Usenet 1994 October/usenetsourcesnewsgroupsinfomagicoctober1994disk1.iso/answers/judaism/FAQ/01-FAQ-intro

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From: [e-mail] (Daniel P. Faigin)
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Subject: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Introduction to the FAQ and s.c.j (1/10)
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               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
            Part 1: Introduction to the FAQ and Soc.Culture.Jewish
         [Last Change: $Date: 1994/08/31 18:07:04 $ $Revision: 1.19 $]
                    [Last Post: Wed Aug 31 11:07:06 1994]


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: 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 by Daniel P.
Faigin (the FAQ maintainer) on behalf of soc.culture.jewish.

------------------------------------------------------------
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. What is Chabad and Chabad-Lubavitch?
  2.12. How does a Chassid differ from Misnagid?
  2.13. What is a "Torah Jew?"
  2.14. Is it true that Jews are all (fill-in-the-blank)?
  2.15. 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?
  5.5. Why does the Jewish day start at sundown?
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. Do you need a rabbi for a divorce?
  9.4. How do Jews pray?
  9.5. Is there a distinctly Jewish form of meditation?
  9.6. 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. But I still want to intermarry? Do you know of a Rabbi that performs
        intermarriages?
  10.7. How does one convert?
  10.8. What does the word "Jew" mean?
  10.9. 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?
  11.12. What is Shaatnez?
  11.13. What is circumcision?
  11.14. Why are Jewish boys circumcised?
  11.15. Who performs the circumcision?
  11.16. When is the circumcision done?
  11.17. But doesn't it hurt?
  11.18. But shouldn't the child make its own decision?
  11.19. But circumcision is only required for boys. What about girls?
  11.20. What about adults who are not circumcised?
  11.21. What other forms of body modification are allowed? Tatoos? Earrings
  11.22. Is it true that someone with tatoos cannot be buried in a Jewish
         cemetary?
  11.23. I've heard about a custom of putting stones on the grave. Do you know
         where this custom originated?

                                 [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 (sic) "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. Are there any Jewish-oriented gophers or WWW servers?
  19.6. How do I get access to S.C.J?
  19.7. Is S.C.J available via a Listserv or other e-mail means?
  19.8. What divrei Torah are posted to Usenet?
  19.9. Where can I find collected divrei Torah?
  19.10. What software is available for Hebrew applications?
  19.11. 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

Anonymous FTP:

  All portions of the FAQ and of the reading lists are archived on
  israel.nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] and on rtfm.mit.edu, and are available
  for anonymous FTP. The locations of parts of the FAQ on israel.nysernet.org
  are as follows:

  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/01-FAQ-intro
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/02-Who-We-Are
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/03-Torah-Halacha
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/04-Observance
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/05-Worship
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/06-Jewish-Thought
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/07-Jews-As-Nation
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/08-Israel
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/09-Antisemitism
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/FAQ/10-Miscellaneous

  The locations of the parts of the reading lists on israel.nysernet.org are
  as follows:

  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/general
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/traditional
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/chasidism
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/reform
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/conservative
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/reconstructionist
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/humanistic
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/zionism
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/antisemitism
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/intermarriage
  ftp://israel.nysernet.org/israel/lists/scj-faq/reading-lists/periodicals

  If you are accessing the archives on rtfm.mit.edu, the pathname is
  pub/usenet/news.answers/judaism, instead of israel/lists/scj-faq.

Mail:
  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

WWW/Mosaic:
  The FAQ and reading lists are available by following the following pointer:

  http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/bngusenet/soc/culture/jewish/top.html

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, 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 Ken Arromdee,
  Josh Backon, Micha Berger, Eli Birnbaum, Todd J. Dicker, Sean Engelson,
  Yosef Kazen, Arnaldo Mandel, Seth Ness, Michael Sidlofsky, Frank Smith, Andy
  Tannenbaum, 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?"

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, along with the group
alt.skinheads.

------------------------------------------------------------
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 (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, nysernet.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).


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

------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: 1.6. 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
avialable via gopher:
    gopher://jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il/

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.  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 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"
or one of its offsprint, 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 [e-mail] 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: 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.

o Learn about Usenet before you post.
o Follow S.C.J and read news.announce.newusers.
o Use the appropriate newsgroups: Israeli politics belongs on
  "soc.culture.israel" or "talk.politics.mideast"; Holocaust denyers belong on
  "alt.revisionism"; Messianics belong on "alt.messianic"; Middle east
  politics belongs on "talk.politics.mideast"; discussions about Turkey and
  Armenia belong on "soc.culture.turkish".
o Know your audience and make your posts understandable.
o Trim quoted material whenever possible, and try to ensure there is content
  in your posting (except, perhaps, during the month of Adar)
o Direct specific halachic questions to rabbis, but you can discuss the
  general concept on S.C.J.
o Do post divrey Torah [short sermons on Jewish topics].
o Don't challenge the validity of Judaism or assert the superiority of other
  religions  and prophets thereof.
o Don't write "lashon hara" [true slander] or "motzei sheim ra" [false
  slander].
o 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
**************************
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