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.
Tevye the Dairyman
Well, no sooner had I thought of my Hodl than she appeared by my side. She sat down next to me on the stoop, looked around, and said in a low voice, “Papa, are you listening? I have to tell you…
The Jewish Gauchos
Weep and wail, O daughters of Zion!
The women were meeting in Don Moisés’ house to recite the lamentations required by ritual. These were the days set aside to recall the loss…
I Believe
Laugh, laugh at all the dreams
I, the dreamer, declare them too.
Laugh that I have faith in mankind
And I still believe in you.
For my soul still yearns for freedom
I have not sold it for a calf of…
On the Roads of Siberia
On the roads of Siberia
Someone may still uncover a button, a lace
Of my torn shoe,
A leather belt, a shard of a clay mug,
A page of the holy book.
On the rivers of Siberia
Someone may still…
Archaic Jewish Wedding Rituals
VII.
The Marshalek.—His Duties.—The Serenade.—At The Bride’s “Main Quarters.”—The Reception at the Groom’s.—The Ritual of Seating of the Bride.—The Marshalek’s Improvisation.
The rituals and…
Mărculeşti Colony Correspondence (on the New Train Station)
Like most of the other colonies established in Bessarabia in the previous century, the colony went through a long sleepy period. Most of the farmers lived simple bucolic lives. In the summer, they…