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.
Horse and Rider Figurine
This terra-cotta figurine from Lachish is very schematic, and the rider’s legs are not shown. The rider cannot represent an average person because people—even kings—more often rode on donkeys and…
Seal of Yaazanyahu (Jaazaniah), Servant of the King, with Rooster
This agate seal with an image of a rooster was found in a Roman-period tomb at Tell en-Nasbeh (Mizpah), but its script dates it to the late seventh or early sixth century BCE. The bottom register…
Ceramic Offering Stands and Other Objects from Lachish
This group of ritual containers from Lachish, for incense or other types of offerings, includes ceramic stands, offering bowls, chalices, and a small stone altar found near them. The ceramic stand on…
Deconstruction
The courtyard of the home of Naomi and Yitzhak. On a table, drinks and dried fruits […]Naomi:You look a little tired, Shmulik. […]Shmulik:Yes…
Prisoner without a Name, Cell without a Number
The cell is narrow. When I stand at its center, facing the steel door, I can’t extend my arms. But it is long, and when I lie down, I can stretch out my entire body. A stroke of luck, for in the cell…
Split at the Root
In a long poem written in 1960, when I was thirty-one years old, I described myself as “Split at the root, neither Gentile nor Jew, / Yankee nor Rebel.” I was still trying to have it both ways: to be…
Against Idolatry and Human Arrogance
O House of Jacob!
Come, let us walk
By the light of the Lord.
For you have forsaken [the ways of] your people,
O House of Jacob!
For they are full [of practices] from the East,
And of soothsaying…
Zion will Welcome Back Her People
Shout, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth!
Break into shouting, O hills!
For the Lord has comforted His people,
And has taken back His afflicted ones in love. [ . . . ]
Swiftly your children are…
The Birthday Party
It was taken on Saturday, March 20, 1937, in the town of Swienciany, which lies on the Polish border with Lithuania approximately 50 miles northeast of Vilna. Nine girls and two boys, together with…
The People Have No Future in Their Land
The word of the Lord came to me:
You are not to marry and not to have sons and daughters in this place. For thus said the Lord concerning any sons and daughters that may be born in this place, and…
The Discourse of Hatred
The pundits are certain that we have turned the page. Have we not relegated collective hatred to history books and referred individual malice to the good care of psychologists? No matter the countless…