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Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to some frequently asked questions about conducting a search of the Jewish Communities database of Beth Hatefutsoth:
1. What information is available in the Jewish Communities database of Beth Hatefutsoth?The database of Jewish communities of Beth Hatefutsoth contains historical abstracts in English and Hebrew about Jewish communities (cities, towns, villages) in the Diaspora. The abstract informs about the beginnings of the community, central events of its history, community institutions and organizations, synagogues, distinguished members of the community etc. The database has information about current and past Jewish communities on all continents. 2. I would like to receive information about a Jewish community. What should I do?You need to send a search order of the database of Jewish Communities of Beth Hatefutsoth. Click here for a general description of the database. To order a search click here to return to Jewish Communities Main Page and then click on Search Order, fill out the form and send it to us by clicking on the Submit button. The price is NIS 25.00 for up to three communities. You may also conduct a search while visiting the Study Room located at the second floor of the museum. The staff of the museum will be happy to assist you. Click here to see the opening hours of the museum. 3. In what language do I need to fill out the search order?Your contact details should be filled out in English if you reside outside Israel. Residents of Israel may fill their contact details in Hebrew. However, the names of Jewish communities you are searching must be filled out in Latin characters only. 4. Why is important to fill out the names of the communities in Latin characters?Although the information is available in Hebrew as well, we need to receive the names of the communities in Latin characters in order to avoid confusions that might occur when searching for places whose names are being spelled identical in Hebrew, like TARNOVO, a town in Bulgaria, and TERNOVO, a town in the Ukraine. 5. What details shall I fill out in the Jewish Communities Order Form?The Jewish Communities Order Form contains a number of fields marked by an asterisk (*). To submit the search order successfully you need to fill out these fields. However, it is highly advisable to fill out all fields in the order form. 6. How do I know that my search order has been received?After clicking on the Submit button please wait a few seconds while your order is being processed, until you see a message on your screen. Within minutes, an automatic confirmation will be delivered to the mail address you registered in your search order form. 7. When shall I expect an answer?The search results of the Jewish Communities database will be delivered to the e-mail address you filled out in the search order form within a few days, but not longer than 14 business days of receipt of your request. Users of free e-mail accounts (like Hotmail, Yahoo etc.) are advised that occasionally their e-mail box will not be able to handle our reply if there is insufficient of free space in their mailbox. 8. Is my Search Order secure?Yes, all credit card numbers submitted to the site through our various “Search Orders Online” are encrypted using “Secure Socket Layer” (SSL) encryption. For more details about this subject click here and read our privacy policy. 9. Does Beth Hatefutsoth have lists of community members of Jewish communities in the Diaspora?No. 10. Do you have information about my family?The database of Jewish communities does not contain information about specific families. This information may be ordered from the database of family trees of the Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center of Beth Hatefutsoth – click here to access the Genealogy Main Page of our website. For information about the meaning and origin of family names, you need to order a search of the Jewish Family Names database – click here to access the Family Names Main Page of our website. 11. Does Beth Hatefutsoth have a list of Holocaust victims?No. For information about this subject, please send your inquiry to Yad VaShem in Jerusalem. However, please note that many family trees registered in the database of The Douglas E. Goldman Jewish Genealogy Center do contain names of Holocaust victims and survivors. It is always advisable to order a search of this database, as there is a reasonable chance of discovering lost relatives. 12. We plan to travel abroad and wish to worship at a local synagogue. How can we know whether there is a synagogue at our destination and what are the prayer hours?Visit our Related Sites page, search for a Jewish community at your destination and send your question directly to them. 13. How do I convert a Hebrew date to a date in the general calendar (Gregorian calendar)?Visit the Hebrew Date Converter or alternatively open the Index volume of the Encyclopedia Judaica, p. 109, to find out converting tables of Hebrew and Gregorian dates for the years 1920 through 2020. If you look for a year beyond the period covered by those tables, do not worry. Hebrew dates coincide with Gregorian dates every 19 years. For instance: do you want to know which Gregorian date corresponds with Tishrey 12 of the year 1900? Look what was the Gregorian date for Tishrey 12 in 1938 (19 X 2) or any other multiple of 19 and you will discover. For users of ILANOT: the program converts automatically between Hebrew, Gregorian, Julian and Muslim dates both ways. If you do not have access to Encyclopedia Judaica or ILANOT, we will be happy to assist you: just call us Sun – Wed between 10:00 – 14:00 at 03-7457855, or send us an e-mail at bhrsrch@post.tau.ac.il if you reside outside Israel. |
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