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.
Apology for His Language (On Yiddish and Hochdeutsch)
An apology for the fact that this is written in the language of Ashkenaz (in Hochdeutch [German]). In my opinion, there are two good reasons for this: first, I have found written in…
A Song on the Jews of Ashkenaz and Poland
I will raise the matter of trimming the beard
He trims it away like leaven [on the eve of Passover]
He leaves only a small goatee.
One more…
Where will you camp, O my ibex?
Where will you camp, O my ibex, for whom I yearn?
Where will you drip the droplets of your wine and your dew—O formidable one?
If you bring up your beauty to heaven on high,
You will dim…
I’m in a rage, so angry that I don’t know what to do
I’m in a rage, so angry that I don’t know what to do
because of what just happened when I went out with a few
good friends to take a walk in town, this lovely Sabbath day.
We joined a crowd of rowdy…
My Father’s Leaving
When I came back, he was gone.
My mother was in the bathroom
crying, my sister in her crib
restless but asleep. The sun
was shining in the bay window,
the grass had just been cut.
No one mentioned…
I Too Want to Marry a Housewife
I too wish to marry a desperate housewife
Blur my way into her house with the evening light
The aromas of salad and an omelet cooking
To live in the shade of her becoming
To have her raise me like…
Chabibi
Chabibi
my vaybl
be on your guard
when you meet
a goy
he likes you nisht
be on your guard
when you meet
a goy
he likes you
be on your guard
when you meet
a yid
he smells you
chassids…
Scribe Writing
Scribe writing, Sakkara, Egypt, ca. 2625–2350 BCE. The ease with which Baruch’s scroll was cut and burned in Jeremiah 36:23 indicates that it was written on papyrus, not leather. In this limestone…
Female Plaque Figurine Holding Disk
There are numerous terra-cotta plaque figurines of females, some naked and others clothed, holding disks, mostly from northern Israel and Transjordan. Many come from border towns and towns whose…
Seal of Elyashib Son of Ashyahu (or Ishyahu)
A double-line border surrounds the inscription on this seal, made of black paste or serpentine (a magnesium silicate), found at Arad. A central boss with flanking lotus buds separates the names…
Seal with Archer
This stamp seal depicts an archer shooting at a fleeing quadruped, possibly an antelope. The action is difficult to make out. From the viewer’s perspective the archer is behind the animal while the…
A Night at the Mall
On the revolving stage, a shop called Burgermatch, with a sign that reads: “Buy 10 hamburgers, get a free tennis racket.” Next to it, a sports goods store, Our Sports, with a sign saying “Buy a…