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Welcome
Welcome
to Judaism 101! Judaism 101 is an online
encyclopedia of Judaism, covering Jewish
beliefs, people, places, things, language,
scripture, holidays, practices and customs.
My goal is to make freely available a wide
variety of basic, general information
about Judaism, written from a traditional
perspective in plain English. This web
site has grown continually for more than
10 years and continues to be updated
periodically.
Everything
in this web site is free to use or
distribute in any way, with three
conditions: 1) if you use text, graphics
or sound from this site, please credit
this site; 2) do not redistribute this
information for profit; 3) do not "mirror"
this site or copy pages from this site for
use on other web sites. For further
details, please see my copyright page.
The
information in this site is written
predominantly from the Orthodox viewpoint,
because I believe that is the starting
point for any inquiry into Judaism. As
recently as 200 years ago, this was the
only Judaism, and it still is the only
Judaism in many parts of the world. Be
aware, however, that many Jews do not
follow all of the traditions described
here, or in the precise form described
here. The Conservative movement believes
that these laws and traditions can change
to suit the times, and Reform/Liberal/Progressive
movements believe that individuals can
make choices about what traditions to
follow. However, what I present here is
the starting point, the traditions that
are being changed or chosen. On some pages,
I have identified variations in practice
or belief in other movements.
About
the Author
This
site is created, written and maintained by
Tracey Rich. I do not claim to be a rabbi
or an expert on Judaism; I'm just a
traditional, observant Jew who has put in
a lot of research. I work as a law
librarian. I am also the co-author of
several legal reference texts, including
Pennsylvania Damages: Personal Injury
Verdicts and Settlements. I am a member of
Congregation Or Shalom, a Conservative
synagogue in Chester County, PA.
Where
to Start
There
are over sixty web pages on this site,
comprising over 200 pages of text, a
virtual book of information on Judaism.
That's a lot of information! Where should
you start? That depends on what you're
looking for:
Just
browsing?
If
you're not sure what you're looking for,
and you just want to see what's available
on this site, look through the Table of
Contents.
Looking
for something specific?
If
you are looking for something specific, I
have a Search Engine for this site. Enter
a term and it will search the glossary and
index, giving you quick definitions and
explanations, and pointing you to
appropriate pages in this site.
Beginner,
Intermediate or Advanced?
Judaism
101 was originally created as an
introduction to Judaism for people with
little or no knowledge. But like the
Passover seder, this site now includes
information for the wise son, who wants to
know the ritual details; the simple son,
who asks simple questions; and the son who
does not know what to ask (the wicked son
can go someplace else <grin>). All
pages are now labeled appropriately:
Basic:
Things that every Jewish person should
know, that require no prior knowledge
Intermediate:
Beyond the basics
Advanced:
More sophisticated concepts
Gentile:
The minimal things that Jews expect
gentiles to know. There is only one page
in this category so far (about the
holidays) but there may be one or two more
in the future
Want
to see what's new?
If
you've been here before and just want to
see what's new on the site, try the What's
Nu? page, a chronological list of
additions and significant changes to pages
in this site.
I
work as a librarian at the law firm of
Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor in
Wilmington, Delaware.
©
Copyright 5756-5766 (1995-2006)
Tracey
R Rich
www.jewfaq.org
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