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 Vigil
This is a night of vigil for me,
in the shudder of my soul
I shall conceal
the secret of my youth.
I shall stand on guard:
No sleep nor slumber!
And in just one moment
the veil was taken away.
A…
Paraphrase
The Bible tells us that from the heights
Moses blessed the children of Israel,
showing them God’s Promised Land,
where Moses himself never entered.
Like ships passing by when land is in sight
so…
The Blessing of Assimilation in Jewish History
I trust that none of my remarks will be understood to say that assimilation is not now, or has not always been, a great threat to the Jewish group. In a sense, the problem of assimilation is as old as…
Nicodemus
I went under cover of night
By back streets and alleyways,
Not as one secret and ashamed
But with a natural discretion.
I passed by a boy and a girl
Embraced against the white wall
In parts of…
Donna Clara
In the evening through her garden
Wanders the Alcalde’s daughter;
Festal sounds of drum and trumpet
Ring out hither from the castle.
“I am weary of the dances,
Honeyed words of adulation
From the…
Sermon of Ethical Rebuke Preached . . . during the Penitential Period Preceding the New Year’s Day, 5505 [1744], to the Congregation of Metz
The prophet Hosea cried out: Come, let us turn back to the Lord; He attacked, and He can heal us; He wounded, and He can bind us up. In two days He will make us whole again; on the third day He will…
Sermon for the Sabbath Preceding Passover
This is therefore followed by a question: since it is so that we are still slaves, why is this night of Egyptian exile different from all the other nights of exile under other kingdoms? Why all this…
Israel and Humanity
Judaism’s approach to history is shaped by the fact that unlike other religions, it locates perfection not at the beginning but at the end of history. This, surely, is the…
Arbol de vidas, en el qual se contienen los dinim mas necessarios que deve observar todo Ysrael (Tree of Life, in Which Are Included Those Laws Most Necessary for All Israel to Observe)
The will of the creator is that the world should be sustained, expanded, and populated daily by man, whom he shaped for his glory. That is, indeed, why he created this great machine, and…
Exemplar de penitencia dividido em tres discursos para o dia santo de Kipur (The Pattern of Penitence, or Three Discourses for the Sacred Day of Yom Kippur)
This disunity among us, the lack of piousness for one another, the civil war of murmurings in places where conversations and visits occur, evils that have caused the past and extend…
Di sreyfe fun Venedig (The Great Fire of Venice)
Now I would also like to sing a bit,
With my poor voice,
Of things that have happened recently,
Which everyone ought to know:
Of the plague and pestilence,
That have happened here this time
In the…