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.
Lampstand (Menorah) Depiction from Roman Period Jerusalem
Lampstand (menorah) depiction from Jerusalem in a plaster engraving (1st century BCE–1st century CE). It is difficult to reconstruct what the lampstands of Exodus 25:31–35 and 1 Kings 7:49 looked like…
Ishtar Gate and Processional Avenue
Ishtar Gate and processional avenue, Babylon. This scale model in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin shows the splendor of the city in the days of the prophet—or prophets—whose words are preserved in…
Faience Amulet Depicting Bes
Amulets often took the form of Bes, a minor Egyptian deity, who was understood to guard mothers in childbirth and their babies. Bes is often shown with a feathered headdress and a grotesque face, a…
Seal with Four-winged Uraeus
This seal, found at the Western Wall plaza in Jerusalem, shows a uraeus or upright cobra with four wings. Modeled on the black-necked cobra that applies its venom both by biting and spitting, it was…
Ivory Pomegranate Sculpture with a Bird Sitting on Top
This small sculpture of a pomegranate with a bird (most likely a dove) sitting on top is from the City of David in Jerusalem. The sculpture was probably mounted on a piece of furniture (fragments of…
The Story of Bruria
“Ma’aseh Bruria,” a group creation compiled from Talmudic and Midrashic sources.
Conceived, originated and researched by: Gabriella…
Coin with Helmeted Deity/Deity on a Winged Wheel
This coin from Yehud, the Persian name for the province of Judah, is larger and heavier than others like it. The helmeted and bearded male on the front is a deity who is usually, though not…
Alms Bowl
The inscription “your brother,” written on the inside of this bowl from Beth Shemesh, may indicate that the bowl was designated for receiving or collecting offerings (perhaps of food) for the poor…
Taste of Life
Scholars say the cultivated olive originated in Asia Minor and the Mediterranean lands, including the Land of Israel.
In the Bible, the olive is first…
Arad Letter (Order Concerning Rations)
Arad letter (Order Concerning Rations), from the remains of the Judahite fortress at Arad, in the Negev, 7th or 6th century BCE. The Arad ostraca provide an impression of the provincial administration…
Isaac and His Family
This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of…
Your Land, Your Country
What, actually, am I doing here?
I owe myself, and perhaps others, an answer to this question. What, actually, am I doing here? Why do I go on a clear morning to Levinsky, why in zigzags, stopping…