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.
Leḥem Yehudah (The Bread of Judah): On the Fate of the First Edition
I printed my book [Leḥem Yehudah] in Venice at the beginning of for the Almighty Shadai [in gematria = 1553] has dealt very bitterly with me (Ruth 1:20) and the ruler of Rome [the Pope] decreed that…
Note to the Reader: Masoret ha-masoret
This is to announce to all interested in my book that when the head of the printers, the princely Daniel Bomberg, the Christian, decided to print the Twenty…
Colophon: Seder taharot (Order of Purification)
So said Jacob ben R. ḥayim Ibn Adoniyahu of blessed memory, after completing the proofreading of Seder taharot, I intended to apologize, since the subject is not habitual, and the source texts are few…
Divre Neḥemiah (The Words of Nehemiah)
Thus said the author, Nehemiah Ḥiya, son of my master, my father, Moses Ḥayun: I myself know that all who see this book will be greatly astonished, and they will say, “Look at the…
Yonat ‘elem (Mute Dove)
O God, You have taught me from my youth: and until now I declare Your wondrous deeds (Psalms 71:17)
O God, You are my God; earnestly I seek You: my soul thirsts for You. (Psalms 63:2)
When…
Mikveh Yisra’el (The Hope of Israel)
The initial premise of our argument—and the matters of which we speak are of ancient provenance—is that love can be divided into three categories, which are: the love of something beneficial, the love…
Divre Shelomoh (The Words of Solomon)
The portion of Va-yikra’, on the holy Sabbath, 7th Adar II, 5331 [1571]. I delivered this sermon before a large audience, in honor of the King, king of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He.
[When any…
Darash Moshe (Moses Expounded)
Says Moses, son of my master, our teacher R. Jacob Albelda:My soul, my spirit, and my breath render most copious thanks, tenfold, unto the Lord of all things, may He be blessed and magnified, for all…
Divre rivot (Words of Contention)
The following incident occurred: On the holy Sabbath of ḥol ha-mo‘ed Passover in the year 5335 [1575], many virtuous individuals from the Lisbon congregation arose and came to an agreement among…
Be’er sheva (Well of the Oath)
One must know that man possesses a greater virtue than the beast, because a beast also has in it the breath of life and likewise has the intelligence to eat and drink, and the desire to lie with the…
Kitsur shene luḥot ha-berit (Abridged Two Tablets of the Covenant)
There are a few Torah scholars who are rich in knowledge and whose mental grasp is abundant, while others do not possess an intellectual grasp akin to theirs, for everyone possesses mental grasp in…
Vikuaḥ mayim ḥayim (Dispute of “Living Waters”)
And just as a person finds pleasant only such food as he has prepared himself, in accordance with what he wishes to eat, and has no desire whatsoever to depend upon his neighbor’s table, so too, he…