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.
Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem
The Hall of Remembrance is the main site for memorial ceremonies in Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. Built of basalt and concrete, it offers a somber contrast with the many buildings in Israel that are made of…
The Condition of the Jews of Western Azerbaijan in the Years 1888–1893
Written today, the 13th of the month of Adar 5653 (March 1, 1893), and addressed by us, the poor and downtrodden members of the community of Urumia, may God protect it, with a thousand greetings and…
Memories of a Childhood Spent in Ottoman Bulgaria
I understood very early that life is a serious business. I do not remember committing any of those childish pranks that everyone keeps in his distant memory. From the age of four I was sent to the mel…
From Inside
I am not a representative of the public, nor am I an official party member. My words do not bear an organization’s official stamp of approval, nor did I obtain readers’ endorsements in advance. Rather…
Eva Frank’s house in Offenbach during the visit of Tsar Alexander I, November 1813
Jacob (Jakob) Frank (ca. 1726–1791) was a controversial and charismatic messianic figure who attracted a significant Jewish following in Eastern Europe. After his death, his daughter Eva Frank (1754…
The Legend of the Baal-Shem
This book consists of a descriptive account and twenty stories. The descriptive account speaks of the life of the Hasidim, a Jewish sect of eastern Europe which arose around the middle of…
Paper Cut—Brit Milah
Paper cuts have been a tradition of Jewish folk art, with the earliest record of one dating to the fourteenth century. Given the widespread availability of paper in Europe by the mid-nineteenth…
The Death of Tasso
One of Friedrich Friedländer’s best-known paintings, The Death of Tasso, depicts the death of the Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544–1595). Tasso was famous for his epic poem, La Gerusalemme liberate (…
Editorial: On Creating Barnard College
At the present moment there are from New York City and suburbs two women students at Cornell, four at Bryn Mawr, thirteen at Smith, seventeen at Vassar (besides fifteen in preparation for it) and…
In Judah and the Galilee
Not fire and sun—but our blood will redden, Oh Zion, your mountains—
Right after disembarking and finishing my business with the numruk [custom house], I hurried to Petah Tikva. My friends implored…
Those Ancient Lands, Being a Journey to Palestine
I cannot linger in Egypt. They that came before me tarried too long. I have had the taste on my tongue and the dead air in my nostrils. Enough. That will serve.
Zagazig…
Jaffa Changes Its Face
We must emphasize the impact Jews are having on the town of Jaffa. Those who knew Jaffa in the past can testify that the town owes a lot to the Jews; its appearance has changed dramatically over the…