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.
Ivory-inlaid Chair
Ivory-inlaid chair, Salamis, Cyprus, 8th or 7th century BCE. Among the most beautiful items surviving from Israel and neighboring countries are the ivory carvings used for decorating furniture, among…
Ivory-inlaid Bed
Ivory-inlaid bed, Salamis, Cyprus, 8th or 7th century BCE. Among the most beautiful items surviving from Israel and neighboring countries are the ivory carvings used for decorating furniture, among…
Woman's Ensemble from Algeria
By the early twentieth century, many Jewish women in Algeria dressed in European clothing for daily activities. Yet many also continued to dress in their traditional garb for ceremonial and…
A Satirical Song in Judeo-Arabic Describing the Events of the First World War
Fare well, O fathers! Implore Allah that He have mercy upon us.
Look, see! How are we going to make it? Hadj Guillaume is tormented [lit., his blood is burning].
O, alas! How this…
Archaeological Periods
Middle Bronze Age
2000–1550 BCE
Late Bronze Age
1550–1200 BCE
Iron Age
1200–586 BCE
Iron IA (or Late Bronze III)
1200–1140/1130
Iron IB
1140/1130–ca. 980
Iron IIA
ca. 980–800
Iron IIB…
The Water Sprite—Polka
Louis Gottschalk wrote “The Water Sprite—Polka de Salon” soon upon his return to the United States after spending most of his teenaged years in Europe, where he was sent by his father to study music…
The Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, Interior
The Mikve Israel-Emanuel is a synagogue that served the Spanish Portuguese Jewish community in Curaçao (and continues to function today as a Reconstructionist congregation). This synagogue is the…
Tańczący chasydzi (Dancing Hasidim), ca. 1875
Sympathetic or even neutral artistic depictions of Hasidic Jews in the nineteenth century are rare. This sketch of Hasidic Jews dancing is one example. Hasidism is known for ecstatic prayer, and…
Authorization of Receipt of Donation by Eretz Israel Contribution Fund of Ferrara (Italy) Congregation
This receipt with ornate Hebrew calligraphy was issued to certify a donation by members of Ferrara’s Jewish community to aid Jews in Jerusalem. The funds were solicited by the rabbi of a yeshiva in…
Prayers at the Tomb of Rabbi Isaac ben Sheshet at Algiers
In 1391, Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (known as Rivash), a respected rabbinic scholar and author of numerous responsa, suffered from the violent riots and mass conversions in Spain but then fled to…
Ignác Goldziher Speaking at His Bar Mitzvah, 1863
Hungarian orientalist Ignác Goldziher (1850–1921) was born in Székesfehérvár and studied in Berlin and Leiden. He traveled in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. For nearly thirty years, Goldziher was an…