26 Jul 89 JUDAIC STUDIES #18 23 Tamuz 49 BS"D Connecting geographically & otherwise disparate groups with a common interest in the study of Judaica. Edited by Y. Greenbaum CONTENTS 1) Nature of the Newsletter 2) Obtaining the WUJS Schedule 3) Rabbinic Texts 4) Wordperfect 1) Nature of the Newsletter From: Joseph Cotton Date: Fri, 14 Jul 89 11:22:00 EDT I am very much interested in participating in the "Judaica" list and your newsletter. Bitnet lists are for communication and "meeting of minds", not just to say "let's meet". If you want to announce a seminar, create a file that lists announcements. I think it would be an important contribution to develop a discussion group on bitnet, linking interested knowledgable people on the subject of Judaism. Hatzlakha Yechiel replies: Personally, I'd much rather have a letter full of discussion, and save the announcements for a bulletin board. This depends on people involving themselves in the letter. Often, they do. When they don't, a letter is still sent weekly. (I was traveling this spring, and my information dried up, so the weekliness weakened.) I include events as a useful and informative service. Sometimes, I attend an announced event and describe things which I think might otherwise not find their way into the record. I'd like to establish a separate file in a number of informational areas. I'd even like the discussions to be automatically stored and distributed. It is for this reason (among others) that we are seeking a location in North America where we can set up a parallel ListServ. Any suggestions or support will be greatly appreciated. 2) Obtaining the WUJS Schedule We received the schedule two weeks ago, and it has since done quite a lot of traveling. This may indicate both the popularity of the congress and the impact of the newsletter. It is also interesting to note the paths by which the information has been disseminated (at least one person in Israel got it thru Humanist). It should be emphasized that only members of Humanist can request the schedule from there. Anyone who has a problem ordering from ListServ at Taunivm (there have been a few problems) should contact me and I'll send the schedule directly. Note that in order to receive the file from ListServ@Taunivm, one must be subscribed to the newsletter. This can be accomplished by sending the command (without the quotes) "SUB JUDAICA" to the ListServ, and then sending "GET WUJS SCHEDULE". We are still seeking a place to post the file in North America. If anyone knows of a place and/or wishes to distribute, please let us know. 3) Rabbinic Texts From: Tzvee Zahavy 07/24/89 Are any rabbinic texts available on microcomputer or mainframe now? I would like to put them on CDROM. Yechiel replies: The Computerised Tora Treasure already sells a CDROM with Bavli, Rashi thereon, Yerushalmi, Zohar, over 30 medrashim, Tur, Shulchan Aruch w Rema, Rambam w Raavad, T'shuvos (a different assortment than Bar Ilan, 77 at last count) , not to mention Tanach. As for stuff on mainframes and micros, The Saul Liberman Institute of Talmudic Research is entering various texts of the Bavli as well as a listing of later references to any given text. Some Hebrew printers are beginning to typeset electronically, so it's only a matter of trying to obtain copies of the diskettes before they are (unfortunately) discarded. We are looking into various possibilities along these lines. 4) Wordperfect Tzvee continues: Did you know that a Hebrew adaptation of WordPerfect 5.0 will be out this fall? Yechiel rejoins: No, but I'd like to know more. Has anyone got any further information?