Israel – Thousands of Jewish religious and other texts in Hebrew will be made available online for the first time by Bar-Ilan University, as part of an initiative sponsored by President Shimon Peres.
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The texts, which will be accessible via a special search engine, will be funded by donations raised by Peres.
“Bar-Ilan University seems like the most worthy place to found the ‘Jewish digital book stand’,” Peres said on Monday.
University officials estimated that the database dubbed “the Jewish digital book stand” will be up and running within a year. Bar-Ilan President Professor Moshe Kave described the project as “the greatest Jewish-cultural enterprise since the invention of scripture.” He said teams are already at work in order to make the plans available.
Over the past decades, many countries have operated similar projects making texts available to the public via the World Wide Web. For instance, the Google Books project has made over a million books – mostly in the English language – available online. Only a few such projects have been initiated in Israel. Some 900 ancient scrolls in Hebrew have also been scanned and been placed online.
Bar-Ilan University was chosen to carry out the project because of its experience in handling the “Questions and Answers” project which amassed a large volume of Halakhic and rabbinical texts and placed them online. The project, which has been operating for over 15 years, won the Israel Prize last year. Though the Q and A project charges Web surfers money to tap its database, the new project will be free.
The works slated for inclusion in the project will be selected by academics from Bar-Ilan and other universities over the next few months. In addition, a section of the data us Hebrew texts, spanning the timeline from the Enlightenment until the modern era. The database will only include texts whose authors have been dead for over 70 years, and whose copyright has become available to the public.
The Web site operators, however, plan to make excerpts of more recently written texts available to Internet surfers with the approval of the authors. Such excerpts will feature links to the publishers’ Web sites where the books may be purchased in their entirety.
I can’t wait..
WOW! AMAZING!
and who said the medinah and the tzionim dont care about harbotas torah?
mi kiamcha yosroel!!!!!
This is big.
This must be yemei moshiach!!! Peres giving money for harbotzas hatorah, is nothing short of amazing. great news before shavuos – the yom tov of kabbolas Hatorah!
too bad nothing in English …
Harbotzes Hatorah thru the internet is like putting a Mezuzah on a church…
Avi,
I find it interesting how you managed to post that comment without entering this “church” ch’v.
“The works slated for inclusion in the project will be selected by academics from Bar-Ilan AND OTHER UNIVERSITIES over the next few months. In addition, a section of the data us Hebrew texts, spanning the timeline from the ENLIGHTENMENT until the modern era”
Am I going to be able to research a Rashba, or is this just going to be poetry by Yitz KaMendel??
This is increadible.
You should know many of the same Rabbis who say no internet or email use it in communication and research of sheylot and teshuvot. There are frequently more orthodox Rabbis researching certain data bases and libraries than the Conservative and reform for which intended.
“Malach hamoves” must be knocking on pere’s door.
We of course cannot measure zechusim, maybe this one thing will keep him out of G—-OM.
mr.49er
he has other zechusim as well. I believe I’ve heard that he was the one who convinced ben gurion not to draft yeshiva bochurim to the army.
what shall i say, the yetzer hora is very clever. now every talmid chacham will have a terutz why he should have the internet at home. he wants to make sure no jewish home is left with out internet.
VOOS is probaly correct. Peres has only lately been saying favorable things about yiddishkeit. The GR”A has a vort on Rav Bibi who was on good terms with the malach hamaves. The MhM requested his shliach to bring him the soul of one miriam and the shlialach brought the soul of the wrong miriam who died before her time. Rav Bibi asked what was done with the extra years? The malach hamaves answered “they are added on to the life of a Talmid chochom.”(Chagiga 4:) the GR”A states that Malach hamavis is the sitra achra who is the yetzer hora and he is no friend of tamidei chochomim, so why does he add on years to the life of a talmid chochom? The Gemara says when most of a person life has passed (50%)and he has not sinned, he will not sin thereafter. (Yoma 38) The GR”A says that by adding these years on to the life of a tamid chochom who had already passed the halfway mark, he brings back below the “roiv yomov” so he still has the opportunity to gain this guy as a customer. Peres is no friend of the frum community. Neerin k’ahuvim b’shas hanasan, vain oimdim lo li’adom b’shas doichko.
I should email you about this.