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.
Letter to Zalman Shneour: On Children’s Education
Why should I write to you about myself? Nothing has happened in the meantime in my personal life. My son is still with me, as before. He is still an Extern. He knows the gymnasium [university…
My Memoirs
Jewish children grow up quickly. If only their bodies ripened as quickly as their hearts and minds! Were this an artist’s crayon in my hand instead of a pen, I would draw the following caricature of…
Diary Excerpt: Of a Sephardic Palestinian Soldier in the Ottoman Army
One of the more bitter days of my life that I will never ever forget is the 17th Adar 5677 [11 March 1917] at dawn when I was already being sought [the authorities had already dogged my footsteps and…
Henriette Herz as Hebe
Henriette de Lemos Herz (1764–1847) was a Berlin salon hostess famed for her beauty and literary engagement. She was highly educated, especially in ancient and modern languages. Following her marriage…
Songbook: Collection of Hebrew Songs for Kindergarten, Elementary School, and High School
The lack of a Hebrew songbook for Jewish schools in the East is known and felt by all Hebrew teachers generally and music teachers, in particular. Although several collections have been…
Burial Comb and Nail Pick of the Bischitz Burial Society
The process of ritual purification of a dead body, known as taharah, involves careful cleaning of the corpse. Prior to being dressed in a white cotton shroud, the body of the deceased is washed, the…
Paper Cut—Yortsayt
This paper cut, commemorating the anniversary of a date of death, originates from Galicia.
Portrait of the Marquesa de Llano
Isabel María Parreño Arce y Valdés (1759–1822), the Marquesa de Llano, had her portrait painted by Anton Raphael Mengs, in Parma, Italy, where her husband was the ambassador from Spain. At the time…
Concerning the Question of Literature and Politics
Hatred can never be good. (Spinoza, Ethics)
The spirit of politics has perhaps never before embraced people as tightly as today. There is an increase in social awareness. The class division of society…
A Proposal to Make Salonica an International City
To the Committee of the Zionist Organization in Berlin
Salonica, January 3, 1913
Mr. President,
The question of Macedonia was addressed in London and will soon be resolved. What will be done with…
Ivrit be-‘ivrit (Hebrew in Hebrew)
The goal of the natural method of language acquisition is not simply to teach people how to speak in as little time possible; its goal is to inculcate the language to the learner in an easy and…
The Mission of Ha-Mitspeh
There is a need for a special Hebrew newspaper written for Galicia and the rest of the Central European countries—it seems to us that there is no need to emphasize this point. The two Hebrew-language…