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 Synagogue of Nahmanides in Jerusalem
This map showing the Naḥmanides Synagogue in Jerusalem, named after the medieval rabbi, was made in Italy by a Jewish scribe and is an example of a “pilgrimage scroll.” Pilgrimage scrolls were known…
Jewish Betrothal Ceremony
This illustration depicting a Jewish betrothal ceremony appeared in the book Jüdisches Ceremoniel (Jewish Ceremonial Customs), by Paul Christian Kirchner, a Jewish convert to Christianity. The first…
Isaac Synagogue (Kraków)
The Isaac (or Izaak) Synagogue in Kraków was built in 1638–1644. Sources differ about who designed the building, but it was likely either the Italian architect Francisco Olivieri or Swiss-born…
Tombstone (Padua)
Tombstone of Shifra Tamari (d. 1565), Padua, Italy. In the early modern period, most Jewish tombstones in Italy were Italian Renaissance in style. Hebrew epitaph poems, like the one on this gravestone…
Ketubah (Venice)
This Venetian ketubah (marriage contract) from 1707 marks the wedding of Solomon, son of Isaac Franco de Almeida, to Brancha, daughter of David Fernandes Dias. Near the top, the ancient city of…
Great Italian Synagogue, Padua
Founded in 1548, the Italian Synagogue of Padua was moved to its current location by 1603. It was renovated in the nineteenth century and restored again after World War II, when the Scuola Grande…
Vittorio Veneto Synagogue, Italy
The Vittorio Veneto Synagogue, in a town near Venice, was constructed on the second and third floors of a modest house. Elements of the Italian Baroque style are visible in the interior, especially in…
Gazeta de Amsterdam (Amsterdam Gazette)
The Gazeta de Amsterdam was printed by David de Castro Tartas, in that city, not regularly, from 1672 to 1702. This is considered the first Jewish newspaper, although it has no particular Jewish…
Inscription from the Establishment of the Rema Synagogue
The text on this inscription, dating from the establishment of the Rema Synagogue in Krákow, reads, in part: “The man, R. Israel ben Joseph (of blessed memory), gathered his strength, for the honor of…
Dad Runs Away with the Circus
Dad Runs Away with the Circus was Etgar Keret's first children's book. It was illustrated by award-winning illustrator and comic book artist Rutu Modan. The two collaborated on several projects…
The Choice of Paris
Shamir is known for portraits and landscapes that explore Zionist history and his own family story. Many of his paintings are set in Kfar Yehoshua in the Jezreel Valley, a village his family helped to…
Shepherd with Lamb
Bezem (d. 2018)’s art, which once gave expression to his immigration to Palestine, the loss of his parents in the Holocaust, and his sense of rebirth in Israel, was dramatically transformed after his…