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.
Bet Yosef (The House of Joseph): Introduction
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who created His world for the purpose of mankind, and, from all the different sorts of men, chose for Himself a nation as a special treasure—namely…
Shevut Ya‘akov (The Captivity of Jacob)
Question 5: What blessing should one recite over coffee and tea, and is there any problem with drinking them on Passover?
Response: I will answer the questions in order. Regarding the blessing, it has…
Path Jumping
For contracting the path [magically speeding one’s travel—Ed.]: take a kosher parchment and write on it in purity and cleanliness. This requires great intention [kavanah] in the names: “In the name…
Medicina de la lengua (Medicine of the Tongue)
The aforementioned lights are sufficient to flee from gossip and to shut one’s ears to the gossipmonger and to the talebearer because they are enemies to be greatly feared, which are found in a…
Miqveh Israel, esto es Esperança de Israel (The Hope of Israel)
In the 18th of the Month of Elul: the 5404 year from the Worlds creation, and according to common compute, in 1644. Aaron Levi, otherwise called Antonius Montezinus c…
On Sabbatean Kabbalah
This is the secret of the teaching of the sages: “When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world with the attribute of justice, and the world could not subsist—and so too with the attribute of…
Letter on Touring the Land of Israel
I went to the grave of the Tanna Ila, a man from the village of Yavneh who is mentioned in the tractates Berakhot and Avot, and afterwards we went to the grave of the pious Tanna R. Judah bar Ila‘i…
Ta‘ame sukkah (Discourse on Sukkot): Account of His Printing Problems
And in it they will find a commentary appropriate to everyone and in it many precious midrashim, sharp pilpulim, light and weighty, Sinai and uprooter of mountains (Berakhot 64a, that is both breadth…
Compendia de las sheḥitot (Compendium of the Laws of Kosher Slaughtering)
This is a short compendium of the sheḥitot [rules for kosher slaughter] taken from Rabbenu Moshe [Maimonides] and Rabbenu Ya‘akob [Jacob ben Asher], without any errors about what is required, and with…
Philosophia libera (Free Wisdom)
To the Most Serene Prince and to the Most Honorable and Wise Senators of the Venetian Republic Free Wisdom befits a Free Republic, most Serene Prince, most honorable Senators, whom Freedom of their…
Book of Fables
The donkey greets the horse with his greeting. He says: “How is it that you are limping? Walk slowly to be sure you don’t fall. You’ll never be able to canter. You’ve surely grown old…
Refuge
From the balcony, Fuad was heard to groan, “That’s all we need today. Ya rab, that’s all we need.”
Shoshana was frightened. “What’s happened?”
“Come see.”
Her two sons hurried before her. Over their…