Welcome to www.exploringjudaism.org (the “Site”), a website hosted by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ). With support from partners including the Rabbinical Assembly and many individual contributors, www.exploringjudaism.org is creating a digital home for the Torah of Conservative/Masorti Judaism. This website is an ever-growing collection of resources, viewpoints, and journeys shared by people who care about the Conservative/Masorti Jewish hashkafa/worldview.

The information provided on the Site is for general informational and educational purposes only. Please read and review this Terms of Use Agreement (“Terms of Use”) carefully before accessing or using the Site. By accessing or using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and, without limitation or qualification, have agreed to be bound by this Terms of Use Agreement. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, you may not access or use the Site.

Use of Website

The information provided on the Site is for general information and may be used solely for educational purposes. Your access to and use of the information contained in the Site is subject to these Terms of Use.

Content

The information, text, documents and images on the Site (collectively “Content”) is owned by Exploring Judaism and/or its licensors, and is subject to copyright protection. Content may not be copied, quoted or used other than for non-commercial individual reference, with all copyright or other proprietary notices retained, and thereafter may not be recopied, reproduced or otherwise redistributed. Except as expressly provided above, you may not otherwise copy, display, download, distribute, modify, reproduce, republish or retransmit any content in any electronic medium or in hard copy, or create any derivative work based on such content, without the express written consent of USCJ. Exceptions to Content ownership require advance written agreement between an author and the Site. All content submitted to the site becomes the property of and is owned by Exploring Judaism and/or its licensors unless there is an advance written agreement between an author and the Site.

Disclaimers

USCJ will use reasonable efforts to include accurate and up-to-date content on the site, but the USCJ makes no warranties or representations of any kind as to the accuracy, currency or completeness of the content. You agree that access to and use of the site and the content is at your own risk. Neither USCJ nor any party involved in creating, producing or delivering the site shall be liable for any damages, including without limitation, direct, incidental, consequential, indirect or punitive damages, arising out of access to, use of or inability to use the site, or any errors or omissions in the content thereof. This limitation includes damages to, or for any viruses that infect, your computer equipment.

Third Party Websites and Links

The Site may contain links or references to other websites maintained by third parties not affiliated with Exploring Judaism or USCJ and over which it has no control. Such links are provided merely as a convenience. Similarly, the Site may be accessed from unaffiliated third party links over whom USCJ has no control. USCJ makes no warranties or representations of any kind as to the accuracy, currency, or completeness of any content contained in such websites and shall have no liability for any damages or injuries of any kind arising from such content or information. Inclusion of any third party link does not imply an endorsement or recommendation by USCJ.

Limitation on Use of the Site

You shall not use or introduce into the Site any device, software, or routine that could damage or interfere with the operation of the Site. You shall not directly or indirectly take any action to interfere with the operation of the Site or engage in any unlawful or infringing activity in connection with your use of the Site, including by way of example and not limitation, posting comments to any bulletin board, blog or forum on the Site which Exploring Judaism and USCJ reasonably determine to be abusive, slanderous, libelous or infringing of the rights of any third party, or using any scrapper, robot, spider, or other automated mechanism to access the Site or download material off of the Site. USCJ reserves the right to monitor your use of the Site and to monitor your compliance with these Terms of Use. You acknowledge and hereby consent to such monitoring. USCJ reserves the right to suspend or terminate your access to and use of the Site if, in the USCJ’s reasonable belief, you have violated any of the terms set forth in these Terms of Use.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless USCJ, its officers, directors, employees, and third party partners from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, resulting from any violation by you of these Terms of Use.

Privacy

Exploring Judaism and USCJ respect the privacy of website users. Exploring Judaism may collect and use personally identifiable information from users of the Site to ensure compliance with these Terms of Use, to offer and render services, and to respond to our users’ queries. Exploring Judaism also may collect personally identifiable information such as names and addresses from users, including through the Site. While segregated from other USCJ data, such personally identifiable information is accessible by USCJ employees, affiliates, agents and service providers that assist us in the operation of the Site, to the extent necessary for these purposes. In addition, we may use such information to generate mail or email lists of Exploring Judaism users, which we use in providing content or services through Exploring Judaism. At some point in the future, we may share such lists with other organizations affiliated with the Conservative Movement and will ask for user permissions at that time. If at any time you wish that your information not be included in such mail and email lists, please send an email to admin@www.exploringjudaism.org with the subject line “Remove from Mailing Lists.”

Copyright Infringement Notification

Exploring Judaism makes every effort to confirm content is original and is not an infringement on copyright including a request for confirmation from authors before posting. To file a with us a notice regarding any alleged copyright infringement on Exploring Judaism, please send an e-mail to admin@www.exploringjudaism.org that includes substantially the following (please consult your legal counsel or see Section 512(c)(3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to confirm these requirements):

1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
2. Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site.
3. Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material. Providing URLs in the body of an email is the best way to help us locate content quickly.
4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an e-mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
5. A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Changes to Terms of Use

USCJ reserves the right to change, modify, or remove content from the Site without prior notice, due to technical, regulatory, or business limitations or for any other reason. USCJ may modify Exploring Judaism’s Terms of Use at any time and at its sole discretion, and such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified policies, terms and conditions on the Site.

Governing Laws

This Terms of Use Agreement and your use of the Site shall be governed by the laws of the United States of America and the State of New York without regard to its conflicts of laws principles. Any legal action or proceeding related to the Site, the Content or the use thereof shall be brought exclusively in a federal or state court of competent jurisdiction sitting in New York.

Miscellaneous

If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, then such provision shall be severable without affecting the enforceability of all remaining provisions. United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism reserves the right to alter or delete materials from the Site at any time at its discretion.