Is there a good Jewish discussion forum whose members are respectful of Halacha?

Question

I posted a question that a moderator seemed to feel was not worthy of this forum. So, are there any Jewish discussion forums that anyone knows of that are well-run and respectful of halacha?

Mi Yodeya is not a forum. See our [tour] to learn more. Incidentally, whether or not a question is appropriate for Mi Yodeya is not really a matter of "worthiness". Some really good questions are not appropriate for here, and some really bad ones are appropriate for here. — Double AA, Dec 27 '15 at 20:34
Related http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/1/759 Motion to close as unclear, as the OP isn't using the word "forum" consistently so it's not clear what he seeks. — Double AA, Dec 27 '15 at 20:36
VTC based on vagueness of the term "respectful of halacha". It also sounds opinion-based esp. since both respect and halacha have various nuances. If I don't follow your halacha, am I being resepectful, in your opinion, and are you respectful of my way as well? — DanF, Dec 27 '15 at 21:45
As DoubleAA noted, Mi Yodeya is a question-answer site rather than a discussion forum. Your questions were rejected because they didn't meet the strict format and content requirements of Mi Yodeya, not because they were unworthy of discussion. Yanky's question is valid as a product-recommendation question, as he is looking for a product, not disputing processes or procedures of Mi Yodeya. — LN6595, Dec 27 '15 at 23:48
I think this is an important question. As @DoubleAA pointed out, there are plenty of good questions that don't fit our model. Knowing where one can go with those questions seems like useful information. — Y e z, Dec 28 '15 at 03:42
@DanF I think it is well understood that "halacha" in this context does not mean a specific list of piskei halacha, but rather the system of halacha. Would you call Mi Yodeya's description of "those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition" vague because different people have different opinions about what Jewish law and tradition are? — Y e z, Dec 28 '15 at 03:46
Readers can't see the question that was removed to know how it differed from what is expected here. Can you please clarify this question by [edit]ing in what kind of forum you're looking for? — Isaac Moses, Dec 28 '15 at 14:19
(The oylam should mochel, i would add as a comment, but I lack the reputation...) Whatever happened to SCJM? I see last post was in 2016? — Jonathan Steinberg, Mar 04 '20 at 01:22
I would suggest mailjewish which actually got started when it was arpanet and the internt had not yet been started. Send a request to mail-jewish@googlegroups.com which is the latest iteration of the mailing list. — sabbahillel, Mar 05 '20 at 01:20

score 9 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 27 '15 at 20:46

I have found two good locations.

soc.culture.jewish.moderated check out the FAQ (I helped write it) The unmoderated version was originally very good, but we had to switch to moderated because of the spam anti-semites.

Mail Jewish

Welcome to the mail-jewish mailing list! This mailing list was founded in 1986 for the purpose of discussing Jewish topics in general within an environment where the validity of Halakha and the Halakhic process is accepted, as well as for the discussion of topics of Halakha. The mailing list is open to everybody, but it is also carefully moderated: topics such as the validity of Torah, halakha, etc. are not accepted.

The list currently has roughly 1500 subscribers representing a very broad range of religious perspectives, although significantly more readers actually read its archives on a regular basis. We typically mail one or two digests per week, with each digest typically running between 250 and 300 lines. The mail-jewish archives are available on the web, with each volume running about 100 issues. Send submissions/responses for mail.jewish to mj@mj.bu.edu.

If you are reading this in a paper version and would like to subscribe electronically, please visit http://groups.google.com/group/mail-jewish and request an invitation.

Hey @sabbahillel. I was not sure where to catch, you so I am posting this here. An active debate is raging on meta about the intended scope of this site. Given that you are a long-time user, and recently voted to close an off-topic question, I thought you might be interested. Question is here: http://meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/q/262/8775. — mevaqesh, Jul 21 '16 at 03:30

msh210 · Answer 2 · 2015-12-27T22:10:10.917

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My dining room is such a forum during Friday night supper and Shabas lunch. It's well-run IMO in that anyone can say his piece but there's an emcee (me). And I like to think the emcee is respectful of halacha.

edited Dec 27 '15 at 22:10

answered Dec 27 '15 at 21:45

msh210

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This does not answer the question as he does want something that is available over the internet. – sabbahillel Dec 28 '15 at 01:48
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@sabbahillel How do you know that? He didn't mention the internet anywhere. – Double AA Dec 28 '15 at 02:27
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@DoubleAA Since he found Mi Yodeah a forum that was not appropriate, it seem that he means an internet forum. – sabbahillel Dec 28 '15 at 02:47
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@sabbahillel That's a highly illogical deduction. Will you also conclude that he sought a forum with a reddish/orangeish color scheme? He didn't want Mi Yodeya. He doesn't specify why. How can we know which aspects of Mi Yodeya were bad and which were good that he wants those in the answers too? – Double AA Dec 28 '15 at 02:49
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Do you shut down all discussions of Judaism at all other times of the week? – Y e z Dec 28 '15 at 03:39
@yEz, the asker sought a well-run forum. I think I'll keep my answer Shabas-specific. – msh210 Dec 28 '15 at 06:36
The implication is one that he (and the rest of us) can join (like MY) – sabbahillel Dec 28 '15 at 07:56
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@sabbahillel You don't think we are all invited to msh210's for Shabbos? – Y e z Dec 28 '15 at 13:04
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@yEz Is it within the tchum? – sabbahillel Dec 28 '15 at 13:22

score 4 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:41

There's the Avoda forum/mailing list.

From their site:

The Avodah mailing list hosts a chevrah that focusses on analysis of hashkafah, avodas Hashem, ta'amei hamitzvos, lomdus, machshavah, and halachah -- with an emphasis on the places where halachah, machshavah and hargashah meet.

In addition to the core topics of the list, Avodah is aimed at building and strengthening that chevrah. So, in addition to Avodah, which is for the discussion of Torah, by default subscription includes Areivim, a more general discussion area. Areivim's archive is not available without membership and a password; it is less public, and therefore has a less formal atmosphere.

^{Full disclosure: I am a non-active member and was once a mod.}

Is there a good Jewish discussion forum whose members are respectful of Halacha?

3 Answers3