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.
Sunday Shtetl
Rabbi Levi Yitskhok’s drayman—the one who wore
tales and tfiln as he smeared the wheels
of his wagon with tar—
turns up in the shape of a bunch of Jews
hanging around their houses,
washing the car
(w…
Derashot ḥatam sofer (Sermons of Ḥatam Sofer)
A sealed Torah was given to us; it is doubtless a Torah of Truth but it is disguised. Every day the Holy One, blessed be He, renews those who study it for its own sake and they find a new taste in it…
On the Emancipation of Women in Jewish Worship
Theology teaches us that when God the Eternal formed man He gave him an extra rib. This rib was destined for the formation of woman in order that this creature, who was to become the rich…
Shalom al Yisra’el (Peace upon Israel)
Upon you, great ones, the rebbes of the Hasidim, who follow the path of the Ba‘al Shem Tov, and of whose glorious name they boast and by…
Book of the Kahal: Materials for the Study of the Jewish Life
An agent of the kahal who is charged with monitoring Jewish cases in the police and in giving gifts to officials is a Jewish middleman.
Jews utilize the art of the middleman not only in trade…
Avodat-Ach
Ninio’s art focuses on putting everyday objects into new contexts, which change their original functions, posing questions about the nature of their reality, by opening them up to new relationships…
The Table As It Is
In The Table As It Is, a tabletop perched on precarious legs and precariously set with bottles of wines and glasses seems about to split apart. Dominey’s sculptures present ordinary objects found in…
Triple Silver Yentl (My Elvis)
Triple Silver Yentl (My Elvis) is part of what is known as Kass’s Jewish Warhol series, a feminist comment on Andy Warhol’s famous screen prints of celebrities. Kass used the same mass-production…
Binah le-‘itim (Understanding of the Times)
First, we will explain the reason for the custom of all Israel to read from Tractate Avot on these Sabbaths. We would like to analyze the meaning of the name of the tractate, why it is called Avot…
Messiah
Son of fruitful Joseph, precious Ephraim,
child of joy, lush grove of magnificence,
you will exult and rejoice—for, with a vengeance,
the Just will arise over the House of the Barren
when the time…
A lovely fawn inspiring awe and love
A lovely fawn inspiring awe and love,
Her eyes shoot darts that penetrate men’s
hearts.
Her lips are like a scarlet thread, a rose
Dotted with dabs of myrrh. Her face is
bright as…
I sinned, so Time has weighed me down with chains
I sinned, so Time has weighed me down with chains;
therefore I can’t attend you in your joy.
But though my chariots—my feet—are slow,
Do not refuse the wish of your anointed (Psalms 132:10).
…