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.
A Comet Portending War
I have seen other stars
with a tail before,
but the people were frightened
by this awesome torch.
As an omen of war
it does sadden my heart.
Let us turn to our God,
let us try to please Him.
My White Snow Princess
Oh white spirit—
My princess!
The spring rips,
Tears at your dress.
The air is full of spring’s fame
Crowned with florets
Carrying its perfume
Spring’s fresh scents.
Bringing your death,
My white…
The Mystical Autobiography of a Sephardic Woman from Salonika
One afternoon a friend from class asked me a religious question. After I answered her, she remarked that it was curious that our teacher had not been able to answer the same question. “Don’t be so…
Marriage and Migration: Trials of a Jewish Immigrant in Cuba
December 6, 1913, Havana
To his Eminence Monsieur Haim Nahum, Chief Rabbi of Turkey [Ottoman Empire], Constantinople [Istanbul].
Monsieur Rabbi,
I have the honor of bringing the following facts to…
Rebbe Israel Ba‘al Shem Tov
The Birth of the Ba‘al Shem Tov
One of the greatest phenomena, running like a thread throughout the spiritual history of the Jewish people, is mysticism, a remnant of ancient mythology, which could…
The Basel Program
The aim of Zionism is to create for the Jewish people a home in Palestine secured by public law.The Congress contemplates the following means to the attainment of this end:
- The promotion, on suitable…
Lecture: On Feminism and Suffrage
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The word “feminism” is interpreted in different ways. Some would grant [women] exaggerated rights. Others limit their demands to their simplest form without arriving at a proper…
The Future of American Jews
But a few years ago, before the outbreak of the world-wide European upheaval [World War I], no one even entertained the possibility that a center for the revelation and development of the Jewish…
The State of Yiddish Children’s Literature
In the past there were no children among Jews, only “little Jews without beards,” so neither was there any children’s literature. Boys in the traditional heder used to read Ḥumesh [The Pentateuch]…
A Report Concerning the Art College
The People’s Art College in Vitebsk, fulfilling the needs of the whole Western Land, is a ripe necessity, especially since our Revolutionary time compels us with unusual force to undertake the…
Jankiel’s Concert
Jankiel’s Concert was inspired by a scene from Pan Tadeusz, Adam Mickiewicz’s 1834 epic poem, considered the national poem of Poland. The character of Jankiel, the Jewish innkeeper, is the most…
Aquarium (Self-Portrait)
In this cubist-influenced self-portrait, the artist has painted herself reflected in a mirror, perhaps a symbol of a divided self. The upturned vessels on the table communicate a sense of upheaval…