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.
“Oriental,” Not Sephardi
I believe “Oriental” is the appropriate term. I feel proud to be classed with Hindus and Chinese and Japanese and other Asiatics. Besides, the name reminds us of dear Turkey, to whom we owe so much…
Mendel the Bibliophile
Back in Vienna again, on my way home from a visit to the outer districts of the city, I was unexpectedly caught in a heavy shower of rain that sent people running from its wet whiplash to take refuge…
Speech on the Hebrew Kindergarten
The “kindergarten” as a corridor to the salon of education, as a foundation for the tower of learning, has received particular attention among all civilized peoples, and all the more so does it…
Tel Aviv
Avigdor walked beyond the city limits of Tel Aviv into the endless stretch of sand. He had never seen such sand. He walked among the sand dunes, as in a forest, seeing nothing except the glaring sands…
The Problems of Jewish Music
June 1, 1918
Jewish music is the face of a frozen sphinx which, after the millennium of its antiquity, is still only on the path to discovering its secret, is only now waking to life…
Changed His Name
Johannes pushed his cart laden with fruit and vegetables. He pushed with difficulty for his route lay uphill. Automobiles rushed past him, hooting insolently, demanding the road. Awkwardly he turned…
Responsum: On Technology and Jewish Law
In the main portion of this work I spoke of the use of an electric light. Here I shall discuss the law of whether one is permitted to speak on Shabbat by means of a machine called a “telephone.”…
I Slept with a Murderer
I slept with a murderer every night of my life for two years. The murderer is dead now. He died some weeks ago in Chicago. That is why I am free to tell the tale.
I was a small boy at that time. I…
On Necessary Jewish Educational Reforms
We can see that our sages, of blessed memory, likewise declared the Torah a weapon, as it has stood by us, enabling us to emerge triumphant in the wars for our religious and moral existence, in which…
The Marriage of Regina
The whole city was talking about Regina’s wedding. I should tell you first that Regina is one of our former students. People were saying, “Yes, Regina is à la franca” (the expression means “European…
Old Women
Aged woolen women, like old siddurim—moldy, mossy
Bound in coarse canvas;
Pointless bellies dangling after them like empty sacks,
Dried-out breasts, like horseradish roots, swaying back and forth.…
The Great Sea Misfortune of the Titanic
A terrible calamity on the great ocean
Happened to the ship Titanic at night
It crashed hard into an iceberg
Suddenly the ship began to sink,
The strongest, best ship in the world,
Carrying thousands…