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.
Celebratory Processional in Prague to Honor Joseph II
A month after the birth of future Emperor Joseph II (March 13, 1741), the Jews of Prague held a festive procession in honor of the happy event. The procession, which was planned and led by the…
Torah Curtain
This Torah curtain was donated to the Altneuschul (Staranova Synagogue) in Prague in 1602 by Natan ben Issachar (called Karpel Zaks), and Hadassi bat Moses, who commissioned it, as attested to by its…
De Pinto Etrog Container
During the holiday of Sukkot, four plant species are used in rituals in the synagogue. One of these is the etrog (citron). While containers to protect the etrog later became more common, they were…
Synagogue (Gwoździec, Poland)
The wooden synagogue in Gwoździec, eastern Galicia (modern-day Poland), was one of more than two hundred wooden synagogues that existed in Poland before World War II. Wooden synagogues were a…
Gravestone of Esther de la Pena Gabay Henriques
Born in Córdoba, Spain, Esther Gabay Henriques married Daniel de la Penha, a Spanish merchant in Rotterdam. The family coat of arms appears above the epitaph. Beneath is a low relief of the couple’s…
Portrait of Hezekiah da Silva
Born in Livorno, Tuscany, in 1656, Hezekiah ben David de Silva was a scholar best known for his halakhic work Peri ḥadash (New Fruit). De Silva studied in Syria and later headed a yeshiva in Jerusalem…
Portrait of Rachel da Costa with the Child Catharina Suasso
Here, Catherine da Costa, the first known female Jewish painter, has painted her daughter and granddaughter to resemble a Madonna and child. An unidentified woman leans over the infant, seemingly…
Torah Finials
These gilt-silver Torah finials were made in Amsterdam by master silversmith Pieter van Hoven, who lived near the Jewish quarter and is best known for the Jewish ceremonial objects he crafted. Cast…
Book Acquisitions of the ‘Ets Haim Yeshiva for the Years 1718/9 and 1732/33
Established in 1616 as part of a yeshiva in Amsterdam, the Ets Ḥayim library continues to function to this day, making it the oldest operational Jewish library in the world. It moved to its current…
Portrait of David Nieto
This portrait of David Nieto was printed by James McArdell after a painting by David Esteves, London. David Nieto studied medicine in Padua and initially served as physician, preacher, and rabbinic…
Jewish woman in Cairo
This engraving depicting a Jewish woman in Cairo, Egypt, is from Cornelis de Bruyn’s travelogue, Reizen van Corn de Bruyn door de vermaardste deelen van Klein Asia, de eylanden Scio, Rhodus, Cyprus…
A Guest for the Holiday
And suddenly he lifted his eyes to see,
A stranger approaching the hill with the tree.
He jumped off the branch and hurried below,
Joining the old man who walked on the road.