by Kevin Moore
For Orthodox Jews, nothing is more important when planning a vacation or trip than certain specific information about a destination. Observant Jews need to know things like the exact time of local sunsets, where to get kosher foods and a whole host of other details that most people never concern themselves with. In response to this need and because of an overwhelming volume of e-mail, two Palo Alto synagogues have joined forces to provide a permanent presence on the World Wide Web.
Palo Alto Orthodox Minyan and Palo Alto Chabad synagogues maintain a Web page to provide local information to Jews worldwide. Alan Hirsch of the Orthodox Minyan said the Web site has been in operation since February.
"This is where it's happening," Hirsch said. "This is ground zero. We are the most on-line synagogue in the world.
"We set the page up and our goal was to make visible all the Jewish resources in the Silicon Valley. Basically it's a yellow pages of information for Jews in the area. Before, some of this stuff you had to learn by word of mouth."
One indication of the importance of the Web site to the Orthodox community may be the experiences of Avriel Rabenou. Rabenou had completed his master's degree in managerial computer science at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He was slated to come to the Bay Area for further training at Hewlett-Packard when he discovered the Web page.
"I'm staying here for about six months," Rabenou said. "And I wanted to find the Orthodox community here. (When I got here) I knew about three or four people already just from the e-mail. I was already invited (to Shabbat dinner). It really extends the community to the world."
According to Hirsch, the synagogue's e-mail reached "critical mass" which prompted the decision to produce a Web page that would provide the sort of information most frequently sought through e-mail. So, Zara Tepper Hamo, president of the board of directors of the Minyan, together with Mark Ferneau of Chabad, formed what may be the first Jewish Web site on the Internet. It is also believed to be the only cooperative cyberventure between two independent synagogues.
"This reflects the very special nature of the Palo Alto community," Hamo said. "We wanted the community to be strengthened. People need places to go to synagogues. We knew not everyone wanted to go to Orthodox synagogue." So they included information about the other, non-Orthodox congregations on the site.
The Palo Alto Web site is linked to other Jewish services on-line, so once a user is in the page they can find information on some of the other synagogues around the world. Important local information provided on the page includes where to get kosher food, availability of hospitality (invitation to Shabbat dinner) and candle-lighting times for Shabbat.
Orthodox Jews are forbidden to light any lights or use mechanical devices after sunset on Shabbat, which extends from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, so if they miss the candle-lighting time, they can sit in the dark all night Friday.
"Our community tends to be very high-tech," Hirsch said. "What it's done is it has allowed us to conduct business continually, not just on the weekend. Our rabbi is immediately (available) on-line."
The Web site address is www.jewish.org; e-mail is mail@jewish.org; and information is info@jewish.org. Use of a browser program with graphics capability is highly recommended.
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