Chevra was formed in September 1998 as an online support community for Jewish homeschoolers of all varieties. It tends to be a very chatty place where we discuss Jewish observance, homeschooling, family life, outside interests, and (our favorite topic) why the laundry never seems to get done. If you are looking for a group that discusses only homeschooling and Judaic resources, you may very well be disappointed in Chevra's free-wheeling discussions of everything under the sun. Please keep that in mind if you decide to join us.

If you join the Chevra list, you will be asked to send an introduction telling us about yourself and your family. This introduction is distinct from the little bit that Yahoo requires you to enter when joining a restricted list. Please make sure that your e-mail is set up to receive posts from Yahoo and from chevramngr @ yahoo.com > -- if you can't receive our posts, you may not get the information you need to join Chevra.

Please note: Chevra is a Jewishly pluralistic list. We welcome and respect all points of view, EXCEPT for the one that says there is only "One True Way" to be Jewish. We welcome Jews by birth and by conversion of all mainstream denominations and practices, as well as those who are studying with a rabbi toward conversion. (Just to be clear -- by "mainstream", we mean the Reform, Conservative, Orthdox, and Reconstructionist movements; plus possibly the Jewish Renewal movement.) We have also included parents who are not themselves Jewish, but who are homeschooling Jewish children.

Messianics, Karaites, and Noachides (among others) are not part of mainstream Judaism, which accepts both the validity of the Torah and the validity of Rabbinic decisions through the centuries, and which does not in any way, shape, or form, accept the notion of Jesus of Nazareth being Moshiach.