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.
Tel Aviv
Avigdor walked beyond the city limits of Tel Aviv into the endless stretch of sand. He had never seen such sand. He walked among the sand dunes, as in a forest, seeing nothing except the glaring sands…
The Problems of Jewish Music
June 1, 1918
Jewish music is the face of a frozen sphinx which, after the millennium of its antiquity, is still only on the path to discovering its secret, is only now waking to life…
Changed His Name
Johannes pushed his cart laden with fruit and vegetables. He pushed with difficulty for his route lay uphill. Automobiles rushed past him, hooting insolently, demanding the road. Awkwardly he turned…
Responsum: On Technology and Jewish Law
In the main portion of this work I spoke of the use of an electric light. Here I shall discuss the law of whether one is permitted to speak on Shabbat by means of a machine called a “telephone.”…
I Slept with a Murderer
I slept with a murderer every night of my life for two years. The murderer is dead now. He died some weeks ago in Chicago. That is why I am free to tell the tale.
I was a small boy at that time. I…
On Necessary Jewish Educational Reforms
We can see that our sages, of blessed memory, likewise declared the Torah a weapon, as it has stood by us, enabling us to emerge triumphant in the wars for our religious and moral existence, in which…
The Marriage of Regina
The whole city was talking about Regina’s wedding. I should tell you first that Regina is one of our former students. People were saying, “Yes, Regina is à la franca” (the expression means “European…
Old Women
Aged woolen women, like old siddurim—moldy, mossy
Bound in coarse canvas;
Pointless bellies dangling after them like empty sacks,
Dried-out breasts, like horseradish roots, swaying back and forth.…
The Great Sea Misfortune of the Titanic
A terrible calamity on the great ocean
Happened to the ship Titanic at night
It crashed hard into an iceberg
Suddenly the ship began to sink,
The strongest, best ship in the world,
Carrying thousands…
Oyneg Shabes Archive
Everyone appreciated the importance of the work that was being done. They understood how important it was for future generations that a record remain of the tragedy of Polish Jewry. Some realized that…
In These Nightmarish Days
Here you have him, the proud Jew. The Jew who ruled his kingdom with a high hand in complete despotism: here is the Jew who never heeded anyone’s advice, who did everything with his own hand and…
Dina’s Braids
Dina has reached the age of seventeen, but her mind and manners are far beyond those years. She is comely and demure and full of charm. Two modest eyes and two wild braids. Why wild? Because they have…