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 Cry of the Poor Jews of Izmir
We, the poor of Israel, inhabitants of the city of Izmir, may God protect it, slaves of our lord and king, Sultan Abdülmecid, may his name be praised and long live his reign, [are] oppressed and…
Maḥzor
This prayer book for the Rosh Hashanah festival from Crete is elaborately decorated inside with drawings of animals and people and has a colorful title page. Greek (Romaniote/Byzantine) Jews had lived…
If thrones have been seated in heaven: For Rosh Hashanah
This poem expresses the idea that since today is the day when seats are set up [for judgment], since the Jewish people has declared the New Month, therefore we need to run to God and prostrate…
Letter to Raphael Joseph
To our fruit of holiness enwrapped in praise, our man of deeds rich in accomplishment, the exalted prince and honored rabbi. May your light shine like the rising sun, blossom like the flowers! May an…
I’ll make a little chamber
Let us make, I pray thee, a little chamber on the roof; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick .…
Wounds of Love
I heard your voice, my love, and all my senses throbbed and my soul quivered in dismay. The light of my face darkened, my sun was covered with shadows, and my eyes streamed like rivers.
The arrows of…
The Celestial Race
When you see the planets and constellations circling heaven at all hours, do not imagine that they are speeding, like a runner in a valley, to show off their prowess. No, it is a sublime cause that…
The Old Whore’s Lament
Where are the merchants who used to chase after me to purchase my favours? O malevolent Time! Nowadays, they abhor my company; when I call for them, there is no answer. How has my merchandise been…
Shreds of Earth
On a night like this if a shudder were to shake your flesh as though a nightmare
had severed your sleep I could have risen and quietly walked to the kitchen
to write you a poem that would bring you…
Parnassus
Technically I was a man.This spindly squeaky thing with the Adam’s-apple accent was, by virtue of being thirteen and bar-mitzvahed, a technical man.And so the phone call came: they needed a tenth for…
Lamelekh Seal Impression with Winged Sun Disk
Many of the seal impressions, with the inscription lamelekh “(Belonging, or pertaining) to the king,” followed by the name of a city, feature a two-winged figure, probably a winged sun disk…