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.
Amulet for a Newborn Girl
Printed amulet for an infant girl from Germany. It was (presumably) printed alongside its companion amulet for a male child (see “Amulet for a Newborn Boy”). However, the pair were separated. A woman…
Tif’eret Yisra’el (The Beauty of Israel)
Since animals do not use these faculties [strength, speed, or cunning] for the purpose of [gaining] their livelihood, this shows that that which a man does with the strength of his body, and the sweat…
Zikaron li-vene Yisra’el (Memorial of the Children of Israel)
We return now to the narrative of our Lord’s doings.
After he had put the pure turban on his head, he made love to his Ashkenazi wife. She conceived; she bore him a son. On…
Tsurat bet ha-mikdash (Shape of the Temple Sanctuary)
The Lord to the prophet Ezekiel (may he rest in peace): you, son of man, show the House to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the…
Printer’s Introduction: Bomberg Bible, Second Edition
Thus saith the humble Jacob ben Chajim ben Isaac Ibn Adonijah: “He entereth in peace, where the righteous rest upon their couches, who walked in uprightness.”
Praised be the Creator, who exists and…
Editor’s Apology: She’elot u-teshuvot Maharil
Thus said the editor [megihah], who bursts forth [megi’aḥ] in prostration from his place, and offers his greeting of peace with a bow and while kneeling. His labor is for all those who are wise of…
Circular Letter to the Italian Jewish Communities
When there came to our notice the work composed and recently published by R. Azariah de’ Rossi, entitled Me‘or ‘enayim, which contains the sections: “The Voice of God,” “The Glory of the Elders,” and…
The Portrait of Susannah
Although a beautiful shock of golden hair swings across her forehead
And love finds nourishment in her eyes
The chaste Susannah never strays from the right path
And harbors not one thought without…
The Ass’s Complaint
Why is my back loaded with fine flour, while in my mouth there is no bread at all, but only straw? I drink well-water, though I carry wine. And the stick goes on fracturing my skull!
I live in rubble…
Who is like You
Who is like You [see Exodus 15:11]; there is none like You,
Who is similar to You; there is none similar to You
God, God, the Lord [see Psalms 50:1],
High above all high ones [see Psalms 113:4]…
The Story of Amīnā and His Wife
Listen, my friends, pay attention!
Be silent, do not restrain me,
Nor say, “That fellow Amīānā’s been unfaithful,
His heart and tongue in two directions pull;
If not, why did he leave his native…
The West Indian Tale
We have a lovely tale at hand,
It’s come to us from a distant land,
That land is West India, and
Many people in the world
Call that area the New World.
Our tale’s about a wife who let her spouse
Leav…