The Holocaust As Reflected in Responsa Literature Computerized Torah Holocaust Database Created by The Netivei Halakha Institute Alon Shvut, Gush Etzion Israel
The Project: Subject-matter, Goal, and Rationale A number of years ago, the Netivei Halakha Institute took upon itself the momentous task of creating a computerized Torah database, to include all the halakhic responsa that deal with the terrors of the Holocaust. This information is scattered in a great many books of responsa which are hard to find, and are virtually unavailable to most students and scholars. The Netivei Halakha Institute has been involved in the creation of computerized Torah databases for a decade, in the context of the Bar-Ilan University Responsa Project. The Institute's research scholars compile the entry-index concerning the halakhic topics discussed in the responsa literature of the modern authorities, as found on the Responsa Project CD-ROM. In the course of this research project, produced by Bar-Ilan University since 1999, the Institute's team of scholars acquired the Torah knowledge and technical expertise necessary for the development of the Holocaust Responsa CD-ROM. In order to obtain preliminary appraisals of the project, we produced a sample CD-ROM of Holocaust Responsa. The CD-ROM was shown to experts in the field of Holocaust research and education, hailing from the worlds of Torah and academic scholarship, such as Professor Dan Michman and Rebbetzin Esther Farbstein, who highly praised the project. The sample CD-ROM was also applauded by experts at Yad Vashem to whom it was shown. We are very grateful to the Claims Conference for its valuable support of the project during these years. Thanks to this assistance, we have issued the first edition of the CD-ROM, in March 2006. The Conference's sponsorship of the project is duly noted on the CD-ROM package. The Responsa literature enables us learn about life during the Holocaust from a unique vantage-point, which combines live testimony about rabbis and laymen who experienced the tribulations of the Holocaust, with an axiological and ethical perspective. This literature is also authentic testimony against the claims of those who deny the Holocaust. The CD-ROM is designed primarily to serve a two-fold purpose: 1. As a research tool for halakhic scholars, who wish to study the unique decision-making which was occasioned by the Holocaust, and 2. To address the needs of the academic world, which will use the database to clarify the dilemmas of daily life in the Holocaust, as well as the problems of rehabilitation faced by Jewry in its wake. Additionally, the CD-ROM will serve as a valuable resource in the field of education, both formal and informal. This unique endeavor is also, in a larger sense, an active and permanent memorial for those of our people who perished in the Holocaust. This monument will be of a continuous nature, accessed daily by a wide range of users. We now know that there is still a vast amount of important material not yet included in the database. We are already compiling many additional sources which we will incorporate in the second version of the Holocaust Responsa CD. We feel it is our obligation to continue the work of searching and collating, for the sake of future generations. It is highly doubtful if decades hence, it will be possible to locate all the material which we are now targeting. Project Description The Holocaust Responsa CD-ROM #1 contains a collection of hundreds of responsa, compiled from 115 responsa volumes and periodicals, collected by Institute researchers. The responsa were typed, and some were edited in order to remove errors occurring in the originals, based on textual analysis. The responsa themselves are hyper-linked to an index according to heading, subheading, and subject, as well as to the precise reference in the Shulkhan Arukh. By surveying the listing of headings and subheadings, the student may arrive at all the halakhic issues dealt with in the course of the Holocaust and its aftermath, as well as the responsa themselves. In addition, the student will find biographical data about the various halakhic authorities, and descriptive details of the places mentioned in the responsa. The biographies and geographic descriptions appear in both Hebrew and in English. Searching the database can be done in three ways: 1. According to the heading index, 2. By random words in the responsa texts or in the heading index, 3. By place-name or date of the event discussed in the responsum. The data retrieval system on the CD-ROM is based on the well-known software of the Bar-Ilan University Responsa Project. For more information, pricing and orders please contact: Rabbi Yitzchak Guttman The Netivei Halakha Institute Alon Shvut, Gush Etzion 90433, Israel Tel: 97229934505 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) =========================================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu SUBscribing, SIGNOFF commands send to: Listproc @ lists.acs.ohio-state.edu Questions, problems, complaints, compliments;-) send to: galron.1 @ osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html History: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/history.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org
