Archive-name: judaism/FAQ/11-Miscellaneous
Soc-culture-jewish-archive-name: faq.11-Miscellaneous
Posting-Frequency: Monthly

               Frequently Asked Questions on Soc.Culture.Jewish
                    Part 11: Miscellaneous and References
         [Last Change: $Date: 1996/07/11 21:57:39 $ $Revision: 1.7 $]
                    [Last Post: Sat Feb  7 11:07:11 US/Pacific 2004]

   The FAQ is a collection of documents that is an attempt to answer
   questions that are continually asked on the soc.culture.jewish family
   of newsgroups. 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.
   
   [2][Got Questions?] Hopefully, the FAQ will provide the answer to your
   questions. If it doesn't, please drop Email to
   [3]questions@scjfaq.org. The FAQ maintainer will endeavor to direct
   your query to an appropriate individual that can answer it. If you
   would like to be part of the group to which the maintainer directs
   questions, please drop a note to the FAQ maintainer at
   [4]maintainer@scjfaq.org.
   
   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 Masorti or
   Neolog, 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
   [5]reading lists. Similar questions can be found in the books
   referenced in those lists.
   
   There are also numerous other Jewish FAQs available on the Internet
   that are not part of the SCJ FAQ/RL suite. An index to these may be
   found at [6]www.scjfaq.org/otherfaqs.html
   
   This FAQ is a volunteer effort. If you wish to support the maintenance
   of the FAQ, please see [7]Section 20, Question 99 for more
   information.
   Reproduction of this posting for commercial use is subject to
   restriction. See Part 1 for more details.

---

Section Contents

• News Headers
• ORGANIZATION
• Question 19.1: I want to become more observant. Where do I start?
• Question 19.2: Why is "shabbat" spelled sometimes shabbath, shabbath, shabbos, shabbes?
• Question 19.3: What are some common Hebrew and Yiddish phrases I see on SCJ?
• Question 19.4: What do all those abbreviations like Z"L mean?
• Question 19.5: Is "shvartze" offensive? Is "goyim" offensive?
• Question 19.6: What does "shiksa" and "shaygetz" mean? How offensive are they?
• Question 19.7: I am going to be in (name your city), where can I eat, stay for Shabbat?
• Question 19.8: What do bagels, lox, pastrami, falafel, garlic pickles, kishka, and kasha have to do with being a Jew?
• Question 19.9: What does Warren Burstein's signature mean?
• Question 19.10: Who was the sixth Marx brother?
• Question 19.11: Why do Hebrew clocks run clockwise, not counter- clockwise?
• Question 19.12: I'm not Jewish. How do I show my love for the Jewish people?
• Question 19.13: What is the origin of the word "kike"?
• Question 19.14: What is the meaning of the part of the book of Ruth where the guy at the gate takes off his shoe?
• Question 19.15: I'm a health care provider? What do I need to know for Jewish patients?
• Question 19.16: What would be a good housewarming gift for a Jewish friend?
• Question 19.17: What is the meaning and origin of the phrase B'shaah Tova?
• Question 20.1: I'd like to learn more? Do you have any books to recommend?
• Question 20.2: What are the different hechsher symbols?
• Question 20.3: Where can I find Jewish-oriented mailing lists?
• Question 20.4: What are the good Jewish search engines?
• Question 20.5: What are some good Jewish links on the WWW?
• Question 20.6: Is SCJ available via a Listserv or other e-mail means?
• Question 20.7: What divrei Torah are posted to Usenet?
• Question 20.8: Where can I find collected divrei Torah?
• Question 20.9: What software is available for Hebrew applications?
• Question 20.10: What other Jewish software is available?
• Question 20.11: Are there any Jewish Libraries on the Internet?
• Question 20.12: I'm interesting in ordering books or music on the internet. Where should I look?
• I'm interesting in ordering books or music on the internet. Where should I look?
• Question 20.99: Boy, you did a wonderful job on the FAQ? How do I show my appreciation?
• How do I obtain copies of the FAQ?
• Who Wrote the FAQ?

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