries the majority of the Jewish people
have lived dispersed in countries all over the world.  Yet, powerful
national-spiritual bonds - expressed mainly in liturgy and literature - have
constantly linked these Jewish communities with their ancestral homeland.

After centuries of decline and neglect under foreign occupation, Zion is
flourishing once again, with the large increase in its Jewish population over
the past 100 years, and the restoration of its political independence in 1948.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.3. What is Zionism?

Zionism is the modern expression of the 1,900 year old dream of rebuilding a
Jewish state in Israel, after Rome put an end to Jewish independence in the
Land of Israel.  It expresses the conviction that the Jewish people have the
right to freedom and political independence in its homeland.

Political Zionism is the ongoing effort, through political means, to develop
and secure the Jewish people's national existence in the Land of Israel.

Zionism recognizes that Jewish peoplehood is characterized by certain common
values relating to religion, culture, language, history and basic ideals and
aspirations, although secular and religious Zionists emphasize these aspects
differently.

Additional information may be found in the Zionism Reading List, available as
usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/zionism from rtfm.mit.edu.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.4. Are all Jews Zionists?

Jews are Zionists in the sense that the restoration of the Jewish people in
its homeland is a fundamental tenet of Judaism.  Most Jews support the state
of Israel - the basic realization of Zionism.  Some Jews, however, do not
accept Zionism as a political movement, but believe that independence will
only come with the advent of the Messiah.

Zionism developed into an organized political movement, in a period marked by
growing recognition of national movements in Europe, when Jews felt the time
was ready for the reassertion of Jewish National Identity.

As a movement, it was further spurred by growing antisemitism in Europe in the
latter part of the 19th century, as groups of Jews emigrated to what became
Israel.  It was formally organized into a national movement in 1897, with the
call for the restoration of the Jewish national home.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.5. Do Diaspora Jews (Jews outside Israel) support Zionism?

Diaspora Jews, on the whole, support Zionism in one way or another through
active participation in aspects of the movement itself, or through public
and/or financial support of Israel.

Some Diaspora Jews realize their belief in Zionism by immigrating to the Land
of Israel (making 'aliyah' - "going up") to participate directly in the task
of rebuilding the nation.

Diaspora Jews, whether or not associated with Zionist activities, have been
enriched culturally, socially and spiritually by the reestablishment of Israel
in its ancestral homeland.  Even non-Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews find Israel
an excellent place for Torah study.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.6. I've heard there are Orthodox Jews who are against Israel?

QUESTION: I've heard there were/are very Orthodox Jews who were/are against the
state of Israel.  How could this be?  Who are they?

ANSWER: It is pointless to single out this situation as something terrible
about Orthodoxy or even the so-called "ultra-Orthodox".  Historically, Reform
was officially opposed to Zionism, and even today, there are numerous secular
Jews who are strongly anti-Zionistic.  Nowadays, most Reform, Conservative,
and Reconstructionist Jews support Zionism.  Many Orthodox Jews support
religious Zionism, and even those Orthodox Jews indifferent or opposed to
Zionism (particularly secular Zionism) often send their sons and daughters to
study Torah in Israel.

Anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews believe that Israel can only be regained
miraculously and view the present state as a blasphemous human attempt to
usurp G-d's role, and they work to dismantle Israel.  However, unlike many
gentile anti-Zionists, they firmly believe in the Jewish right to Israel, but
only at that future time of redemption.  The best-known of the religious
anti-Zionists are the Neturei Karta, a small minority group whose members
follow the teachings of the Satmar Rav.

There are two common religious grounds given for anti-Zionism.  One is that
today's Zionism is a secular Zionism, packed with non-Jewish influences, and
lacking key features like Moshiach and the rebuilt Temple.  The other is that
that Talmud (Meseches Kesuvos 111a), as part of a discussion of certain Torah
verses mentioning oaths, states that when Israel went into the second exile,
there were three vows between Heaven and Earth:

1. One that Israel would not "go up like a wall" [conquer Eretz Yisrael by
   massive force]

2. One that Hashem made Israel swear that they would not rebel agains the
   nations of the world [would obey the governments in the exile]

3. And one that Hashem made the non-Jews swear not to oppress Israel "too
   much" [translation of phrase yoter midai]

The religious counterreply to the above is that secular Zionism is a
preliminary stage of religious Zionism, and that the vows no longer apply
since the gentiles violated their part (by such actions as the Roman
persecutions, the Spanish Inquisition, and the Nazi Holocaust).  The Balfour
declaration of 1917 and the United Nations vote of 1948 are also regarded as
having given permission to the Jews to reestablish the state by the non-Jewish
rulers of the area.  Once this permission was granted it could not be revoked.
It should also be noted that these oaths are only mentioned as a side point in
one place in a discussion in the Gemoroh and as the viewpoint of an
individual.  Many people feel that they do not apply in any case.

Some Religious Zionist Jews see the formation of the secular state as
accelerating the process of redemption, with themselves playing a major role
in doing G-d's will by serving the state, whose creation is often seen as
miraculous.

So-called "non-Zionist" Jews are pleased that Israel exists from a practical
standpoint - as a haven for oppressed Jews and as a land imbued with holiness
well-suited for Torah study.  But they don't generally assign religious
significance to the formation of the modern state, and often decry aspects of
its secular culture.

[Note: Zionism is used in the strict sense of the Jews should have a homeland,
preferably Israel (Israel is where "Zion" is, hence Zionism).  Criticizing
today's Israeli government regarding policies X,Y,Z is not the same as
anti-Zionism.]

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.7. Did Zionism end with the establishment of Israel?

QUESTION: Did Zionism complete its task with the re-establishment of the State
of Israel?

ANSWER: The reestablishment of the State of Israel meant the realization of
the major element of Zionist ideology; the restoration of Jewish sovereignty
in the Land of Israel.

The Zionist ideal, however, contains facets that are still in the process of
being realized.  The Zionist ideal aspires to:

     -- An Israel at peace with all its neighbors
     -- An Israel enjoying full political and economic independence
     -- The social and  economic well-being of all citizens and
        communities residing in Israel.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.8. Are antisemitism and anti-Zionism the same thing?

There is a dangerous confluence between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, even
though the two concepts are not always identical.  Anti-Zionism is directed
against the political realization of Zionism -- the State of Israel.

Anti-Zionism has also become a catchword for antisemitism and has provided
antisemites with a convenient cloak behind which to conceal their hatred of
Jews.

It is probably worth remembering the words of Dr. Martin Luther King:

  "...  You declare, my friend, that you do not hate the Jews, you are merely
  'anti-Zionist.' And I say, let the truth ring forth from the high mountain
  tops, let it echo through the valleys of G-d's green earth: When people
  criticize Zionism, they mean Jews--this is G-d's own truth.

  "Antisemitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, has been and remains a blot
  on the soul of mankind.  In this we are in full agreement.  So know also
  this: anti-Zionism is inherently antisemitic, and ever will be so."
                         (From M.L. King Jr., "Letter to an Anti-Zionist
                         Friend," _Saturday Review_XLVII (Aug.  1967), p. 76.
                         Reprinted in M.L. King Jr., _This I Believe:
                         Selections from the Writings of Dr. Martin Luther
                         King Jr._ (New York, 1971), pp. 234-235.)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.9. Is Zionism racist?

No. Zionism is a process with the ultimate goal of a Jewish homeland.
Participation in this process is not restricted to Jews alone. Furthermore,
the question is an example of how even simple questions can use inflammatory
terminology, as "racist" has a pejoritive sense and is an imprecise term.

A central tenet of Zionism is that there should exist a place in the world
where Jews have sovereignty.  This is no different from the ethnic desires of
other minority and ethnic groups; I'm sure you can name numerous examples.
Recent history has demonstrated the need for such a homeland; alas, humanity
doesn't appear to be moving in a direction that would eliminate that need.

Is the desire for a Jewish homeland "racist"?  No.  Racism is a belief that
race is the primary determinant of human traits and that racial differences
produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.  Judaism is not a race
-- adherents come from multiple ethnic backgrounds.  More importantly, there
is no notion in Zionism that Jews are superior to other races (unlike, for
example, the Nazis, which held that the Aryan race was superior).

Please remember that Zionism is distinct from the state of Israel; if you look
at the history of Zionism, you will see that for some of the zionistic
movements, Israel was not the target homeland (in fact, you'll discover that
at one time, Uganda was an option). Israel is modern political
state that strives to provide a pluralistic and open society, comprising many
ethnic and religious groups.  It doesn't always succeed in this goal, but
neither do other democratic states.  As a modern state, Israel is subject to
various political realities that dictate its laws and regulations. Discussion
of these laws and regulations is less germain to the focus of S.C.J and is
more appropriate for T.P.M.  However, the primacy of Jewish law in Israel is
no more "racist" than the primacy of Catholic law in Vatican City, the primacy
of the Church of England in Great Britain, or the primacy of Islam in many
Arabic countries.

So what is the connection between Zionism and Israel? Zionism helped found the
state, and provided the underlying zeal for many of Israel's leaders. The
Zionist zeal still helps provide funding for the state, as many Jews in the
Galut support Zionist organizations operating in Israel.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.10. What are the roots of Arab opposition to Zionism?

National rights: Most Arab nations demand Arab sovereignty over the entire
  Middle East, to the total exclusion of Jewish rights.

Religion: Historically, Islam has not recognized the right to sovereignty of
  any non-Muslim people in any part of the "Islamic world." Jew, like
  Christians, have been relegated to the position of dhimmis -- protected
  subjects -- peoples under Muslim domination.  Islam, therefore, rejects
  the concept of a Jewish state in what it regards as the Islamic-Arab world.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.11. Can't you criticize Israel without being antisemitic?

Criticism which habitually singles out Israel for criticism while ignoring far
worse actions by other countries (especially other middle eastern countries)
is generally perceived as anti-Jewish.  Likening Israel to Nazi Germany, or to
traditional anti-Jewish stereotypical behavior is another sure sign of
Jew-baiting.

It's also better to criticize within the Jewish community, rather than airing
our dirty laundry for others to twist and use against us.  Jewish newspapers
are regularly filled with lively debate on Israel.

See the superb essay "Judging Israel" by Charles Krauthammer, _Time_ magazine,
February 26, 1990.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.12. Why is opposition to Israel often seen as being antisemitic?

The vast majority of the Jews in Israel wound up there as refugees with no
other options.

Many Jews went there to flee the Holocaust, at a time when countries like
America and Great Britain had shut their doors to Jews.

And many of the Holocaust survivors wound up as displaced persons after World
War II.  While America was supporting the former Nazis with the Marshall plan,
the survivors were largely ignored.  Many of them found a welcome in Israel.

And then, after Israel was founded, most of the Arab nations pushed out their
Jewish populations.  They had no place to go but Israel.  The best example of
this, of course, is what happened to the Jews in the "West Bank."  The Arab
armies pushed out _all_ of the Jews in the territories they conquered in the
1947-48 war.  In particular, they destroyed Jewish communities that had been
inhabited continuously for thousands of years.  East Jerusalem, where many now
wish to deny Jewish settlement rights, had a Jewish majority before 1947.

And recently, many Jews have gone to Israel to escape persecution in Russia
and Ethiopia.  Again, there were no other options.

So opposition to Israel, or an insensitivity to its security needs, does carry
with it an indifference to the fate of these Jews who have had no other refuge
from death or serious persecution.  Such indifference is, indeed, a form of
antisemitism: if the Arabs succeed in driving the Jews into the sea, they will
be merely continuing what Hitler started.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.13. Why is Jerusalem so important to Jews?

The Jews are commanded to worship at the Temple (Beis Hamikdash) at the place
G-d specifies.  When this central site is extant, sacrifices may be brought
only there.  Also, we are commanded to go to the central site for the three
"pilgrimage festivals", it is the only place where the Pesach sacrifice may be
eaten, and it is the only place where the "second tithe" may be eaten.  After
David united the tribes into a kingdom, he conquered the city of Jerusalem and
made it his capital.  He then wanted to build the temple rather than leaving
the ark in the temporary quarters it had been in until that time.  G-d
informed him that while he was not allowed to build the temple, his son,
Solomon, would, and that temple would remain the central site for the Jewish
people.

After the temple was destroyed the Jews were not allowed to go back to
bringing sacrifices at local altars (called bamos or high places).  Thus, the
second temple had to be built on the site of the first.  When the second
temple was destroyed, the restriction still held.  Thus, it is the only place
where the temple can be rebuilt when the Moshiach comes.

In the time of Avrohom, the city was the center of the remnants
of monotheism from the days of Noah.  It was the site of the
Yeshivah of Shem and Ever (Noah's son & grandson) where they
taught about G-d and the laws He had given to Noah.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.14. I want to move to Israel.  Can I become a citizen?

Jews are granted automatic citizenship.  Gentiles may also become citizens,
but after a standard naturalization process.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.15. What is the Wailing Wall and why is it so important?

The term "wailing wall" is not used by Jews, who instead prefer the term
"kotel/kosel hamaaravi," Western Wall.

This wall is the only remaining structure from the second temple left standing
after the Roman destruction.  Since the Jews are considered to be in a state
of "ritual impurity" until certain special sacrifices can be brought (notably
the ashes of the red heifer), religious Jews are forbidden to set foot on the
actual site of the temple and this is the closest they can come to praying at
the temple site.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 14.16. Questions on aliyah, military service for olim and more

The most important thing to know about rights for Olim, army service etc. is
that the rules keep changing!

Therefore, if you are considering Aliya or coming as a tourist and possibly
later changing your status, go and speak to the local Aliya shaliah and bother
them about making sure that the answers they are giving you are up to date!

Currently, length of army service is calculated based on variables such as age
when you become an oleh (temporary resident or citizen), age when you become a
citizen (after 3 years or more as temp. resident), marital status, number of
children, and physical profile.

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of SCJ FAQ Part 8 (Jews and Israel) Digest
**************************
-------
--
[W]:The Aerospace Corp. M1/055 * POB 92957 * LA, CA 90009-2957 * 310/336-8228
[Email]:[e-mail]              [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#13149
      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/09-Antisemitism
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
            Part 9: The Holocaust, Antisemitism, and Missionaries
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:16:15 $ $Revision: 1.5 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:01:07 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).   May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

Section 15. Churban Europa (The Holocaust)
  15.1. Why do Jews seem to treat the Holocaust as their tragedy alone?
  15.2. Where can I get information on the Holocaust?
  15.3. How do I get tickets to see the United States Holocaust Memorial
        Museum?
Section 16. Antisemitism
  16.1. Why is antisemitism used to mean anti-Jewish?
  16.2. Is there any truth to the myth of the Jewish American Princess?
Section 17. Countering Missionaries
  17.1. What about (sic) "Jews for Jesus" or (sis) "Messianic Jews"?
  17.2. Is belief in Jesus-as-God compatible with any Jewish movements?
  17.3. What do missionary groups believe?
  17.4. What sort of deceptive terminology do missionaries use?
  17.5. How can these missionaries be countered?
  17.6. Who is financing "Jews for Jesus" and similar groups?

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn.  Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present
a balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 15.1. Why do Jews seem to treat the Holocaust as their tragedy alone?

QUESTION: Why do Jews seem to talk and act as if the Holocaust was their
tragedy alone?

ANSWER: We don't, and in fact, a hefty percentage of articles on the Holocaust
go out of their way to mention the number of gentiles murdered, as well as
soldiers and civilians killed in the war itself.

But we focus upon it for several reasons: (1) It destroyed a third (1/3) of
world Jewry, almost all of European Jewry, and obliterated the entire European
Jewish culture.  (2) It was directed primarily at Jews - Hitler himself wrote
that his real war was against Judaism and the idea of absolute morality, the
antithesis of amoral nationalism.  (see his discussions with his friend,
Hermann Rauschning) (3) It happened just 50 years ago, which is recent.

It is important to mention other attempts at mass extermination or national
destruction, such as Armenian, Cambodian, East Timorese, Kurdish, etc.

One should also mention other large scale injustices such as Black African
enslavement in America, but to make clear that even if it is not the same as
the Holocaust, it's still a moral problem.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 15.2. Where can I get information on the Holocaust?

Additional information may be found in the Antisemitism Reading List,
available as usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/antisemitism from
rtfm.mit.edu.

Also available on rtfm.mit.edu, although not produced by the
soc.culture.jewish folks, is various information on the Holocaust used to
answer the "revisionists".  Look on rtfm.mit.edu in the news.answers/holocaust
directories.  You'll find information on Auschwitz (auschwitz/part01,part02),
Operation Reinhard -- A Layman's Guide to Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka
(reinhard/part01, part02), and a two-part report that provides common answers
to the various revisionists claims that the Holocaust never occured
(lechter/part01, part02).

Alas, Nazi-ism didn't end with the Holocaust, and there has been a resurgance
of neo-Nazi groups in Germany. Between October 1992 and April 1993, the Simon
Wiesenthal Center conducted a covert operation to determine the strength,
financial base, and ultimate leadership of Germany's neo-Nazi movement.
Center officials also wanted to find out the links between Germany's radical
right and similar organizations in the United States, and to determine the
degree of commitment on the part of German police towards the enforcement of
laws passed by the German parliament over the years to thwart the resurgence
of Nazism in the Bundesrepublik. The results of this operation are documented
and available on the net.  If you wish to have the INDEX and retrieve the
files you need first to subscribe to the Holocaust mailing list. Send to the
address: [e-mail] a message like:

        SUB HOLOCAUS <Subscriber's Full Name>

Then you may send the following message (to the same address) and retrieve and
index of the files available:

        INDEX HOLOCAUS

You may then retrieve each of the individual files with messages like:

        GET filename filetype

If you do not wish to continue to have day to day messages from the list in
your reader you may either unsubscribe sending the following message to:
[e-mail]

        UNSUB HOLOCAUS

Or, if you wish not to receive messages but be able to continue to retrieve
files from the archive you do not unsubscribe but send the following message
to [e-mail]

        SET HOLOCAUS NOMAIL

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 15.3. How do I get tickets to see the United States Holocaust
        Memorial Museum?

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a free, Federal Museum
dedicated to presenting the history of the persecution and murder of six
million Jews and millions of other victims of Nazi tyrrany from 1933-1945.  To
accomodate large numbers of visitors expected by the museum, and to ensure a
meaningful experience for every one, the museum is now open on a time-ticket
basis, which means that a ticket is required for admission, and that tickets
are marked with a specific time and day in order to regulate the number of
people passing through the exhibits at any given time.

Tickets may be obtained in one of three ways: you can visit or call
Ticketmaster at 1-800-432-SEAT and purchase tickets for a specified date and
time using a credit card.  Currently, there is a $3.50 phone charge and a
$1.00 per ticket handling fee.  Tickets to the museum are free, except for the
handling charges which go directly to Ticketmaster.  A second method of
obtaining tickets is to go directly to the walk-up window and request them.
Demand is heavy, and only a portion of each day's tickets are set aside for
walk-up business.  The last, and most difficult, method of obtaining tickets
is to call your elected representative and request assistance in finding
tickets.  The Museum is not part of the Smithsonian system, and therefore some
Congressmen do not bother to request complimentary tickets from the museum.
Some do.

The Museum is open from 10:00-5:30 daily, except for Christmas (go figure!)
and certain Jewish holidays (to be determined).  The telephone number is (202)
488-0400.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 16.1. Why is antisemitism used to mean anti-Jewish?
        Aren't Arabs Semites too?

The word "anti-Semitism" was coined in Germany in 1879 by Wilhelm Marr as a
more euphonious way of saying "Judenhass" (Jew-hatred), and has always meant
exactly that.  Its antonym, "Semitism" connoted a positive attitude toward the
Jewish people.  The word has become too sanitized and too easily
misunderstood, which is exactly what Marr tried to accomplish with the word's
creation.

According to a (now discredited) nineteenth century theory that held that
racial groups and liguistic groups conincide, Semites are natives of a group
of Middle Eastern nations which are closely related in ethnicity, culture and
language.  Under this theory, the modern day semites would be the Jews and
Arabs.  In ancient times, the Assyrians, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Syrians
and Akkadians (including the ancient Babylonians) were also counted among the
semitic nations.  It should be noted that many of these groups contributed
much to the development of modern culture, including (in particular) the
Phoenicians, and Babylonians (as well as the Arabs and Jews).

One theory that has been voiced among the practitioners of ancient history is
that these groups emerged from a common home in Arabia during the early
Sumerian period.  As Akkadians, they settled in the Sumerian cities, as well
as founding their own cities in the Tigris-Euphrates valleys.  Abraham was
presumably Akkadian, as he came from the Sumerian city of Ur. The modern day
"semites" all claim to trace their ancestry to Noah's son, Shem, from whom
they take their name.

Given that the theory of "semites" and non-"semites" is now discreted, the
preferred term to use is "Antisemitism", which has a general connotation of
"anti-Jewish". When written in this fashion, it helps to eliminate the
confusion with the discredited theory.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 16.2. Is there any truth to the myth of the Jewish American Princess?

While there may be a few token women who fit the stereotype, it's a cruel slur
frequently directed at Jewish women in general, and not always by Jews.  (see
William Styron's _Sophie's Choice_, especially chapter 7 for some very
offensive Jewish portrayals, including the JAP.)

The most common use of the slur "JAP" is by Jewish men who rationalize their
habit of dating gentile women by slandering the Jewish women whom they
*could* be dating.  Many who use the term are unaware of its offensive
nature, so if someone uses it innocently, politely ask them not to use the
term.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 17.1. What about (sic) "Jews for Jesus" or (sic) "Messianic Jews"?

QUESTION: Are groups calling themselves "Jews for Jesus" or "Messianic
Jews[sic]" Jewish movements?

No, they are Christian organizations.  Sadly, their membership includes persons
who are technically Jewish, but who believe and practice Christianity.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 17.2. Is belief in Jesus-as-God compatible with any Jewish movements?

No, the belief in Jesus-as-God is idolatry for Jews.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 17.3. What do missionary groups believe?

Their own statements express their beliefs.

Consider the following confession from the "Jews for Jesus" organization:
  -----------
  | What evangelical Christians should know about
  |                           JEWS FOR JESUS;  [the "O" in FOR is
  |  A C0NFIDENTIAL REPORT:                     a six-pointed star -RL]
  |     _not_ to be distributed to Non-Christians
  |
  | \    /HAT WE BELIEVE...
  |  \/\/
  |
  |     While others are content to call themselves "inter-denominational" or
  | "interfaith," we define ourselves as evangelical fundamentalists and we
  | seek the cooperation of individuals and Christian bodies which can be so
  | described by their work.  Though we will not allow ourselves to be
  | committed to any one segment of the church, we believe in affiliation with
  | a local church and in accountability to the church for service and
  | discipline.
  |
  |     We feel that we are an arm of the local church.  The calling of those
  | who minister with Jews for Jesus is primarily that of evangelists, and
  | we're always mindful of the fact that we should not usurp the authority of
  | the local pastor.  As we effectively win and disciple Jewish people, we
  | feel that they should either take their place in a local church of
  | evangelical character, or establish a congregation and call their own
  | minister.  We feel it is our duty to aid the church at large, and we
  | consider ourselves as a working arm of the body to gather in the Lost
  | Sheep of the House of Israel.
  |-------------------End Statement------------------------------

Also consider the following excerpt from Usenet:

  | From: Harvey.Smith ... (Harvey Smith)
  | Subject: Doctrinal statement of the UMJC and
  |          the Messianic Jewish Computer Net.
  | Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
  | Date: 21 Aug 92 17:01:06 GMT
  |
  | [...]
  |
  | As Messianic Jewish believers we believe:
  |
  | 1. That we are a part of the universal body of Messiah comprised of both
  |    Jews and Gentiles and consider Biblical Christianity to be Biblical
  |    Judaism.
  | [...]
  |
  | 4. Our eschatology is as fortold in Matt. 24, Revelation etc..
  |    Most are Pre-Millenial without dispensationalism.(overlaping
  |    dispensations).
  |
  | 5. We relate to many different denominations and fellowships, some MJ
  |    congregations are Baptist, some Pentecostal, some Charismatic, some
  |    Lutheran etc..  Being an Evangelical is the covering that we best
  |    relate to.
  |
  |------------------------------------------

Remember these excerpts when a Hebrew-Christian tries to claim that he
practices Judaism.  The reality is that he believes and practices
Christianity.

If he's technically Jewish, try teaching *him* about Judaism, which teaches
that one should love one's neighbor as oneself, that one should not bear a
grudge, that the righteous of all nations have a share in the world to come,
that G-d is close to all who sincerely call to Him, and that the Messiah will
usher in a time of peace.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 17.4. What sort of deceptive terminology do missionaries use?

Consider the front (pun intended) of a "Communications Card" published by the
"Messianic Jewish Movement International" describing how they hide
Christianity behind a Jewish mask...

  _________________________________________________________________
  | C O M M U N I C A T I O N S     C A R D          __/\__       |
  | 1. USE THE RIGHT TERMINOLOGY (I Cor 9:20)        >_  _<       |
  |                                                    \/         |
  |          DO SAY                           DON'T SAY         |
  |                                                               |
  | (A) MESSIAH YESHUA/MESSIAH JESUS          (A) JESUS CHRIST    |
  | (B) MESSIANIC/COMPLETED/FULFILLED JEW     (B) CONVERT         |
  | (C) A BIBLE BELIEVER                      (C) A CHRISTIAN     |
  | (D) COME TO A MEETING OF BIBLE BELIEVERS  (D) COME TO CHURCH  |
  | (E) 2ND PART OF BIBLE OR NEW COVENANT     (E) NEW TESTAMENT   |
  | (F) TREE                                  (F) CROSS           |
  | ...                                                           |
  -----------------------------------------------------------------

The verse in question (I Cor 9:20) reads "I made myself a Jew to the Jews, to
win the Jews; ... I made myself all things to all people to save some at any
cost."

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 17.5. How can these missionaries be countered?

QUESTION: What can a Jew do to help counter the Hebrew-Christian missionaries?

ANSWER: Numerous books have been written on the subject.  Above all else, be
prepared.  Support Jews for Judaism.  They're a Jewish organization in the
U.S. and Canada which opposes cults and missionary efforts directed at Jews.
They can assist you.

Jews for Judaism can be reached at P.O. Box 15059; Baltimore, MD 21208
[phone], plus they have regional offices in several major cities in the
U.S. and Canada.

  Jews for Judaism offices:

  Main Office:  P.O. Box 15059 ; Baltimore, MD  21208 Baltimore
  Telephone [phone]

  Los Angeles: [phone]
  New York:    [phone]
  New Jersey:  [phone]
  Harrisburg:  (717) 233-JEWS (5397)
  Detroit:     (313) 968-JEWS (5397)
  Toronto:     [phone]

In general, missionaries are closed-minded, obstinate, and illogical, relying
upon pat memorization rather than reason.  Debate with missionaries takes
place on the alt.messianic altnet newsgroup.  For a good example of the types
of debates which take place there, read the annotated dialogue in the back of
the book _You take Jesus, I'll take G-d_ (Levine).

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 17.6. Who is financing "Jews for Jesus" and similar groups?

Here are some 1991 budgets of missionary organizations which target Jews for
conversion to Xianity (amounts in U.S. dollars):

  Jews for Jesus - 10.2 million dollars ($ 10,200,000.00)
  Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry - 5 million dollars ($5,000,000.00)
  Chosen People Ministries - 5-7 million dollars.
    [formerly the ABMJ - American Board for Missions to the Jews]

( Source: Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, [phone].)

One should make his Christian friends aware of these groups and their tactics.
They often appeal to ordinary church groups for support, and your friends
might not be aware of their motives, tactics, and the way in which they give
Christianity a bad name.

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of SCJ FAQ Part 9 (Holocaust, Antisemitism, and Missionaries) Digest
**************************
-------
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[Email]:[e-mail]              [Vmail]:310/336-5454 Box#13149
      "And as they say, the rest is compost"
Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/10-Miscellaneous
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
                    Part 10: Miscellaneous and References
         [Last Change: $Date: 1993/06/09 22:16:19 $ $Revision: 1.5 $]
                    [Last Post: Mon May 10 15:01:23 1993]


This posting is an attempt to answer questions that are continually asked on
soc.culture.jewish.  It was written by cooperating laypeople from the various
Judaic movements.  You SHOULD NOT make any assumption as to accuracy and/or
authoritativeness of the answers provided herein.  In all cases, it is always
best to consult a competent authority -- your local rabbi is a good place to
start.

The deceased sages described within are of blessed memory, (assume a Z"L or
ZT"L after their names) and the sages alive today should live to see long and
good days (assume SHLITA).  May Hashem grant complete recovery to the ill.
Individual honorifics are omitted.

The FAQ was produced by a committee and is a cooperative work.  The
contributors never standardized on a {Hebrew,Aramaic,Yiddish,Ladino}-->English
transliteration scheme.  As a result, the same original word might appear with
a variety of spellings.  This is complicated by the fact that there are
regional variations in the pronunciation of Hebrew.  In some places, the
common spelling variations are mentioned; in others --- not.  We hope that
this is not too confusing.

This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish reading
lists that are posted separately.  Similar questions can be found in the books
referenced in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Organization

This portion of the FAQ contains answers to the following questions:

Section 18. Miscellaneous
  18.1. I want to become more observant.  Where do I start?
  18.2. Why is "shabbat" spelled sometimes shabbath, shabbath, shabbos,
  18.3. What are some common Hebrew and Yiddish phrases I see on SCJ?
  18.4. What do all those abbreviations like Z"L mean?
  18.5. Is "shvartze" offensive? Is "goyim" offensive?
  18.6. What does "shiksa" and "shaygetz" mean?
  18.7. Can you provide me with a list of kosher restaurants in <xxx>?
  18.8. I am going to be in <>, where can I eat, stay for Shabbat.
  18.9. What do bagels, lox, ... have to do with being a Jew?
  18.10. What does Warren Burstein's signature mean?
  18.11. What does the funny pattern in Rob Levene's signature mean?
  18.12. Who was the sixth Marx brother?
  18.13. Why do Hebrew clocks run clockwise, not counter-clockwise?
  18.14. How do I show my love for the Jewish people?
  18.15. What is the origin of the word "kike"?
Section 19. References and Getting Connected
  19.1. I'd like to learn more? Do you have any books to recommend?
  19.2. What are the different hechsher symbols?
  19.3. What are the Jewish-oriented mailing lists?
  19.4. Are there any moderated mailing lists?
  19.5. How do I get access to s.c.j?
  19.6. Is SCJ available via a Listserv or other e-mail means?
  19.7. What divrei Torah are posted to Usenet?
  19.8. Where can I find collected divrei Torah?
  19.9. What software is available for Hebrew applications?
  19.10. Are there conversion programs for the Jewish and other calendars?

All portions of the FAQ are organized as digests, and should be
undigestifyable by software such as Gnus or rn. Please report any
difficulties.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Archival and Credits

All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] in the directory:

  ~ftp/israel/lists/scj-faq

They are available in the rtfm.mit.edu archives in the directory:

  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism

The files that make up the FAQ are in the "FAQ" subdirectory and are named as
follows:

  01-FAQ-intro          02-Who-We-Are           03-Torah-Halacha
  04-Observance         05-Worship              06-Jewish-Thought
  07-Jews-As-Nation     08-Israel               09-Antisemitism
  10-Miscellaneous

The files that make up the reading lists are in the "reading-lists"
subdirectory and are named as follows:

  general               traditional             chasidism
  reform                conservative            reconstructionist
  humanistic            zionism                 antisemitism
  intermarriage         periodicals

The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
[e-mail] with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/(portionname)

Where (portionname) is replaced by the appropriate subdirectory and filenames;
for example, to get the first part of the reading list, one would say:

        send usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists/general

Comments and corrections are welcome.  Note that the goal is to present
a balanced view of Judaism; where a response is applicable to a particular
movement only, this will be noted.  Unless otherwise noted or implied by the
text, all responses reflect the traditional viewpoint.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.1. I want to become more observant.  Where do I start?

Coming from a background of nothing, the best thing you can do first is to
find someone who is already observant with whom you are comfortable and
discuss the issues involved.

Join a directed study group designed for "Baalei Tshuva".  It is impossible to
be a practicing Jew (of any type) without the knowledge of what you are
practicing.  There are groups within many communities which are set up to do
this.  Examples include Chabad Lubavitch, Aish Hatorah seminars, and NCSY
youth groups.  Non-Orthodox Jews also do outreach, but in common parlance,
_baal teshuvah_ refers to someone who adopts Orthodox Judaism.

The best advice is often to go slowly, decide what you are going to do, and
don't let difficulties with particular levels of observance cause you to drop
the whole matter.  Find a sympathetic rabbi who will help and advise you.
Avoid the "All or Nothing" syndrome.

Most of all remember that you are not alone.  In fact, there is even a Baal
Teshuva electronic mailing list.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.2. Why is "shabbat" spelled sometimes shabbath, shabbath, shabbos,
        shabbes?

                     ___  __   _ _ *
The Hebrew word is   |  | . |  | | |   and it's pronounced in various ways,
                    _|  | __|_ |/_/
                           T    --
of which "Shabbos" and "Shabbat" are examples.  "Sabbath" is an anglicization
of the Hebrew.  It's all the same word, and the pronunciations are used
interchangeably in this FAQ.  Same with Kashrus/Kashrut/Kashruth,
Yisroel/Yisrael/Israel, Yisro/Yitro/Jethro, etc..

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.3. What are some common Hebrew and Yiddish phrases I see on SCJ?

Most people are careful to translate their Hebrew and Yiddish, but a few are
common enough that people don't bother.

"Nu?"   This is an exclamation used in the same sense as "well" "eh" and
        "hey."  It could be used in the Hebrew/Yiddish translation of any of
        the following:

        1.  Well, do you want the egg roll or the knish?
        2.  Hey!  Stop throwing paper airplanes in class.
        3.  My experimental tofu-liver-garlic cholent tastes good, eh?
        4.  So, Becca, I hear you and Izzy went out last week.  Well?

--------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.4. What do all those abbreviations like Z"L mean?

Those abbreviation are shorthand for common Hebrew phrases.  Here are some of
the most common ones:

  A"H           (Alav(Male)/Aleha(Female) Hashalom)
   * For any deceased Jew.
   * Translation: Peace Be Upon Him/Her
   * Sometimes written as PBUH, generally by Muslims.

  Admo"r                (Adonainu, Morainu, VeRabbeinu)
   * Translation: Our Master, Our Teacher, and Our Rebbe
   * Honorofic title given to scholarly leaders of a Jewish community, "R'
     Yankel Shmendrick, SHLITA, Admor of Chelm.")

  AMUSh         (Ad Maia Veesrim Shana)
   * Translation: [He/She should live] for 120 years
   * Used for salutations in correspondence: "Dear Ploni AMU"Sh"

  B"H           (Baruch Hashem)
   * Translation: Blessed be G-d  (occasionally)
                  (B'Ezras/Ezer Hashem)
   * Translation: With G-d's help (i.e. at top of papers, sometimes with an
     ayin following the beis)

  B"N           (B'li Neder)
   * Translation: Without taking a vow
   * Used after a promise, since failure to fulfill a promise is a serious
     violation of Jewish law.  For example, "I'll check that reference
     tomorrow, B"N." (i.e., if I forget, I don't want to be liable under
     Jewish law).

  BLA"H         (B'li Ayin Hara) or (K'ain Ayin Hara)
   * Translation: "without the 'evil eye'"
   * Meaning:     "I'm saying this without hubris"
   * Often pronounced Kanaina horo (Yiddish)

  BS"D          (B'siyata d'shmaya) (Aramaic)
   * Translation: With the help of heaven (common)

  HY"D          (Hashem Yikom Damo[am])
   * For martyred Jews.
   * Translation: Hashem will avenge his[their] Blood

  IY"H, IYH     (Im Yirtzeh Hashem)
   * Translation: If it be G-d's will (very common)
   * Used for referring to future actions: "I'll see you tomorrow IY'H."

  N"E           (Nishmaso(male)/Nishmasa(Female)  b'Eden)
   * Translation: His/Her soul should be in Eden/paradise

  R'            (Rabbi)

  ShLIT"A               (SHe'yikhye Lirot Yamim Tovim ve'Arukim)
   * Used for living prominent Jewish scholars.
   * Translation: That he/she should live to see good and full days (long
     life)

  YM"SH,Y'Sh,Y"ShU (Yemach Shmo Vezichro)
   * For deceased enemies of the Jewish people
   * Translation: May his name be wiped out (YH"SH, Y'Sh)
                  May his name and memory be wiped out (Y'Shu)

  Z"L           (Zichrono Livrocho)
   * For deceased prominent Jewish scholars.
   * Translation: Of Blessed Memory
   * Sometimes written as OBM

  ZT"L          (Zecher Tzadik Livrocho)
   * For deceased prominent Jewish scholars.
   * Translation: The Memory of the Righteous is a Blessing

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.5. Is "shvartze" offensive? Is "goyim" offensive?

"Shvartze" is the neutral Yiddish term for "black", including the person.
There are other derogatory terms--some borrowed from English.  But there are
Jews who can make "shvartze" offensive.  However, even though the meaning of
the term isn't offensive, that doesn't mean that the word hasn't acquired an
offensive connotation over time.  This is the case with "shvartze".
Historically, it was used in a nonneutral way, regardless of its neutral
meaning.  In general, the term should be avoided.  Note that "shvartze" is
also used to describe strict observance.  [From the black clothing the very
strict always wear, in mourning for the destruction of the Temple.]

"Goy" [plural: goyim, adjective: goyishe] is the standard Hebrew term for
non-Jew.   Literally it is the Hebrew for "nation."  Spoken aloud with a
disgusted inflection, it's pejorative.  So is the word 'Jew' in similar
circumstances.  Better to say "gentile" when writing in English for a
multireligious audience, such as SCJ.

In the phrase "shabbos goy"--a gentile who does things for Jews on Shabbos
--it is neutral, yet when refusing to do something for someone by saying "I'm
not your shabbos goy", it carries a derogatory tinge.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.6. What does "shiksa" and "shaygetz" mean?
               How offensive are they?

Shiksa and Shaygetz are the Yiddish derivative of the respective feminine and
masculine Hebrew words for something unclean, dirty.  The appellations are
customarily applied to gentiles who do things inimical to Jewish interests,
such as vandalizing Jewish buildings, robbing Jewish kids of their lunch
money, or becoming romantically involved with Jews.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.7. Can you provide me with a list of kosher restaurants in <xxx>?

Yes.  See the archives on israel.nysernet.org for a list of kosher restaurants
in various cities.

See also "Travelling Jewish in America" $11.95

Wandering You Press      Note that since these data change frequently you
POB 20                   should check with the local synagogue where you
Lodi, New Jersey 07644   are going to ensure that the restaurant
[phone]           still exists and has a valid hashgacha (kosher
                         certification).

You'll often find mention of Kosher restaurants in the various Jewish
periodicals, especially the ones focusing on Kashrut.  See the Periodicals
Reading List.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.8. I am going to be in <>, where can I eat, stay for Shabbat.

Go to your local library and request a telephone directory for that city.
Look up "Synagogues-<your affiliation>" and call them up.  Ask to be directed
to the Hospitality Committee, which is in charge of such arrangements.
Alternatively, a short post to SCJ can get you up-to-date information about
cities from their residents.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.9. What do bagels, lox, ... have to do with being a Jew?

QUESTION: What do bagels, lox, pastrami, falafel, garlic pickles, kishka, and
kasha have to do with being a Jew?

ANSWER: Those are foods popular in some cultures in which Jews lived, but have
zero religious significance.  They are sometimes called "Jewish foods" because
of their popularity among Jews, and because they bring back memories of one's
ancestors who ate similar foods.

Gefilte fish, however, *is* a Jewish food.  Many Jews have a custom to have
fish, wine, and meat on the Sabbath.  On the Sabbath, one may not separate
"bad from good" such as removing bones from fish.  (Good from bad, i.e. fish
from bone is OK...)  To simplify matters, it became popular to serve ground
fish from which bones were removed.

Another Jewish dish is cholent, a stew left to simmer throughout Shabbos,
because this a) avoids cooking on Shabbos b) reaffirms the belief in oral
Torah, permitting the use of a fire lit before shabbos, as opposed to the
Karaites, who rejected the oral Torah and didn't use fire on Shabbos.  The
cholent is then eaten for the Sabbath afternoon meal.

One of the problems with Jewish cooking is that you can eat an entire meal,
yet not even 72 hours later, you're hungry for more. (:-)

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.10. What does Warren Burstein's signature mean?

The original signature quote said "The world is a very strange carrot, but the
farmer is not worried at all."  This is a pun on R' Nachman of Braslav's
saying "Kol Haolom Kulo Gesher (Gezer) Tzar (Zar) Meod Vehaikar (Aleph & Ayin
diff) Lo Lephached Klal," which actually says "The whole world is like a very
narrow bridge, and the main idea is not to be worried at all."

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.11. What does the funny pattern in Rob Levene's signature mean?

QUESTION: What does the funny pattern "/ // / /" in Rob Levene's signature
mean?

ANSWER: Think of the slashes and spaces as binary digits.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.12. Who was the sixth Marx brother?

The sixth Marx brother Karl turned his comedic skills to literature.  He wrote
a spoof of an economic treatise which parodied the ponderous "scientific"
tomes of his day.  Unfortunately, people with no sense of humor took him
seriously and attempted to carry out the philosophy he used in the book.  It
was as if the English had attempted to carry out Jonathan Swift's "A modest
proposal" and the results were just as tragic.

The last czar of the Russian Empire (Mikhail I of the House of Gorbachev)
finally admitted this and abdicated, and there was much rejoicing.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.13. Why do Hebrew clocks run clockwise, not counter-clockwise?

QUESTION: Why do Hebrew clocks run clockwise?  Since Hebrew goes
right-to-left, shouldn't Hebrew clocks go counterclockwise?

ANSWER: Some do, but I wouldn't lose sleep over this question.  FYI, the clock
on the tower of the Prague Jewish Community Center uses Hebrew letters and
runs counter-clockwise.

Most clocks use *Arabic* numerals, another right-to-left language.  The real
question is why Roman numeral clocks don't go the other way.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.14. How do I show my love for the Jewish people?

QUESTION: I'm overflowing with love for the Jewish people.  How should I show
it?

ANSWER:

Do: discourage anti-Jewish behavior, object to stereotyping, humbly follow the
seven laws and behave morally, support the existence of Israel, support
religious freedom and sensitivity to others' practices, be friendly to Jews,
encourage your friends to do likewise.

Don't: proselytize/witness/missionize to Jews, date or marry Jews, give
ham/pork/shellfish to Jews, force a Jew to work from Friday night to Saturday
night or on Jewish holidays, tell "JAP" jokes.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 18.15. What is the origin of the word "kike"?

The word kike originates from the word "keikl", in Yiddish, which means
"circle", the reason being that the first Jewish immigrants in America, who
were unable to sign their names, signed with a circle instead of a cross.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.1. I'd like to learn more? Do you have any books to recommend?

Take a look at the front of this message.  There you will find a pointer to
the set of Reading Lists, posted as part of the overall soc.culture.jewish
FAQ.  In the reading lists, you'll find information on the following:


 o Part I:    Introduction and General
     I.1. Where Can I Get These Books From?
     I.2. But The List is So Long, Where Should I Start?
     I.3. For Non-Jewish Readers
     I.4. General Judaism
     I.5. General Jewish Thought
     I.6. General Jewish History
     I.7. Noachide Laws
     I.8. Torah and Talmud
     I.9. Mishnah and Talmud
     I.10. Torah and Talmudic Commentary
     I.11. Midrash
     I.12. Halachic Codes
     I.13. Becoming An Observant Jew
     I.14. Women and Judaism
     I.15. Science and Judaism
 o Part II:   Traditional Liturgy, Practice, Lifestyle, Holidays
     II.1. Traditional Liturgy
     II.2. Traditional Philosophy and Ethics
     II.3. Prayer
     II.4. Traditional Practice
     II.5. The Household
     II.6. Life, Death, and In-Between
     II.7. The Cycle Of Holidays
 o Part III:  The Messiah, Kaballah and Chasidism
     III.1. The Messiah
     III.2. Chasidism
     III.3. Kaballah and Mysticism
 o Part IV:   Reform Judaism
     IV.1. Reform Beliefs
     IV.2. Reform Rituals
     IV.3. Reform Liturgy
     IV.4. Reform Responsa
     IV.5. Reform History
     IV.6. The Bible
 o Part V:    Conservative Judaism
     V.1. Conservative Beliefs
     V.2. Conservative Practices
     V.3. Conservative History
     V.4. Conservative Liturgy
 o Part VI:   Reconstructionist Judaism
     VI.1. Philosophy Of Movement
     VI.2. Reconstructionist Education
     VI.3. Reconstructionist Liturgy
 o Part VII:  Humanistic Judaism
     VII.1. Philosophy Of Movement
     VII.2. Other Related Reading
 o Part VIII: Zionism
     VIII.1. Zionism and The Development Of Israel
     VIII.2. The Founders
     VIII.3. Zionistic Movements
     VIII.4. Judaism in Israel
 o Part IX:   Antisemitism
     IX.1. Antisemitism
     IX.2. What Led to The Holocaust
     IX.3. Medieval Oppression
     IX.4. Antisemitism Today (Including Dealing with Hate Groups)
     IX.5. Judiasm and Christianity
 o Part X:    Intermarriage
     X.1. So You're Considering Intermarriage?
     X.2. The Traditional Viewpoint
     X.3. Conversion
     X.4. You've Done The Deed. Coping With Life As An Intermarried
 o Part XI:   Periodicals
     XI.1.a. Topical General Interest Periodicals
     XI.1.b. General Interest Periodicals focused on Tradition and Home
     XI.1.c. General Interest Periodicals focused on Jewish Scholarship
     XI.1.d. Other General Interest Periodicals
     XI.2. Publications Targeted For Specific Movements
     XI.3. Rabbinic Journals
     XI.4. Local Publications

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.2. What are the different hechsher symbols?

You'll have to keep informed.  Note that in most states, "K" does not
necessarily mean that the product has rabbinical supervision, so you can't
rely on the simple K.  Of course, many products with a "K" *are* kosher
anyway, as are many unmarked products.  The circled-U, circled-K,
K-in-a-five-pointed-star, and k-in-a-letter-chaf are widely accepted
nationally-known kosher symbols.  Other accepted kosher symbols are only found
in small local areas.


In the Periodicals Reading List, you'll find a number of magazines focused on
Kashrut.  These magazines often publish information on who is behind the
various hechshers.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.3. What are the Jewish-oriented mailing lists?

There are numerous Jewish Electronic Resources.  Dov Winer maintains a list of
Jewish electronic resources, ftp-able from nysernet.org. This list will
eventually be posted as part of the set of Reading Lists.

You may also obtain full descriptions of the lists by sending the following
message to [e-mail]

   GET JEWISHNT LISTS-1
   GET JEWISHNT LISTS-2
   GET JEWISHNT LISTS-3
   GET JEWISHNT LISTS-4
   GET JEWISHNT LISTS-5

You may also send mail to [e-mail] with the following as
the body of the message:

   lists

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.4. Are there any moderated mailing lists?

QUESTION: Boy, there's a lot of flaming on this newsgroup.  Are there any
moderated mailing lists available on Judaism?

ANSWER: A number of the lists mentioned above are moderated; furthermore, you
should be able to find a list to suit you regardless of your particular
movement.  The important thing is to stay connected to Judaism.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.5. How do I get access to s.c.j?

QUESTION: I have a friend with a brand-new Internet account. I think she would
really enjoy this group but I don't know if she has news access.

Have her ask her site administration if she can access Usenet groups.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.6. Is SCJ available via a Listserv or other e-mail means?

Yes, it can be received as a huge torrent of electronic mail through a
listserver on nysernet.org.  Be sure to have a good mail program to handle the
volume, follow the threads, and delete excess messages.  To receive scj, send
a message to [e-mail], saying

subscribe scj "John Doe"

Substitute your name for "John Doe"

Do not specify a Subject: line in the message, and do not include any other
lines (e.g. do not include your signature).  Specify your real name, not your
computer address.  Don't say "please" or "thank you" as this will only confuse
the computer.

Do not put any punctuation marks in your message.

Since scj sends out a lot of messages (over 100 a day sometimes), you might
prefer to receive digests.  Digests go out when 1000 lines of messages have
accumlated, or at least once a day.  To change your subscription so that you
receive digests, send a message to [e-mail], saying

set scj mail digest

You can put the SUBSCRIBE and SET commands in the same message, as long as
each is on a separate line.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.7. What divrei Torah are posted to Usenet?

There are quite a few. Some are posted on a regular basis, some on an ad-hoc
basis.

The regular postings are as follows. If you can't get soc.culture.jewish (or
if you don't want to deal with the volume), the regular divrei Torah are also
available via Email as indicated.

  HaMaayan
        EDITOR: Shlomo Katz
        EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION ADDRESS: [e-mail]
        HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Drop a note to the subscription address requesting
                        addition to the distribution list.

  L'Chaim
        EDITOR: Chabad-Lubavitch
        EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION ADDRESS: [e-mail]
        HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Drop a note to the subscription address requesting
                        addition to the distribution list.

  A Byte of Torah
        EDITOR: Zev Itzkowitz, "Center for Return"
        EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS ADDRESS:  [e-mail]
        HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Send the following strings, with appropriate
                        substitutions for <first name> and <last name> to the
                        subscription address:
                                SUB bytetorah <first name> <last name>

  Oxford Jewish
        EDITOR: Rabbi Shmuel Boteach
        EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS ADDRESS:  [e-mail]
        HOW TO SUBSCRIBE: Send the following strings, with appropriate
                        substitutions for <first name> and <last name> to the
                        subscription address:
                                SUB oxford-judaism <first name> <last name>

S.C.J also receives occasional postings of divrei Torah by (in alphabetical
order) Rabbis Avrohom Alter, Aharon Levitansky, Shlomo Riskin, and Menachem
Schneerson.  To the best of my knowledge, these are not available via Email
subscription.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.8. Where can I find collected divrei Torah?

The machine israel.nysernet.org contains a Torah discourse collection in
israel/tanach/commentary, plus archives of various Jewish-interest mailing
lists.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.9. What software is available for Hebrew applications?

There are numerous utilities.  See the Hebrew Computing document on the
nysernet.org library.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.10. Are there conversion programs for the Jewish and other
calendars?

Several such programs have been released in C source code for Unix and other
systems.  See the archive on nysernet.org.

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 19.99. Boy, you did a wonderful job on the FAQ? How do I show my
         appreciation?

Questions in the FAQ can be dedicated in your honor, or in memory of a loved
one. Just send your checks to

 SCJ FAQ Building Fund
 P. O. Box 613
 Haven't-you-figured-this-out-yet Drive
 San Chelm CA 90000

[This question is dedicated in honor of Matthew P Wiener by Anonymous]

------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at [e-mail].


End of SCJ FAQ Part 10 (Miscellaneous) Digest
**************************
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