FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Here are the questions readers of this guide ask most often: about the project itself, the texts of the tradition and the history. The answers are short and factual. If a question concerns religious practice, we do not answer it on the substance and explain why: such questions are settled within communities, not in a secular reference work.
Sometimes the most useful answer is to say honestly which question we should not answer, and to suggest where to take it instead.
How this section works: a question is included if readers ask it often and it can be answered neutrally from verified sources. There is no religious advice and no information about living people here.
About this guide
Why is this not a community website?
This domain once belonged to a religious community's website. The current project has no connection with that community: it is an independent educational reference that does not reproduce the community's materials or speak on its behalf.
Where can I find information from a community or synagogue?
On the organizations' own official channels. We do not publish addresses, contact details, schedules or announcements of religious organizations.
Do you give religious answers?
No. We do not give religious-legal rulings or advice and do not answer on behalf of rabbis. This guide explains concepts, texts and history.
How are topics chosen?
We write about the concepts, texts, events and historical figures that appear most often in literature on the Jewish tradition and for which reliable encyclopedic information exists.
About the texts
What is the Tanakh?
The Hebrew Bible in three parts: the Torah (Pentateuch), the Nevi'im (Prophets) and the Ketuvim (Writings).
How does the Mishnah differ from the Talmud?
The Mishnah is a compilation of the oral tradition made around 200 CE. The Talmud is a discussion of the Mishnah; the Babylonian Talmud took shape by roughly the 5th–6th centuries CE.
Which translation of the Bible do you quote?
Only the King James Version, which is in the public domain. We use it as a freely available text, not as an authoritative interpretation.
Can I read the full texts on your site?
No. We describe the texts and explain how to read them, but we do not publish them in full. For reading, use the editions and translations cited in encyclopedic sources.
About history
Why is the date of the Exodus disputed?
Historians and archaeologists do not agree, and there is no direct archaeological confirmation. We set out the scholars' positions in a separate note without drawing a conclusion of our own.
What was the Pale of Settlement?
A restriction on where Jews could live in the Russian Empire, in force from 1791 to 1917.
Why is the year 70 so important?
In 70 CE the Second Temple was destroyed. After that, religious life came to centre increasingly on the study of texts and on communities.
Do you have material about Moscow?
Yes, a note on the history of the Moscow Choral Synagogue building, from the purchase of the plot in 1886 to the reconstruction of 2001–2006. It contains no schedules or contact details.
Related sections
- Home
An independent reference guide to the history, ideas and texts of the Jewish tradition for the general reader.
- Texts and sources
The body of texts (Tanakh, Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, commentaries) and how to work with a source.
- Historical context
Six eras of Jewish history, from antiquity to the 20th century, summarised from encyclopedic sources.
Sources
- Great Russian Encyclopedia
- Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia (EJE)
- Encyclopaedia Judaica
- King James Version of the Bible
This guide draws on encyclopedic reference works. Dates for ancient and medieval events are often approximate, and scholars do not always agree; where that is the case, we say so in the text.