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.
Description of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue (Esnoga) in Amsterdam
On the south it is separated from the synagogue of the Polish and German Jews by a branch of the River Amstel; on the west it faces the opulent Casa de los lázaros [hospice for the poor]; on the north…
Shene luḥot ha-berit (Two Tablets of the Covenant): On Shavuot
The study program of this night has already been published and made known to the multitudes through the pamphlets that have been disseminated. And this custom has been disseminated throughout all of…
Noheg ka-tson Yosef (He Leads Joseph Like a Flock): On Rosh Hashanah
21. On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, we pray as on the first day, except that the liturgical poems are different. [ . . . ]
22. And the Musaf service is as on the first day, except that we do not…
Ohale Ya‘akov (The Tents of Jacob): On a Betrothal
Question: The following incident occurred: The gentlemen, R. Abraham Vidal, may he rest in peace, was married to the modest lady, Estrella, sister of the fine young man, R. David Pinto, may God…
Shevet musar (Rod of Correction): Instructions for a Wife
These are the conditions for a proper wife so that she will be cherished by her husband, so that he will not come to set his…
Shulḥan ‘arukh (Set Table): Introduction
These are the words of the insignificant man, Joseph Karo, son of the great R. Ephraim, son of the great R. Joseph Karo, may he be remembered for the life of the world to come.
I shall…
Mif‘alot Elohim (The Works of God)
A baby that has fallen from a high place and become mute, his mother should take his hand and place it in her womb and afterwards thrust that hand into the mouth of the baby. After that, the woman…
To Kill a Foe
To kill a foe: write these twelve names on deerskin or calfskin parchment on Monday evening at the third or fourth hour, or at those times at night. And this is what you shall write:He who gives forth…
Mesilat yesharim (Path of the Upright)
In summary, man was created not for his state in this world, but for his state in the world-to-come. His state in this world, however, serves as the means toward [attaining] his state in the world-to…
Regulations of a Pietistic Confraternity in Safed
These are the words that the divine man Moses, R. Moses Cordovero, may his memory be for a blessing for life in the world-to-come, spoke concerning that which man should do and live by, and there are…
Nishmat ḥayim (Breath of Life)
We are therefore obliged to examine the words of the living God, which are expressed through the wonderful wise men who have received the truth [i.e., kabbalists], the foundation of the Torah. The…
Piedra Gloriosa, o de la Estatua de Nebuchadnesar (Glorious Stone, or About the Statue of Nebuchadnezzar)
But leaving aside these allegations, and judging without passion, do they lack their own merits that would allow them to be saved with us, as we desire? No.
1. For their part they possess the…