This database can only be accessed from within the Divinity Library.

Introduction | On Startup | Navigation | Footnotes | Searching | Printing | How to Cite

Introduction: This database is an electronic text of a long commentary on Jewish theological thought and practice. The text may be browsed or searched. Return to Top

On Startup When the program starts, click the title window to make it disappear. Return to Top

Navigation: First, you must click the "Database" button. Although there is only one database, "Legends of the Jews", it still must be selected before you can continue. Click "Select" to activate the "Browse" and "Search" buttons.

Click "Browse" and choose a passage. The easiest way to navigate within these passages is to look at the table of contents at the top of the document. Each content heading will have an underlined green number underneath it which functions as a link. Click the number to jump to that passage. Click "Back" to return to the contents. It is advisable to ignore the arrow buttons, as they move the screen out of its optimal viewing position. Return to Top

Searching: To search the database for a particular word, click the "Search" button on the main screen. You can connect two or more words with the Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT. Type the first word and click "OK." Then, click "Search" again, uncheck the "New" box (which clears the previous criteria), and check AND/OR/NOT. Searching for "Moses AND tabernacle" will return all documents containing both search terms. Searching for "Moses OR tabernacle" will return all documents containing either search term. Searching for "Tabernacle NOT Moses" will return all documents which contain the word tabernacle but do not contain the word Moses. You can search for phrases as well as words.

To view your search results, simply click "View" on the main screen. Select a result to view the text. To move between search results within that text, click "Next/Previous/First/Last" as appropriate. Return to Top

Printing: When printing, it is essential that the first line of text that you want to print be at the top of the screen. When you hae that set, click the "Print" button and specify the number of pages you wish to print from the top of the screen forward. Then click "OK" to print.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to judge exactly how many pages you will need. However, as a general guideline, when the viewing window is maximized, a printed page will be 6 lines more than what is visible on 2 screens of text. So, if your desired first line is at the top of the screen and you hit the Page Down button, the contents of that second screen will all be printed, and the 6 lines immediately below that will also print. But if you are printing multiple pages and do not wish to spend time calculating the exact number of pages, trial and error will suffice, since at worst only a page or two will be wasted.

Under no circumstances should you select "Document" as an option when setting a print range, because this will print the entire visible document and could run to hundreds of pages. If you need that much of the text, we suggest you consult the printed version of Legends of the Jews, the 7 volumes of which may be found in the Judaica Reference portion of the Divinity Library under BM 520 .G4 v. 1-7. Return to Top

How to Cite: Ginzberg, Louis. The Legends of the Jews on CD-ROM. Henrietta Szold and Paul Radin, translators. Chicago: Davka Corp., 1988. Return to Top

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This document was created by Rob Teitelbaum and Julie Owen for the Vanderbilt University Divinity Library on October 31, 1999. Last updated: April 21, 2003 .