Sample Sources
The sources below are those contained in our three curated collections—covering themes of Passover, Gender Roles, and Holocaust Resistance. They represent a fraction of the thousands of sources that will be available when the full site launches in 2024.
Purim Scroll
May this be written for a coming generation, that people yet to be created will praise Jah. For the signs and wonders that the most high God has performed for us, I am pleased to relate:
Know that in…
The Amsterdam Residence of Jeronimo Nunes da Costa (Mazes Curiël)
The wealthy merchant and diplomat Jeronimo Nunes da Costa (Mozes Curiël; 1620–1697) was born in Florence. In 1627, his family settled in Hamburg, where his father, a businessman, became an important…
Minhage Vormeiza (Customs of Worms): On Tishah be-Av
The people recite teḥinot [supplications] during the morning prayers on the eve of the Tishah be-Av (Ninth of Av). They then dine before entering into the synagogue for the…
Pesak (Decision): On a Secret Marriage
At a sitting of three judges we the undersigned sat as a court on the fourth day of the month of Adar 2 in the year 5376 [1616] here in Vercelli after permission was given to us from his excellency…
Responsum: On Printed Megilot (Scrolls of) Esther
Question: . . . When Rabbi Joseph Ottolenghi was visiting this land, he told me that he printed sixteen megillot on parchment prepared for this purpose [i.e., to be used for the scrolls—Ed.]. When I…
Approbation for a Printing House
“That which is well known needs no proof,” and the root cause is the skilled operating of the printing shop in the holy community of Żółkiew [Zhovkva], may the Rock preserve it, which was established…
Born-where
Around noon they got dressed warmly and went for a walk. The fog stood high, suddenly the sun broke through, Jesuit Meadow was full of snow. As they crossed Rustenschacher Street there was a Breughel…
Providing for the Poor
If, however, there is a needy person among you, one of your kinsmen in any of your settlements in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not harden your heart and shut your hand against…
The Religious and Moral Significance of the Redemption of Israel
Reform Judaism is the second historical distortion of the Jewish religion. For the service of God through Torah and Mitzvoth as the end of religion, the Reform movement substitutes an end the Jewish…
Today’s Ruth
In the book of Ruth we read an extraordinary expression of love between two women, spoken by a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law. The text has often been read as a reflection of Judaism’s position…
Familiar Jewish Scenes
A Suitor Calls with the Matchmaker. Illustration from Scènes familiales juives (Familiar Jewish Scenes), Alphonse Lévy’s book of caricatures of Alsatian rural Jewish life.
Religion Is an Obstacle to the Five-Year Plan
This poster, designed by an unknown artist, presents in a clear, graphic manner the goal of the Soviet campaign to eradicate religious life. The texts in Yiddish emphasize the need to bring an end to…