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.
Memoir
Without warning, on the 20th of April, 1749, at the end of the Passover Festival, Sunday, at about 17 hours [noon], I was kidnapped and taken away by force thanks to a false denunciation made against…
Ethical Will
The study program of a Torah scholar should follow roughly this order: the Bible, as mentioned above, and the entirety of the Mishnah, as stated above. He should even complete the Orders of the…
Darkhe Tsiyon (Paths to Zion)
There are several ways to get to Jerusalem, as follows. One route is via Vienna, which is a point of departure for group travel to Constantinople, with traders going from Vienna to Ofen [Budapest]…
Notarial Acts of Rome: On Unkosher Meat
Menasce was asked about the taref (non-kosher) meat. And he said that Sabato di Perugia had told Salomone di Capena that the meat the latter had was taref. In fact…
Haskamot ha-‘ir Yerushalayim (Regulations of the City of Jerusalem)
On this day, 25th Adar, 5490:
- A ban, enforceable by excommunication, on producing…
Ohale Ya‘akov (The Tents of Jacob): On Prayer Customs
To the city of London, to the complete sage R. Solomon Ayalon, in the year 1697.
Explicasion de las armas de Lopes y Suaço (Explanation of the Arms of Lopez and Suasso)
I, Don Pedro Alberto de Launay Cau, gentleman of the Royal House of King Charles II, in charge of the heraldry and chronicles of his Spanish realms, of provincial arms, and, earlier, of his estates…
Ordinance: On Lending Money
In view of the fact that many interfere with their neighbors’ vested rights to have sole privilege of lending money at interest in certain localities, and very often the agency of the non-Jewish…
Shulḥan ‘arukh (Set Table): Laws of the Synagogue
One may not behave frivolously in synagogues and study houses, including exhibiting such behaviors as laughter, teasing, and idle conversation. One may not eat or drink in them, nor may one…
Ḥavvot Yair (The Villages of Yair): On Ceremonial Objects
Question: A woman pledged, when she lay ill, to give her disukia, which is embroidered with gilt silver thread, to be made into a ceremonial object for the synagogue. The disukia is what is called in…
Deed of Mediation between Husband and Wife
With the Almighty’s assistance.It having been the case that the esteemed and exalted R. Joseph Fico, may his Rock and Redeemer protect him, has been perpetually quarreling with his esteemed wife, Mrs…
Letter to His Mother
May the Lord who dwells in Zion protect you from any grief and sorrow. To my beloved mother, the crown of my head, the pious Mrs. Rachel, may she live long. [ . . . ] You should know, my dear mom…