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.
The Order of Circumcision Prayers
This decorated manuscript of the prayers for a circumcision ceremony was owned by one Joseph ben Samuel. On its title page (not shown) is an unidentified coat of arms decorated with the Order of the…
Portrait of a Man, Thought to Be Dr. Ephraim Bueno
Rembrandt lived in the part of Amsterdam where the artist’s guild (St. Luke’s Guild) was located; by coincidence, it was home also to a number of Jews. His artworks attest to an interest in the…
Portrait of Aaron Hart (Uri Feivel)
This portrait depicts the first chief rabbi of Great Britain, Aaron Uri Feivel Hart (1670–1756). Hart was born in Breslau and followed his merchant brother to England. His only published work, the…
Torah Ark Valance
The kapporet is a short valance hung over the curtain of the Torah ark that first began to appear in Eastern Europe in the late seventeenth century. The griffins and crowns that appear on this kappore…
Letter Hailing Shabbetai Tzvi as the Messiah
This letter hailing Shabbetai Tzvi as the Messiah was signed by twenty-four prominent members of the Amsterdam Jewish community who had founded a learned society, Yeshuot Meshiho, in his honor. It was…
Dutch Translation of Penitential Prayers and Psalms
This page of selichot (penitential prayers) is from a Dutch translation of penitential Prayers and Psalms made for Sarah de la Farra in Amsterdam.
Torah Finial
This belled gilt-silver Torah finial topped with a crown was made in Amsterdam and has been attributed to master silversmith Pieter van Hoven, who lived near the Jewish quarter and is best known for…
Hashlamat sefer ha-kabbalah (Additions to the Book of Tradition)
I will describe only a little of the suffering undergone by the exiles, some of whom entered the kingdom of Fez by the grace of the great king, one of the righteous men of the nations of the world…
Haskamot ha-‘ir Yerushalayim (Regulations of the City of Jerusalem)
On this day, 25th Adar, 5490:
- A ban, enforceable by excommunication, on producing…
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…
Hymn for the Second Meal
Prepare the feast
of perfect faith,
the delight of the Holy King.
Prepare the feast of the King.
This is the feast
of the Ancient Eminence;
the Lesser Presence and Field of Apples
assemble…
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…