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.
Greeting the Messiah
R. Yoḥanan ben Zakkai taught: If you are holding a sapling in your hand and someone says to you that the Messiah has come, stay and plant the sapling, then go to greet the Messiah.
Translated by Carol…
Eternal Agony in the Accursed Valley
At that moment, I said, “For what purpose does this blessed land, entirely filled with trees, (have) in its midst this accursed valley?” Then, Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me…
When to Let Blood
Samuel said: [Aramaic] The interval for blood[letting]: [Hebrew] every thirty days; in middle age one should decrease [this frequency]; at advanced age one should once again decrease [the frequency].…
The Physician
Honor physicians for their services,
for the Lord created them;
for their gift of healing comes from the Most High,
and they are rewarded by the king.
The skill of physicians makes them…
Cain and Abel Fight over Land and Women
And Cain said to his brother Abel, etc. (Genesis 4:8). What were they disputing? They said, “Come, let’s divide up the world.” One took the land and one took the moveable property. This one said,…
Redeeming David
R. Samuel bar Naḥmani said [that] R. Jonathan said: Anyone who says that David sinned [with Bathsheba] is nothing other than mistaken, as it is stated: And David succeeded in all his ways; and the…
Abraham’s Prayer for Isaac’s Descendants
And Abraham worshipped and prayed in the name of the Memra of the Lord and said: “I beseech by the mercy that is before you, O Lord:—everything is manifest and known before you—that there was no…
Moses’ Prayer to Enter the Land
When Moses sought to enter the land of Israel, the Holy One said: Enough! (Deuteronomy 3:26). He [Moses] replied before Him: Master of the universe, did You not say to me, “To one who has a claim on…
Tamar’s Prayer for Justification
And Tamar went out to be burned by fire and she asked for the three witnesses, but did not find them. She lifted up her eyes on high and said: “I beseech by the mercies from before you, O Lord, you…
Naḥum of Gam Zu (Naḥum Ish Gamzu)
They said about Naḥum of Gam Zu that he was blind in both eyes, both his arms were amputated, both his legs were amputated, and his entire body was covered in boils. And he was lying in a dilapidated…
Judith
Now in those days Judith heard about these things. [ . . . ] Her husband Manasseh, who belonged to her tribe and family, had died during the barley harvest. [ . . . ] Judith remained as…