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.
Moses’ Farewell
These are the words that Moses addressed to all Israel on the other side of the Jordan. [ . . . ]
[W]e marched back into the…
Manasseh (Samuel-Kings)
Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Hephzibah. He did what was displeasing to the Lord, following the abhorrent…
The People Pledge to Obey the Teaching
“In view of all this, we make this pledge and put it in writing; and on the sealed copy [are subscribed] our officials, our Levites, and our priests.
“On the sealed copy [are subscribed]: Nehemiah…
South African Jews and the Apartheid Crisis
The widespread eruptions of unrest in South Africa in the 1980s have focused attention on various aspects of that society, including its small but influential Jewish community. That community occupies…
Yom ha-kippurim, the Day of Purification and Atonement
The Lord said to Moses:
Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud…
Warfare
When you take the field against your enemies, and see horses and chariots—forces larger than yours—have no fear of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, is…
Ancient Israel, to 70 C.E.
The span of time to be discussed here comprises what are popularly termed the biblical period and the Second Temple period. The biblical period is held to begin somewhere within the second millennium…
A Ruling about Collecting Wood on the Sabbath
Once, when the Israelites were in the wilderness, they came upon a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. Those who found him as he was gathering wood brought him before Moses, Aaron, and the…
On Drought and Military Defeat
The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.
Judah is in mourning,
Her settlements languish.
Men are bowed to the ground,
And the outcry of Jerusalem rises.
The…
Against the Shepherds (=Kings) of Israel
The word of the Lord came to me: O mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them:
To the shepherds: Thus said the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel, who have been…
Edom Will Be Destroyed
The prophecy of Obadiah.
We have received tidings from the Lord,
And an envoy has been sent out among the nations:
“Up! Let us rise up against her for battle.”
Thus said my Lord God concerning…