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.
In Lighthearted Praise of the Holy Law in the Foundation of the Synagogue
The Law has such a great house—oh, look what suitors she does have!Who can doubt they are illustrious,Since on such a grand house they call?Even the judges of the peoplehave engaged in wooing her,show…
Comedia de Amán y Mordochay (Comedy of Haman and Mordechai)
Enter David, Moses, and Samson, all singing:Blessed Adonai,may Haman always die,viva Mordechai,Esther my lady.Viva my lady,blessed Adonai,may Haman always die,viva Mordechai.David:It is well that all…
The Flight of the Dove
The light passes through the curtain and brightens it, spreading a dull glow over the night-table and drawing a single shining line over the edge of the ashtray. The woman’s one eye follows it until…
On the Shore, Tel Aviv, Winter 1974
A crocodile cloud swallowed a cloud-cloud.
All is clogged
and where did the war go?
The pier is painted red and yellow
with the inscription: Tel Aviv.
The drums of the depths are indifferent.
In the…
Slingers and Slingstones
Slingers attacking Lachish, 701 BCE, from Assyrian relief in the Nineveh palace of Sennacherib (reigned 705–681 BCE). Members of the Assyrian army are depicted with slingstones piled at their feet…
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…