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.
Speak to Me with Flowers
In winter, the rain beat down on the roof.
She said white was her favorite shade.
At hand he then gave her, his heart filled with joy,
A bunch of daffodils, fragrant and moist.
She laughed: “My dear…
Why Should I Take It to Heart
Why should I take it to heart
I have new things on my mind,
Imagination that helps me to forget at times.
Why should I take it to heart
I have so much before that to love,
I always have friends…
The Vigil
This is a night of vigil for me,
in the shudder of my soul
I shall conceal
the secret of my youth.
I shall stand on guard:
No sleep nor slumber!
And in just one moment
the veil was taken away.
A…
The Art of Boxing, Preface
After the many marks of encouragement bestowed on me by a generous publick, I thought that I could not better evince my gratitude for such favours, than by disseminating to as wide an extent, and at…
Sermon of Ethical Rebuke Preached . . . during the Penitential Period Preceding the New Year’s Day, 5505 [1744], to the Congregation of Metz
The prophet Hosea cried out: Come, let us turn back to the Lord; He attacked, and He can heal us; He wounded, and He can bind us up. In two days He will make us whole again; on the third day He will…
Sefer ḥeshbon ha-nefesh (Book of Moral Accounting)
[ . . . ] 2. When you stroll along the riverbank, you find an entire plain filled with reeds and bulrushes, all of which are standing erect, one adjacent to the other, and none of them…
Israel and Humanity
Judaism’s approach to history is shaped by the fact that unlike other religions, it locates perfection not at the beginning but at the end of history. This, surely, is the…
Introduction to Euclid
The Gentiles abuse us and say that we are a foolish nation, not a wise one. They consequently slander the words of our sages, and say that whoever studies them becomes divorced from the norms of…
Plan for the Invasion of Jamaica to Emancipate Slaves and Interrogation Testimony to British Authorities Following His Arrest for the Plan to Emancipate Slaves in Jamaica
“When the genie of liberty inspired me the noble project to carry to the English, our natural…
The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam
This image depicts the interior of the synagogue that served the Beth Israel congregation in Amsterdam. Before 1639, there were three Sephardic congregations in Amsterdam: Beth Jacob (founded possibly…
Portrait of Don Francisco (Abraham Israel) Lopes Suasso
Don Francisco Lopes Suasso (Abraham Israel Suasso, 1657–1710) was born in Amsterdam, the oldest child of wealthy Portuguese Jewish banker Antonio Lopes Suasso. Francisco followed in his father’s…
Great Synagogue (Lutsk, Ukraine)
The Great Synagogue of Lutsk (Łuck) in Ukraine was built in 1626. Renaissance in style, the synagogue is an example of a fortress synagogue, built not only as a house of worship but also with the…