Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/01-FAQ-intro
Soc-culture-jewish-archive-name: faq.01-FAQ-intro
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               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
            Part 1: Introduction to the FAQ and Soc.Culture.Jewish
         [Last Change: $Date: 1995/10/19 15:23:13 $ $Revision: 1.3 $]
                    [Last Post: Thu Jun  1 11:07:07 1995]

   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 transliteration scheme from Hebrew,
   Aramaic, Yiddish, or Ladino to English. 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.
   
   In general, throughout this FAQ, North American (US/Canada) terms are
   used to refer to the movements of Judaism. Outside of North American,
   Reform is Progressive or Liberal Judaism; Conservative is Reform or
   Masorti, and Orthodoxy is often just "Judaism". Even with this, there
   are differences in practice, position, and ritual between US/Canada
   Reform and other progressive/liberal movements (such as UK
   Progressive/ Liberal), and between US/Canada Conservative and the
   conservative/Masorti movement elsewhere. Where appropriate, these
   differences will be highlighted.
   
   The goal of the FAQ 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.
   
   This list should be used in conjunction with the Soc.Culture.Jewish
   reading lists. Similar questions can be found in the books referenced
   in those lists.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: High Level Index

   The following is a high level index to the components of the FAQ. For
   the purposes of posting on USENET, the FAQ is broken into a number of
   parts. The USENET part number is shown in parenthesis at the beginning
   of each index item.
   
     * (01) Introduction 
    1. (01) Network and Soc.Culture.Jewish Information 
    2. (02) Who We Are 
    3. (03) Torah 
    4. (03) Halachic Authority 
    5. (04) Jewish Holidays 
    6. (04) Jewish Dietary Law and Kashrut 
    7. (04) Sabbath and Holiday Observance 
    8. (04) Woman and Marriage 
    9. (05) Jewish Worship 
   10. (05) Conversion, Intermarriage, and "Who is a Jew?" 
   11. (05) Miscellaneous Practice Questions 
   12. (06) Jewish Thought 
   13. (07) Jews as a Nation 
   14. (08) Jews and Israel 
   15. (09) Churban Europa (The Holocaust) 
   16. (09) Antisemitism and Rumors about Jews 
   17. (09) Countering Missionaries 
   18. (10) Reform/Progressive Judaism 
   19. (11) Miscellaneous 
   20. (11) References and Getting Connected 
   21. (11) Children and Judaism 
     * Archival Information
     * Credits and Acknowledgements
     * Copyright Information
       
   The following separate FAQ related to Judaism is also published as
   part of the S.C.J. FAQ:
     * Jewish Resources by Mail Order and Computer
       Steve Seidman <srs3@crux3.cit.cornell.edu>
       
   
   The following is an index to the questions and other information contained
   in each section:

   Section 1: Network and Soc.Culture.Jewish Information
    1. Why is this group called soc.culture.jewish? Wouldn't
       soc.religion.jewish be more appropriate? 
    2. I just found S.C.J. What is this network? 
    3. What topics are appropriate for S.C.J? 
    4. What topics are not appropriate for S.C.J? 
    5. When should I post to talk.politics.mideast? 
    6. Is it appropriate to discuss Israel in soc.culture.jewish? 
    7. How should I respond to inappropriate articles? Somebody posted an
       inappropriate article to S.C.J or T.P.M. 
    8. But I don't get T.P.M? Now what? 
    9. A. Random Jew posted X to a.b.c; I disagree. What should I do? 
   10. Can non-Jews post to S.C.J? 
   11. May I post this great Jewish essay I just read? 
   12. I have a question nogaiah hilchos maaser kesafim b'zman hazeh...
       Eem yeish lee meah or fewer shekalim and some are hefker ... 
   13. Do S.C.J readers want to make it into a moderated group? 
   14. 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? 
   15. 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... 
   16. I've just gotten this antisemitic email. What should I do?
   17. What are the Do's and Don'ts? 
       
   Section 2: Who We Are
    1. Who reads soc.culture.jewish? 
    2. What are the major Jewish movements? 
    3. What is Conservative Judaism? 
    4. What is Orthodox Judaism? 
    5. What is Reform/Progressive Judaism? 
    6. What about other movements? 
    7. What are some of the Orthodox sub-groups? 
    8. What is Chassidism and how does it differ from other Orthodox
       groups 
    9. What is Lubavitch Chasidism and Chabad? 
   10. What is Breslov Chasidism? 
   11. What is Satmar Chasidism? 
   12. What other forms of Chasidism? 
   13. What are OCR (O-C-R) wars? Why all the flames? 
   14. But Reform Judaism isn't Judaism? Why don't they see that? 
   15. But Orthodox Judaism isn't Judaism? Why don't they see that? 
   16. Why shouldn't I say "ultra-Orthodox", "Reformed Judaism", or
       "Humanist Judaism"? 
   17. How does a Chassid differ from Misnagid? 
   18. What is a "Torah Jew?" 
   19. What about homosexual Jews?
   20. Is it true that Jews are all (fill-in-the-blank)? 
   21. How many Jews are there today in the U.S.A.? 
       
   Section 3: Torah
    1. What is the Written Law? 
    2. What are the books of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh)? 
    3. Why, in the Tanakh, does G-d have so many Names? 
    4. Who wrote the Torah? 
    5. What is the Oral Law? 
    6. How was the Oral Law passed down? 
    7. What is the Great Assembly 
    8. Who are the Zugot (pairs)? 
    9. What is the Mishna? 
   10. What is the relationship between the Mishna and the Torah? 
   11. What are the Orders of the Mishna? 
   12. What is the Tosefta? 
   13. What is the relationship between the Tosefta and the Mishna? 
   14. What is the Gemara and what is the Talmud? 
   15. What is the Talmud? 
   16. What is Talmud Yerushalmi? 
   17. What is Talmud Bavli? 
   18. What is Rashi's commentary on the Talmud? 
   19. What is the Tosafot? 
   20. Who wrote the Tosafot?
   21. What is the relationship of the Tosefta to the Talmuds? 
   22. What are Baraitot? 
   23. What are the extra-canonical (minor) tractates? 
   24. What is a Midrash?
   25. What are Halakhic (or Tannaitic) Midrashim?
   26. What are the main Halakhic Midrashim?
   27. What are the main Exegetical Midrashim?
   28. What are the main Homiletic Midrashim?
   29. What are the Midrashim on the Five Megillot (aka The So-Called
       Rabbot)? 
   30. What are some other important Haggadic works?
   31. What is the Sefer Yetzirah (The Book of Creation)?
   32. What is Sefer haBahir, The Bahir (The Book of Illumination)?
   33. What is The Zohar?
   34. What are the Major Codes of Jewish Law?
   35. What is the Rif (Hilkhot of Rav Alfassi)? 
   36. What is the Mishneh Torah (Yad Ha-Hazaqah , Sefer Mehoqeq)? 
   37. What is the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (The Semag)? 
   38. What is the Arba'ah Turim (The Tur , The Four Rows)? 
   39. What is the Shulkhan Arukh? 
   40. What is the Hamappah of Rabbi Moshe Isserles?
   41. What is the Kitzur Shulkhan Arukh? 
   42. What is the Mishnah Berurah? 
   43. What Codes of Jewish Law Are Used by Non-traditional Jewish
       Movements?
       
   Section 4: Halachic Authority
    1. What is "Halacha"? How is it determined? 
    2. In Orthodox Judaism, what are the levels of halacha? 
    3. In Orthodox Judaism, what are the different rabbinic eras? 
    4. How can differing halachic rulings all be considered valid? 
    5. How does the Conservative movement deal with Halachic questions? 
    6. What is the difference between two Orthodox rabbis who disagree
       and an Orthodox and a Reform who disagree?
    7. Who is RAMBAM that is mentioned and what are his 13 principles 
    8. Who was Rashi? 
    9. Who was the Ramban? 
   10. What is Kabbalah and how can I learn about it? 
   11. Who is allowed to study Kabbalah? 
       
   Section 5: Jewish Holidays
    1. What are the different holidays? 
    2. What are the dates of the upcoming Jewish holidays? 
    3. How can I get a Jewish calendar 
    4. Why do some people take off one day, and others two? 
    5. Why does the Jewish day start at sundown? 
    6. What are the origins of the Chanukah Dreidel? 
       
   Section 6: Jewish Dietary Law and Kashrut
    1. What is Kosher? Doesn't a rabbi just bless the food 
    2. How can I learn about Kashrut? Is there a "Kosher" FAQ? 
    3. There are a wide variety of kosher symbols. How do I learn who's
       behind them? 
    4. I'm going to be in (insert city here). How do I find the kosher
       restaurants? 
    5. Do I need to have a kosher kitchen and kosher home to keep kosher?
       
    6. I have heard that Polish Orthodox Jews wait 6 hours between eating
       milchig and fleishig and Dutch Orthodox Jews wait about an hour.
       Why? 
    7. Why do Sephardim and Ashkenazim have different customs regarding
       permissible foods on Pesach (Passover)? 
    8. I'm a vegetarian health-food proponent. Is kosher food healthier? 
    9. Is vegetarianism kosher? 
       
   Section 7: Sabbath and Holiday Observance
    1. What is the Jewish Sabbath and why is it on Saturday? 
    2. Why do my Orthodox Jewish friends leave work early on Fridays and
       before Jewish holidays? 
    3. Why can't Jews use electrical appliances and motor vehicles on
       Shabbat? 
       
   Section 8: Woman and Marriage
    1. What role do women play in Judaism? 
    2. What is the Conservative view of the role of women in Judaism? 
    3. What is the Reform view of the role of women in Judaism? 
    4. What is the Orthodox view of the role of women in Judaism? 
    5. 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? 
    6. I've heard polygamy is permissible among Sephardic and Yemenite
       Jews. Doesn't Judaism mandate monogamy? 
    7. What does clean/unclean refer to? 
    8. I've heard that Orthodox men can't touch women. Is this true? 
       
   Section 9: Jewish Worship
    1. How does a rabbi differ from a priest? 
    2. Do you need a rabbi for a wedding? 
    3. Do you need a rabbi for a divorce? 
    4. How do Jews pray? 
    5. Is there a distinctly Jewish form of meditation? 
    6. Does Judaism have a strong tradition of religious art and music? 
       
   Section 10: Conversion, Intermarriage, and "Who is a Jew?"
    1. Does Halacha (Jewish law) permit intermarriage? 
    2. I'm a Jew who married a gentile. Am I still Jewish? 
    3. 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? 
    4. OK, then apart from halachic considerations, why do many Jews of
       all types oppose intermarriage? 
    5. Is objection to intermarriage a form of bigotry? 
    6. But I still want to intermarry? Do you know of a Rabbi that
       performs intermarriages? 
    7. How does one convert? 
    8. What about adults who are not circumcised? 
    9. What does the word "Jew" mean? 
   10. Who is a Jew? 
   11. I've heard that Jewish parents consider an intermarried child as
       "dead". Is this true? 
       
   Section 11: Miscellaneous Practice Questions
    1. Dress
         1. Why do some Jewish women wear wigs or cover their hair with a
            snood, beret, tichel, turban, kerchief or hat? 
         2. Why do many Jewish men wear head coverings (variously
            referred to as "yarmulkas," "skullcaps," and "kipot")? 
         3. What is a Tallis? Tzit-tzit(those fringes)? Why do Jews wear
            them? 
         4. What are those black boxes and leather straps Jewish men
            wear? 
         5. Why do many Jewish men sport beards? 
         6. Why do some Orthodox Jews, especially Chassidim, wear a
            distinctive style of clothing (i.e., fur hats, black coats,
            gartel)? 
         7. What is Shaatnez? 
         8. Are there any special dress rules or customs for women? 
    2. Sex and Purity
         1. What's this I've heard about a hole in a sheet? 
         2. Can a Jewish man only uncover his wife a hands-breadth? 
         3. What is a "mikveh"? 
    3. Writing
         1. Why do some people write "G-d" with a hyphen instead of an
            `o'? 
         2. Why do some Jews write "J-s-s" and "Xianity?" 
    4. Practices towards others
         1. Does Judaism permit slavery? 
         2. What does "eye for an eye" mean? 
    5. Weddings
         1. Why is the glass broken at Jewish weddings? 
    6. Death and Burial
         1. Is it true that someone with tatoos cannot be buried in a
            Jewish cemetery? 
         2. I've heard about a custom of putting stones on the grave. Do
            you know where this custom originated? 
    7. Charity
         1. What are the levels of giving? 
            
   Section 12: Jewish Thought
    1. What is the Jewish concept of G-d? Do Jews think of G-d as an
       angry old man with a long white beard? 
    2. Can one doubt G-d's existence and still be a good Jew? 
    3. Does modern science (e.g., "big bang" theory, evolution, the age
       of the world) contradict traditional readings of the Torah? 
    4. Does modern science contradict liberal readings of the Torah? 
    5. Can one be Orthodox and a scientist too? 
    6. I've heard that Jews consider themselves "chosen." What does that
       mean? 
    7. What is the Jewish concept of the Messiah? 
    8. What do Jews say happens when a person dies? Do Jews believe in
       reincarnation? In hell or heaven? 
    9. What was the job of a prophet? 
   10. It seems that prophecy was once central to Judaism; why don't we
       have prophets today? 
   11. Who were the prophets? How many? 
   12. What is the Jewish view on the question of "free will." 
   13. What about angels, demons, miracles, and the supernatural? 
   14. What do Jews hope/expect of the future? 
   15. How can Jews reject (insert true belief here)? 
   16. Why do Jews need organized religion or Jewish laws? Isn't it good
       enough to be a good person? How about gentiles? 
   17. How does Judaism differ from Xianity, Marxism, Communism, Humanism
       and other -isms? 
   18. Where can a Gentile learn about Judaism? 
   19. What does Judaism say about non-Jews and their role? What does G-d
       demands of gentiles to get to Heaven/world-to-come? What are the
       Noachide laws? 
       
   Section 13: Jews as a Nation
    1. What are the different racial and cultural groups of Jews? 
    2. What are the differences between Sephardim and Ashkenazim? 
    3. Where did the Beita Yisrael (Falashas) come from? 
    4. Who were the Khazars? Are Ashkenazi Jews descended from the
       Khazars? 
    5. Who are Crypto-Jews (also known as "marranos")? 
    6. How does the Sephardi/Ashkenazi differences differ from the O/C/R
       differences? 
    7. I've heard of a group called the "Black Hebrews". Who are they? 
    8. What about the black jews in South Africa? 
    9. Who Are The Jews of India, And What Are Their Origins? 
       
   Section 14: Jews and Israel
    1. Who is an Israeli? Who may enter Israel under its Law of Return? 
    2. What is Zion? 
    3. What is Zionism? 
    4. Are all Jews Zionists? 
    5. Do Diaspora Jews (Jews outside Israel) support Zionism? 
    6. I've heard there were/are very Orthodox Jews who were/are against
       the state of Israel. How could this be? Who are they?
    7. Did Zionism end with the establishment of Israel? 
    8. Are antisemitism and anti-Zionism the same thing? 
    9. Is Zionism racist? 
   10. What are the roots of Arab opposition to Zionism? 
   11. Can't you criticize Israel without being antisemitic? 
   12. Why is opposition to Israel often seen as being antisemitic? 
   13. Why is Jerusalem so important to Jews? 
   14. I want to move to Israel. Can I become a citizen? 
   15. What is the Wailing Wall and why is it so important? 
   16. Questions on aliyah, military service for olim and more 
       
   Section 15: Churban Europa (The Holocaust)
    1. Why do Jews seem to treat the Holocaust as their tragedy alone? 
    2. Where can I get information on the Holocaust? 
    3. How do I get tickets to see the United States Holocaust Memorial
       Museum? 
    4. Is there any online information available on Yad Vashem? 
       
   Section 16: Antisemitism and Rumors about Jews
    1. Why is antisemitism used to mean anti-Jewish? 
    2. Is there any truth to the myth of the Jewish American Princess? 
    3. What is the connection between Judaism and Freemasonry? 
    4. How do I counter antisemitic postings such as the infamous
       "Protocols"? 
       
   Section 17: Countering Missionaries
    1. Are groups calling themselves "Jews for Jesus" or "Messianic
       Jews[sic]" Jewish movements? 
    2. Is belief in Jesus-as-God compatible with any Jewish movements? 
    3. What do missionary groups believe? 
    4. What sort of deceptive terminology do missionaries use? 
    5. How can these missionaries be countered? 
    6. Who is financing "Jews for Jesus" and similar groups? 
       
   Section 18: Reform/Progressive Judaism
     * Introduction to the Reform/Progressive FAQ
    1. General Questions
         1. What is Reform Judaism? 
         2. What, if any, are the fundamental principles of Reform? 
         3. Is a Jew affiliated with Reform Judaism less "religious" than
            one affiliated with another movement? 
         4. How is Reform Judaism structured in the North America? 
         5. How is Reform Judaism structured in the rest of the world? 
         6. How big is Reform Judaism? 
    2. History
         1. How did Reform Judaism start? 
         2. Why did Reform Judaism start? 
         3. I've heard reference to "Classic German Reform". What is it? 
         4. What is Reform Judaism today? 
    3. What is Reform Judaism's position on...
         1. The authority of Torah? 
         2. The authority of Talumd? 
         3. What is acceptable practice? 
         4. What is unacceptable practice? 
         5. The necessity of belief in God? 
         6. The role of Israel? 
         7. Other Jewish movements? 
         8. Homosexuality 
         9. Intermarriage 
        10. Abortion 
        11. Mixed (Interfaith) Marriages 
        12. The role of women 
        13. Outreach 
        14. How an individual's Jewish status is determined 
        15. The Messiah 
    4. Stereotypes: The fallacy verses reality
         1. Fallacy: Reform Jews choose practice based solely on
            convenience 
         2. Fallacy: Either patrilineal or matrilineal descent is
            accepted 
         3. Fallacy: Reform Conversions take no study, and are for
            convenience only 
         4. Fallacy: Reform Judaism encourages intermarriage 
         5. Fallacy: Intermarried couples have exactly the same rights as
            non-intermarried couples in Reform Congregations 
         6. Fallacy: Reform Judaism has Rabbis and congregations that
            don't believe in God 
         7. Fallacy: There are few 3rd or 4th generation Reform Jews. 
         8. Fallacy: An atheist could be considered a "good" Reform Jew 
         9. Fallacy: Reform Jews don't have Bar Mitzvahs 
        10. Fallacy: Reform totally ignores "Jewish" divorce (i.e., gets)
            
        11. Fallacy: All Reform Congregations Are Rich 
        12. Fallacy: Reform Rabbis do not study Halacha 
        13. Fallacy: Reform Jews don't care about Jewish ideals and
            principles. 
        14. Fallacy: Reform Jews don't need to attend synagogue. 
        15. Fallacy: Reform Jews don't believe in Zionism and don't
            support Israel. 
        16. Fallacy: Reform Jews have no concept of the Messiah. 
        17. Fallacy: Reform Jews do not observe Shabbat 
        18. Fallacy: Reform Jews ignore the laws of Kashrut 
        19. Fallacy: Reform rejects most of Maimonides 13 Principles of
            Faith 
    5. Differences from Traditional Judaism
         1. Why does Reform liturgy say "m'chayey hakol" [who gives life
            to all] instead of m'chayey meytim" [who gives life to the
            dead] ? 
         2. What other changes to liturgy reflect Reform ideals? 
         3. Why does Reform generally celebrate Rosh Hashanah for one
            day? 
         4. How does a Reform conversion differ from an Orthodox
            conversion? 
    6. The Rabbinate
         1. How does one become a Reform Rabbi? 
         2. What is the course of study for the Rabbinate? 
         3. How does one become a Reform Cantor? 
         4. What is the course of study for cantors? 
         5. What other courses of study are available? 
         6. Can Reform Rabbis be sanctioned for their beliefs 
    7. For Further Information
         1. How do I contact the main organizations in Reform Judaism? 
         2. How do I find a Reform congregation? 
         3. Are there any Reform Rabbis on the network who will answer
            questions? 
         4. How do I start the conversion process? 
         5. I'd like to do some further reading. Where do I start? 
     * Special Credits for the Reform/Progressive FAQ
       
   Section 19: Miscellaneous
    1. I want to become more observant. Where do I start? 
    2. Why is "shabbat" spelled sometimes shabbath, shabbath, shabbos, 
    3. What are some common Hebrew and Yiddish phrases I see on S.C.J? 
    4. What do all those abbreviations like Z"L mean? 
    5. Is "shvartze" offensive? Is "goyim" offensive? 
    6. What does "shiksa" and "shaygetz" mean? 
    7. I am going to be in (name your city), where can I eat, stay for
       Shabbat?
    8. What do bagels, lox, pastrami, falafel, garlic pickles, kishka,
       and kasha have to do with being a Jew? 
    9. What does Warren Burstein's signature mean? 
   10. Who was the sixth Marx brother? 
   11. Why do Hebrew clocks run clockwise, not counter-clockwise? 
   12. I'm not Jewish. How do I show my love for the Jewish people? 
   13. What is the origin of the word "kike"? 
       
   Section 20: References and Getting Connected
    1. I'd like to learn more? Do you have any books to recommend? 
    2. What are the different hechsher symbols? 
    3. What are the Jewish-oriented mailing lists? 
    4. Boy, there's a lot of flaming on this newsgroup. Are there any
       moderated mailing lists available on Judaism? 
    5. What are some Jewish links on the WWW?
    6. 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. 
    7. Is S.C.J available via a Listserv or other e-mail means? 
    8. What divrei Torah are posted to Usenet? 
    9. Where can I find collected divrei Torah? 
   10. What software is available for Hebrew applications? 
   11. What other Jewish software is available? 
   12. Are there any Jewish Libraries on the Internet? 
   13. I'm interested in ordering books or music on the internet. Where
       should I look?
   14. Boy, you did a wonderful job on the FAQ? How do I show my
       appreciation? 
       
   Section 21: Children and Judaism
     * Introduction to the Jewish Childrearing FAQ
       
    1. Entering the Covenant
         1. What is circumcision? 
         2. Why are Jewish boys circumcised? 
         3. Who performs the circumcision? 
         4. When is the circumcision done? 
         5. But doesn't it hurt? 
         6. But shouldn't the child make its own decision? 
         7. But circumcision is only required for boys. What about girls?
            
         8. What are our options for welcoming our new baby girl?
         9. Can we hold a welcoming ceremony on the 8th day for a girl?
        10. What is a pidyon haben?
        11. When is a pidyon haben required?
        12. What about babies who are stillborn or die shortly after
            birth with respect to pidyon haben?
        13. What about an adopted child?
        14. Does Judaism have a tradition of Godparents?
    2. Naming
         1. What are the Ashkenazi customs regarding the naming of
            children?
         2. But my grandmother was named (insert old-fashioned out of use
            name here? No one uses that name today? How do I name after
            that relative?
         3. Is it appropriate to name a child after a relative of the
            opposite sex?
         4. Is it appropriate for multiple children (i.e. cousins) to be
            named after the same relative?
         5. My spouse has a living relative with the same name as my
            deceased relative. Can we name our children after my
            relative?
         6. What are the Sephardi customs regarding the naming of
            children?
         7. What about babies who are stillborn or die shortly after
            birth?
         8. Are there any distinctly non-Jewish names?
    3. Playtime
         1. Can I let my kid swim on Shabbat?
         2. Can I let my kid play in the sandbox on Shabbat?
         3. Can children play sports such as Soccer within an Eruv on
            Shabbat?
         4. What is appropriate dress for swimming?
         5. Can my kid play with Playdough during Pesach?
    4. Eating
         1. Where can I find kosher baby food?
         2. Where can I find kosher for passover baby food?
    5. Holidays
         1. What are good activities for children for the major Jewish
            holidays?
    6. Schooling
         1. How do I determine the right type of religious program: day
            school vs. afterschool?
    7. B'nai Mitzvah
         1. What is a bar/bat mitzvah?
         2. What's a good gift for a b'nai mitzvah?
         3. What is appropriate dress to wear to the b'nai mitzvah
            ceremony?
         4. What are the characteristics of a good b'nai mitzvah program?
         5. How do I select a good b'nai mitzvah tutor?
    8. Other childhood lifecycle rituals
         1. I've heard of a ceremony called "Consecration". What is it?
         2. I've heard of a ceremony called "Confirmation". What is it?
    9. Coping with other religions
         1. My child says all of his friends have Christmas Trees, and he
            wants one too. What do I say?
         2. My child's non-Jewish grandparents have asked her to help
            trim the tree. What do I do?
         3. My child has been invited to an Easter Egg roll? What do I
            do?
         4. My child has been invited to the Easter Egg roll on the White
            House lawn? What do I do?
   10. Growing Older
         1. My child wants to start dating? How do I ensure proper
            behavior?
         2. My child wants a tattoo. What forms of body modification are
            allowed? Tatoos? Earrings? 
   11. Resource References
         1. I need some information on Jewish Genetic Diseases. Where do
            I start? 
         2. Are there any recommended online resources on Jewish
            Childrearing or specifically for Jewish children?
   
     * Special Credits for the Jewish Childrearing FAQ
       

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 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 "yidisher kop" [or "yidisher kop"] 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: 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: myname@mysite.edu
      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: 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?"
   
   Discussions about aliyah and Zionism are appropriate, but only if they
   remain in a Jewish context. If you want to talk about the more
   political or secular aspects of these subjects, it is more appropriate
   to use soc.culture.israel.
   
   Factual discussions of the holocaust (shoah) are allowed in S.C.J;
   however, those wishing to discuss that issue might want to explore
   instead the newsgroup soc.culture.jewish.holocaust. S.C.J.H is a
   moderated newsgroup that serves as a storagehouse for all kinds of
   information from various sources on the Holocaust in Europe that
   occurred between 1942-1945 (along with the events leading up to it
   that happened in the early 30's). The newsgroup includes Holocaust
   materials from both personal testimonies of survivors and their
   families and "hard" facts from historians and observers. It is
   moderated to prevent any anti-Semitic or race-baiting comments from
   Neo-Nazis or self-proclaimed "academic" Holocaust deniers or
   revisionists, and is not be a forum for discussing whether or not the
   Shoah happened; instead, S.C.J.H is a place for intelligent and
   factual discussion of the Shoah. For those Usenet readers who wish to
   debate the existence of the Holocaust, they are encouraged to read the
   groups alt.revisionists and soc.history.

------------------------------------------------------------

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

   Middle East politics, especially international issues concerning
   Israel, belong in talk.politics.mideast (T.P.M), not S.C.J. You
   certainly should not crosspost between S.C.J and T.P.M. Discussions of
   internal Israeli politics belong in soc.culture.israel (S.C.I). Again,
   they should not be crossposted to S.C.J. Pick whichever one is
   appropriate.
   
   Discussions of Israeli Culture are inappropriate for S.C.J; rather,
   they belong in s.c.i. Crossposting between S.C.I and S.C.J is
   appropriate _only_ for articles dealing with Jewish, as opposed to
   secular Israeli, issues. If the group il.talk exists, it is also
   appropriate for discussions of Israeli culture, but note that its
   distribution is limited to Israel and sites receiving the il
   distribution (for example, shamash.org).
   
   Material that is available from a listserv is inappropriate to post to
   s.c.j (that is, the entire newsgroup shouldn't receive the list).
   However, a _single_ weekly message listing the lists available is
   reasonable. The FAQ Committee is current incorporating this
   information into the reading list portion of the FAQ. One sample from
   a new list is allowed.
   
   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.
   
   Revisionist teachings (i.e., those teachings that attempt to deny that
   the holocaust ever happened) are inappropriate for S.C.J. They belong
   in alt.revisionism. For more information on how to cope with those
   holding revisionist beliefs, the interested reader is referred to
   [Lip93] (Lipstadt, Deborah. Denying the Holocaust: The Growing Assault
   on Truth and Memory.) in the Antisemitism portion of the reading list.
   
   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).
     
   Eliot Shimoff expressed it this way:
   
     Lots of people read what we post; there are many lurkers who read
     and don't post. Keep them in mind when you write. If you are
     offended by some aspect of the Reform movement, it does little good
     to post a vituperative attack on that G-dless crew of evil people;
     your audience is far more likely to be offended than to either learn
     or think. Similarly, it does little good to write a missive pointing
     out how backward, narrow-minded and medieval those Orthodox Jews
     are; you are offending, but not teaching or informing. If your goal
     is to increase the influence of Reform Judaism, discuss its strong
     points rather than attacking Orthodoxy; the greatest enemies of
     Reform are those who advocate it by denigrating (usually
     inaccurately) Orthodoxy.
     
     Similarly, if your goal is to spread the Orthodox understanding of
     Torah, don't try to do so by attacking non-Orthodox movements;
     instead, try to explain the Orthodox position, and to show its
     strengths.
     
     In addition to the lurkers, there is also the Lurker; we should all
     try to ensure that whatever we write should not only be accurate,
     but should also be kiddush haShem, a sanctification of G-d's name.
     We should always write in a form that will get readers to say, at
     least, "I disagree with this person, but he/she is a fundamentally
     decent human being who is trying, to the best of his/her ability, to
     be a good person (although there are some non-Jewish posters), a
     good Jew."
     

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 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 Arab politics generally belong on soc.culture.Arabic.
   Internal Israeli politics should be discussed in soc.culture.israel.

------------------------------------------------------------

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

   Only if it is in the context of Jewish religion or Jewish culture.
   General discussions about Israel, and discussions of Israeli politics
   belong in soc.culture.israel. Discussions about the religious basis
   for Zionism and religious legislation in Israel are OK for S.C.J.
   
   Note that there is a lot of information available about Israel, in
   particular, the subjects of Aliyah and Zionism, from JERUSALEM-ONE.
   This information is available via gopher to
   gopher://gopher.jer1.co.il/.
   
   But interaction with other countries is really a matter for
   talk.politics.mideast.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 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: 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
   listserv@shamash.org, 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
   listserv@shamash.org , 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: 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: 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: 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: I have a question nogaiah hilchos maaser kesafim b'zman hazeh... Eem
         yeish lee meah or fewer shekalim and some are hefker ...

   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 19 in
   Part 11). Words of non-English origin need not be translated if they
   are used widely enough to appear in a standard dictionary such as
   Webster's Ninth New Collegiate (e.g. Talmud; bat mitzvah).
   
   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: 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. There has been
   recent discussion about using a form of automoderation to eliminate
   crosspostings, and nothing else. We'll see what happens.
   
   This question gets put before the readership of S.C.J every two years.
   So far the overwhelming response has been to leave S.C.J unmoderated.
   There do exist moderated mailing lists for those who wish. The most
   recent survey on the question showed the following:
   
   Q7. [all] Do you think soc.culture.jewish should be moderated?
           73 Yes, 223 No, 34 Abs.

   Similarlarly, the group is opposed to splitting the group on a
   movement basis:
   
   Q10. [all] If soc.culture.jewish is split, should the split be by
       movement?
           37 Yes, 258 No, 35 Abs.

   Although, for certain topics, there is support for new newsgroups, as
   demonstrated with respect to a proposed newsgroup for regular
   electronic publications:
   
   Q9. [all] Do you think soc.culture.jewish should be divided into multiple
       newsgroups?
           105 Yes, 192 No, 33 Abs.

   Q11. [all] Would you support a newsgroup for posting electronic
       periodicals (soc.culture.jewish.publications)?
           267 Yes, 26 No, 37 Abs.

   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: 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?

   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" or one of its offspring, 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

   If you use rn, trn, or any of its varients, you can find a useful
   explanation of how to make a kill file in the Killfile FAQ. This is
   available on rtfm.mit.edu or ftp.uu.net. The URL is:
     * ftp://ftp.uu.net/usenet/news.answers/killfile.faq
     * ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/usenet/news.answers/killfile.faq
       
   This can be retrieved by sending Email to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu
   with the following line in the body of the message:

        send usenet/news.answers/killfile.faq

   Other newsreaders implement this feature differently. For example, the
   maintainer of this FAQ uses the "gnus" package from within Gnu Emacs.
   His kill file looks like:

        (gnus-kill "Xref" "talk\\.politics")
        (gnus-kill "Author" "joe_user@site\\.com")
        (gnus-kill "Subject" "\\blegitimate\\b")
        (gnus-expunge "x")

   If you use Gnus, you can find out more information on the killfile
   facility by typing M-x info within gnus.
   
   If you use the newsreader nn, James Kahn wrote that you can just type
   K (that is, a capital K), and nn will then prompt you for various
   things, such as whether to kill by name or by subject, etc.
   
   If you use a different newsreading program, you may be out of luck. In
   that case, your best bet is to ask someone at your local site how to
   create killfiles, or read the manual about your newsreading program.
   You might consider writing a perl script to preprocess your news for
   you.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: 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...

   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: I've just gotten this antisemitic email. What should I do?

   First, calm down. They win if they get you upset. The first thing to
   do is to write a polite letter to the postmaster of the site that sent
   the email. Emphasis on the word POLITE. It may take investigation to
   determine the real site. Look at the From: line, the Reply-To: line,
   the References: line, the Received: lines, and the Message-Id: lines.
   Often, people like to hide under fake addresses. In your letter,
   explain that you have received unsolicited hate mail from a user at
   their site, and request that the administrator discuss proper use of
   Email with their user. Remember: the user may have left their terminal
   logged on (and someone came by and sent the message), or someone may
   have forged their address, so you don't want to be too vindictive on
   the first mailing. In your message, you should forward the COMPLETE
   message received, including all headers. For some sites, you may need
   to send mail to an address other than postmaster. Here are some for
   the more common internet service providers: abuse@netcom.com If the
   mail you received contains specific threats against you, you should
   consider contacting your site security office, if you have one. In
   addition to contacting the postmaster, you should also report the
   incident to Jewish organizations that keep track of antisemitic
   activites. Such sites reading the FAQ should provide their addresses
   to the FAQ maintainer to be added to this list.

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Archival and Credits

  Anonymous FTP:
  
   All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
   shamash.org [192.77.173.13] and on rtfm.mit.edu, and are available
   for anonymous FTP. On shamash.org, the parts of the FAQ are stored in
   the israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ directory. On rtfm.mit.edu, these FAQs
   are stored in the pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism/FAQ directory. Note
   that the archived versions of the FAQ are the posted versions; that
   is, they are each one large ASCII file.
   
   The following is the mapping of sections to files:
   
   01-FAQ-intro
          Section 1: Network and Soc.Culture.Jewish Information
          
   02-Who-We-Are
          Section 2: Who We Are
          
   03-Torah-Halacha
          Section 3: Torah
          Section 4: Halachic Authority
          
   04-Observance
          Section 5: Jewish Holidays
          Section 6: Jewish Dietary Law and Kashrut
          Section 7: Sabbath and Holiday Observance
          Section 8: Woman and Marriage
          
   05-Worship
          Section 9: Jewish Worship
          Section 10: Conversion, Intermarriage, and "Who is a Jew?"
          Section 11: Miscellaneous Practice Questions
          
   06-Jewish-Thought
          Section 12: Jewish Thought
          
   07-Jews-As-Nation
          Section 13: Jews as a Nation
          
   08-Israel
          Section 14: Jews and Israel
          
   09-Antisemitism
          Section 15: Churban Europa (The Holocaust)
          Section 16: Antisemitism and Rumors about Jews
          Section 17: Countering Missionaries
          
   10-Reform
          Section 18: Reform/Progressive Judaism
          
   11-Miscellaneous
          Section 19: Miscellaneous
          Section 20: References and Getting Connected
          
   12-Kids
          Section 21: Jewish Childrearing Related Questions
          
   mail-order
          Mail Order Judaica
          
   On shamash.org, the parts of the reading lists are stored in the
   israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists directory. On rtfm.mit.edu, the
   reading lists are stored in the
   pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism/reading-lists directory. Note that the
   archived versions of the reading lists are the posted versions; that
   is, they are each one large ASCII file.
   
   The following is the mapping of reading lists to files:
   
   general
          Introduction and General. Includes book sources, starting
          points for beginners, starting points for non-Jewish readers,
          General Judaism, General Jewish Thought, General Jewish
          History, Noachide Laws, Torah and Talmud, Mishnah and Talmud,
          Torah and Talmudic Commentary, Midrash, Halachic Codes,
          Becoming An Observant Jew, Women and Judaism, and Science and
          Judaism.
          
   traditional
          Traditional Liturgy, Practice, Lifestyle, Holidays. Includes
          Traditional Liturgy; Traditional Philosophy and Ethics; Prayer;
          Traditional Practice; The Household; Life, Death, and
          In-Between; and The Cycle Of Holidays.
          
   mysticism
          Kabbalah, Mysticism, and Messianism. Includes Academic and
          Religious treatments of Kabbalah, Sprituality, and the Jewish
          notion of the Messiah.
          
   reform
          Reform/Progressive Judaism
          
   conservative
          Conservative Judaism
          
   reconstructionist
          Reconstructionist Judaism
          
   humanistic
          Humanistic Judaism (Society for Humanistic Judaism)
          
   chasidism
          Chassidism. Includes general information on historical
          chassidism, as well as specific information on Lubavitch
          (Chabad), Satmar, Breslaw (Breslov), and other approaches.
          
   zionism
          Zionism. Includes Zionism and The Development Of Israel, The
          Founders, Zionistic Movements, and Judaism in Israel.
          
   antisemitism
          Antisemitism. Includes sections on Antisemitism, What Led to
          The Holocaust, Medieval Oppression, Antisemitism Today
          (Including Dealing with Hate Groups), Judaism and Christianity,
          and Judaism, Freemasonry and other rumors.
          
   intermarriage
          Intermarriage. Includes sections on "So You're Considering
          Intermarriage?", The Traditional Viewpoint, Conversion, and
          Coping With Life As An Intermarried.
          
   periodicals
          Periodicals. Includes Topical General Interest Periodicals,
          General Interest Periodicals focused on Tradition and Home,
          General Interest Periodicals focused on Jewish Scholarship,
          Other General Interest Periodicals, Publications Targeted For
          Specific Movements, Rabbinic Journals, and Local Publications.
          
   childrens
          Books for Jewish Children. Includes.
          
  Mail:
  
   The files may also be obtained via Email by sending a message to
   faigin@shamash.org with any number of the following commands in the
   body of the mail message:
   
   send faq _portionnames_
   send rl _portionnames_
   
   The "send faq" version is used to obtain portions of the FAQ; the
   "send rl" version is used to obtain portions of the reading list.
   "_portionnames_" should be replaced by the names of the files to be
   retrieved, separated by spaces. The special file name "list" will
   retrieve a list of all files that make up the FAQ or reading list; the
   special file name "all" will retrieve all files on the appropriate
   list.
   
   Examples:
   send faq all
   send faq list
   send faq 01-FAQ-intro
   send rl all
   send rl general
   
   Alternatively, you may send a message to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu 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

  WWW:
  
   The FAQ and reading lists are available as a full hypertext tree on
   shamash.org. The URL is:
   
   http://www.shamash.org/lists/scj-faq/HTML/index.html

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Credits

   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, Gedaliah
   Friedenberg, Yechezkal Gutfreund, Art Kamlet, Joe Kansun, Alan
   Lustiger, Hillel Markowitz, Len Moskowitz, Colin Naturman, 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 A. Engler
   Anderson, Ken Arromdee, Seymour Axelrod, Josh Backon, Micha Berger,
   Steven M. Bergson, Eli Birnbaum, Kevin Brook, J. Burton, Harvey Cohen,
   Todd J.Dicker, Michael Dinowitz, Sean Engelson, Mike Fessler, Menachem
   Glickman, Amitai Halevi, Walter Hellman, Miriam Jerris, Robert D.
   Kaiser, Yosef Kazen, Rabbi Jay Lapidus, Mier Lehrer, Heather Luntz,
   Arnaldo Mandel, Ilana Manspeizer, Seth Ness, Chris Newport, Alan
   Pfeffer, Adam Reed, Seth Rosenthall, JudithSeid@aol.com, David Sheen,
   Michael Sidlofsky, Michael Slifkin, Frank Smith, Andy Tannenbaum,
   marktan@aol.com, Meredith Warshaw, Bill Wadlinger, Arel Weisberg, and
   Art Werschulz. Comments and corrections are welcome. You may address
   comments either to the maintainer (faigin@pacificnet.net) or to the
   SCJ FAQ committee (scj-faq-list@columbia.edu).

------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Copyright Notice

   The soc.culture.jewish FAQ and reading lists are not to be reproduced
   for commercial use unless the party reproducing the FAQ agrees to the
   following:
    1. They will contact the FAQ maintainer to obtain the latest version
       for their collection.
    2. They will provide the FAQ maintainer with information on what
       collection the copy of the FAQ is in, and how that collection may
       be obtained.
    3. They will agree, in writing, that the FAQ will be included in the
       collection without modification, and that acknowledgements of
       contributors to the FAQ remain in the FAQ.
    4. They will agree, in writing, that the collection including the FAQ
       will be distributed on either a non-profit basis, or have some
       percentage of profit donated to Tzedakah (Charity)
       
   To support this, this FAQ is Compilation Copyright (c) 1993,1994,1995,
   1996 by Daniel P. Faigin (the FAQ maintainer) on behalf of
   soc.culture.jewish.
------------------------------------------------------------
--
Please mail additions or corrections to me at faigin@pacificnet.net.


End of S.C.J FAQ Part 1 (FAQ Intro and S.C.J Intro) Digest
**************************
-------
-- 
faigin@pacificnet.net   Moderator, Mail.Liberal-Judaism (mlj@shamash.org)
   |  @shamash.org      Maintainer, S.C.J FAQ/Reading List * Advisor S.C.J.P
   |  @aero.org         Daddy, Erin Shoshana  misc.kids Albums 95pg48 96pg27
   v  @acm.org          Home Page: http://www.pacificnet.net/~faigin/
