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A. No. But many civilian pen pals have developed a wonderful rapport and have gone on to teach Hebrew, discuss Talmud and enter into educational and informative discussions about gardening, cooking, and culture by mail. If this is your forte then go for it! Remember all of our Jewish inmates have had real lives and professions in the free world. A. A caring heart and a postage stamp are all that is required to perform this important Mitzvah of becoming a pen pal to a Jew in prison. (MITZVAH = a good deed) and any one of the 613 commandments that Jewsare obligated to observe. A.Every inmate has already completed a written Application. In detail they state their birthdate, release date, religious affiliation, outside interests, education, hobbies, and the sort of person they would like to correspond with. We ask fewer questions of you, so that we can match your interests withthose of an inmate. Since we have over 500 inmate applications...themore you can describe yourself and your preferences...the harder we canwork to find a compatible match, and thereby form an interestingrelationship between both parties. A. Currently they are all in US prisons. Over 5000+ Jewish inmates have registered to receive our weekly Parsha mailings, Jewish calendars, and the \"Liberator\" newsletter. Only those inmates without family ties have asked for a pen pal...about 10%. A. Most Jewish inmates are in prisons for non-violent offenses, some are, and those were usually not street crimes but youthful family disputes. Should you feel that it is undesirable for an inmate pen pal to know your home address we suggest that you use a business address...or a pen-name and a P.O.Box. The Aleph Institute also operates a secure anonymous mail system. You use a pen name and our POB address and we will forward the mail. Those that use this facility usually revert to their normal address oncethey have established a rapport with their inmate pen pal. A. No. We have many pen pals who do not have email facilities and wecommunicate with them by ordinary \"snail\" mail. A. No. Many inmates ask to have a pen pal in another part of the world. We now have civilian pen pals from 15+ countries. Also there are Jewish inmates that prefer to correspond in another language...Spanish, Hebrew, French, Russian, etc. or in English. A. Tell us, and discontinue writing that inmate. All inmates have signed a declaration stating they agree that our program is not a dating service, nor an avenue to solicit money or legal advice. If the situation is irreconcilable we will let the inmate know, remove him or her from our pen pal list...and offer you an alternative pen pal. A. No. Inmates in the USA do not have access to the internet. A. You tell them. We will give you the name, address, and full details of an inmate before you write. Then it is up to you to write in your style and introduce yourself. The first time they know about you as their pen pal is when they receive your first letter or greeting card.
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Pen Pal Programs
Programs