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.
Meḥir yayin (The Price of Wine): On Esther
I, Moses, son of his honor my father and teacher, the leader and guide, Israel, may he live a long and good life, I who am called Moses Isserles of Kraków, was among the exiles [see Ezekiel 1:1] who…
Commentary: On Pirke Avot
Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua; Joshua to the elders; the elders to the prophets; and the prophets transmitted it to the men of the Great Assembly. They said three…
Responsum: On Philosophy
On the thirty-third day of the counting [of the Omer, i.e., Lag b’Omer]. May there be tranquility and pleasantness in your chamber of Torah. May God continuously save the beautiful pearl, for whom the…
Short Treatise on God, Man, and His Well-Being
Love:I see, Brother, that my being and perfection depend entirely on your perfection; and since the perfection of the object you have conceived…
Dialogue of Adam and Eve
Beautiful mistress mine,
upon whose snow at dawn
the rose is forming
on fields of mother of pearl.
Pure and lovely lily,
who amid coral protects itself
from the pure crystals
that the…
Rustic Sunset
The years have done their work. After a couple of years I appealed to the wife of Yuta’s son Uri to bring Iza to see her mother before leaving for the army. She is a fine girl from our village who…
Past Perfect: A Novel
In the middle of the summer Meir’s father gave in to his uncle and aunt’s pleas and went away with them to spend a week in the country, and in obedience to his request Meir went over to the apartment…
The Blue Mountain
Even after the crowd had dispersed, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the Tsirkin farm. The longer I stood watching, the more stagnant the clear water grew, forming a green nightmare of slime before my…
The Pure Element of Time
Many years later, in London, Father was once again revealed to me in that long-ago evening in Ramat Poriya, sitting on the fence with the Kinnereth lying like a carcass behind him, but this time the…
Darius and Xerxes, Kings of Persia
Darius and Xerxes, Kings of Persia. Darius I (reigned 522–486 BCE) is seated on his throne, and his successor, Xerxes (reigned 486–465 BCE), stands behind him. The Bible refers to these kings several…
The Tabernacle
Shown here are two slightly different reconstructions of the Tabernacle based on the Bible’s descriptions; many details derive from educated guesses. The first shows the sanctuary compound with its…
Figurine of a Young Bull
This bull figurine, 7 × 5 inches (17.5 cm × 12 cm), was cast in bronze with considerable detail. It combines highly realistic features—horns and ears, genitalia, legs and hooves—with more stylized…