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.
Idol-quickening Instructions
Idol-quickening instructions, Babylonia, 6th century BCE. The “mouth-washing” ritual was a ceremony for transforming a newly manufactured idol into a living deity. The instructions include these…
Four Room House Plan
“Four-room” house plan, Iron Age II. The typical Israelite dwelling was a rectangular or square house of between roughly 500 and 1,200 square feet (50–110 sq m). It is often called a “four-room” or…
Chutzpah
My experience with discrimination—especially at the hands of the Paul, Weiss firm over my Sabbath observance—caused me an embarrassing moment during my interview for the Supreme Court clerkship I did…
Tombs from Ketef Hinnom Cemetery
A group of elaborate tombs was found on the slopes of Jerusalem’s Hinnom Valley, including a cluster at Ketef Hinnom behind what is now the Menachem Begin Center. This is an artist's reconstruction of…
The Dark Lady from Belorusse
The day he was gone her suitor arrived. I don’t know what else to call him. He advertised himself as my uncle, but he didn’t have our famous cheekbones and Tatar eyes. He couldn’t have belonged to…
Fathers and Brothers: A Memoir
The parting was not long in coming. My father died two months before I turned six.
To this day, I go to him at difficult times. Mostly to complain that he abandoned me. The handful of memories that he…
Call Me Ruth
So I’m glad I got the napkin back. Because she made it for me when we had all the time. Back in the old country when the two of us loved each other better than anybody else in the whole world. I had…
Horowitz and Mrs. Washington
LIGHTS UP to find Horowitz on the phone. His jacket still where he abandoned it.Horowitz:Hello, Emergency Room? I want to inquire about a patient. A boy of twelve. I want to know his…
Coin with Owl and Inscription
On this coin, the owl has lost some of the distinctive features of the Athenian prototypes. Instead of the large prominent eyes, the face is relatively small, and the eyes are even smaller. The bird’s…
Angels in America
Two am. Roy’s hospital room. Roy’s body is on the bed. Ethel is sitting in a chair. Belize enters, then calls off in a whisper.Belize:Hurry.(Louis enters wearing an overcoat and dark sunglasses.)Louis…