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.
To Be a Jew
In memory of my father, Salomón Motje Rozitchner.
What other eternity is there
if not that of knowing
you are eternally dead.
For Jews the choices are not just difficult. The revolution requires the…
Lies My Father Told Me
My grandfather stood six feet three in his worn-out bedroom slippers. He had a long grey beard with streaks of white running through it. When he prayed, his voice boomed like a choir as he turned the…
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Duddy drove to Montreal the next morning, picked up his stuff, and returned to Ste. Agathe by bus the same evening. Yvette met him at the station. “Hey,” he said, “did you see the paper? They raided…
Jews in the Promised Land
On the first day they sailed, the Pechofs saw the film called Argentina, the Promised Land. The screen had been divided into four parts like a coat of arms, and they saw wheat fields, cows in profile…
Great Jewish Short Stories
Most of the stories in this collection are modern; a few are ancient. They were written in Hebrew, German, Yiddish, Russian and English, yet all are, to a discerning eye, very clearly Jewish. [ . . .…
Herself
Apples. That’s what New Yorkers of the 1930s remember. Apples of the Hesperides, neatly stalled on corner after corner, sold on the last trembling line of decency by men who were unwilling to beg…
Among the Wild Things
In the past few years, I have become increasingly interested in Sendak’s work, reading his books for my own pleasure as well as for the amusement of my…
Correspondence Re: Circumcision of Babies and Marranos
New York, 28 May, 1753Mr. Aaron LopezDear Sir:I have received your esteemed letter, in which you so kindly inform me that our Lord has given you a son. For this I extend the due felicitations to you…
Letters to Richea Gratz
Lancaster, August 5th 1793Miss Richea Gratz,PhiladelphiaThe letter of the 1st instant from my dear sister I now seat myself to accknowledge. Its contents I duly note. The subject it treats on is of…
The Rise and Fall of a Polish Tallis
Sixty years ago, Jacob, who was known in his quarter as Old Jacob, was living in the rue de la Mortellerie. He ran a successful business selling old clothes, scrap metal and even, on occasion, old…
The Little Man; or, Portrait of a Life
As for me, I was born in Tsviatshits and my name is Mendele the Book Peddler. Most of the year I’m on the road, travelling from one place to another, so people know me everywhere. I ride all over…