Judaism 101 Answering Frequently Asked Questions about Jews and Judaism in plain English for a quarter of a century

Judaism 101 or "Jew FAQ" is an online encyclopedia of Judaism, covering Jewish beliefs, people, places, things, language, scripture, holidays, practices and customs. My goal is to make freely available a wide variety of basic, general information about Judaism, written from a traditional perspective in plain English.

The information in this site is written predominantly from the Orthodox viewpoint, because I believe that is a good starting point for any inquiry into Judaism. As recently as 300 years ago, this was the only Judaism, and it still is the only Judaism in many parts of the world. Be aware, however, that most Jews do not follow all of the traditions described here, or do not follow them in the precise form described here. The Conservative movement believes that these laws and traditions can change to suit the times, and Reform/Liberal/Progressive movements believe that individuals can make choices about what traditions to follow. However, what I present here is the starting point, the traditions that are being changed or chosen. On some pages, I have identified variations in practice or belief in other movements.