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 Pagan Rabbi
When I heard that Isaac Kornfeld, a man of piety and brains, had hanged himself in the public park, I put a token in the subway stile and journeyed out to see the tree. [ . . . ][ . . . ] On the day…
Last Will and Testament
Realizing that life is not in the hands of man but is governed by the only living God Almighty in whom I believe and adore, whose Divine Mosaic Law I, His slave, follow and venerate with all my heart…
First Will
I request my husband to dispose as follows:I would wish to be able to give my family in Berlin the capital of 10,000 gulden held for me by my husband . . . my pearls, as my favorite pieces of jewelery…
The Childhood and Youth of a Man of the Enlightenment
I was born on 19 February 1758 in Nový Bydžov [in Bohemia] of well-to-do parents who destined me at birth to be a rabbi, a common practice among the Israelites then. For at that time, when all…
The Tithe
[ . . . ] The sofer’s work is poorly compensated. There is an old proverb about how the soferim never grow wealthy in the land of Israel. I don’t know who gave birth to that pearl detached from the…
Medical-Critical Letter Written by Doctor Joseph Vita Castelli to His Friend, a Doctor, Regarding a Serious and Complicated Case of Acute Fever
Art, which gives men the means to persevere and cure some sicknesses, seems nowadays to depend on philosophy, which is that great and clear source that produces all that is luminous and useful. I am…
On the Discords among the Jews of Izmir
Gentlemen, having received incorrect information in the last column of the previous issue, we reported that the discords in our community had been settled. We also promised to give a detailed account…
Poster of Rachel Félix
Born near Mumpf, Switzerland, Rachel (born Elisa-Rachel) Félix (1821–1858) was a prominent French actress. Her parents worked as peddlers, and, as a child, she performed music alongside her sister…
A Din Toyre mit Gott/Der kadish fun rabi Levi Yitshok (A Court Case with God/The Kaddish of Rabbi Levi Isaac)
“Good morning, Master of the universe!
I, Levi-Yitzchok of Berdytschev, have come to hold
Judgment with You concerning Your people Israel.
What have You against Israel?
Why have you imposed…
Aggudat Shirim
Aggudat Shirim (Collection of Songs) was one of several collections of synagogue music published by Samuel Naumbourg between 1847 and 1874. It included a scholarly article about Jewish music.
Gravestone of Abraham Pereira d’Azevedo
The first Jewish community was established in Kingston, Jamaica by refugees from Spain and Portugal after 1492. This tombstone in the cemetery of She‘are Shalom Synagogue marks the grave of Abraham…
Cemetery of the Fürth Jewish Community
This print depicting the Jewish cemetery of Fürth, Germany, is from the beginning of the eighteenth century, a period of prosperity for the city’s Jewish community. There were between 350 and 400…