Introduction to the Thematic Outline - Wisdom In Torah

INTRODUCTION TO THE INDEX
SEARCHING THE E-BOOK VERSION OF ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA
A print index is designed to be a complete and independent reference source for that print
edition, and this is the case with the index for Encyclopaedia Judaica. However, it is worth
noting that this second edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica will be released in both a print and
an e-book format available as part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library. Many purchasers
of this edition will have access to both versions of the encyclopedia. Electronic references
provide search tools that simply can not exist in the printed version of a book. A user seeking
additional ways to search the Encyclopaedia Judaica would do well to consult the electronic
version.
Every effort has been made to use both the index and the thematic outline to enhance
the searchability of the electronic version of this reference. In the e-book version page references
in the index and main entries in the thematic version are hyperlinked to the entry
and page to which they refer. Users who scroll to the end of an essay in the e-book version
will see a list of the indexing terms that point to the essay. In those terms at the bottom,
page references that point to other essays are hyperlinked to those essays to provide users
with direct access to other information on a topic.
For general searching of the e-book version of Encyclopaedia Judaica, headings from the
print index are included in the keyword search. Should a concept or name appear nowhere
in either the thematic outline or the index, or should a user wish to conduct an exhaustive
search for all mentions of a name or a concept, a convenient full-text search of the entire
Encyclopaedia Judaica is available for the e-book.
CONVENTIONS OF THE INDEX
Alphabetization: This index is sorted letter-by-letter to reflect the arrangement of essays
in the encyclopedia itself. To find headings the user should search alphabetically as if there
are no spaces between words. Diacritical marks such as “H. ”or “ā” are ignored for sorting
purposes. The sort stops at the period, comma, colon, and semi-colon punctuation marks.
Words that break at those marks will sort above words that carry through, e.g. Rubin,
Solomon comes before Rubiner, Ludwig.
Numbers, including Roman numerals, will appear at the top of lists. Parenthetical
modifiers are not included in the sorting. Initial articles in both English and foreign languages
– e.g. the, a, der, or la – are ignored for sorting purposes.
Page References: The volume number precedes the page reference the first time that
the volume number is used, e.g. 8:123, 157 or 12:15-27, 145. Bolded page references refer
to a main essay on a topic, e.g. Lee, Stan, 12:598 or Kirby, Jack, 12:183-184.
Italicized page references refer to an image or map, e.g. A (letter), 1: 207 or Israel
(ancient), 10: 101. Page references followed by an italicized t indicate a table or genealogical
chart, e.g. Kibbutz festivals, 12:120t or Rothschild family, 17:488t. Color inserts have
been identified by the volume to which they belong, e.g. Maus (Spiegelman), vol. 2: color
insert or Mint, vol. 16: color insert.
Person Names: Person names with surnames are generally inverted and appear as they
have been listed in their main essay in the encyclopedia, e.g. Kane, Bob, 11:760-761. Person
names consisting of forenames only are in natural order as Caecilius of Calacte, 4:331-332.
Where advisable – especially with names containing bar, ben, or ibn – a See cross-reference
has been created from the alternate inversion. See references have also been created for
278 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 22