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.
Sefer ha-zikhronot (Record Book)
These are the things that have no set limit [m. Peah 1:1] for the benefactors of the nation, friends and nobles, young and old, and righteous women, who have come together in the gemilut ḥasadim…
Minhage Vormeiza (Customs of Worms): On Tishah be-Av
The people recite teḥinot [supplications] during the morning prayers on the eve of the Tishah be-Av (Ninth of Av). They then dine before entering into the synagogue for the…
Ḥemdat yamim (Choicest of Days): On the 15th of Shevat
Even though the fifteenth of the month of Shevat is during the period of shovevim, one does not fast, for it is the New Year’s Day for fruit trees. And with the tikkun [mystical repair] performed on…
Responsum: On Coffee
Question: I will inform you regarding my opinion on the fruit called al bun, and about kahve [coffee], which is the broth brewed from the husks of that fruit, and which is drunk by non-Jews, whether…
Igerot ha-remez (Epistles of the Secret)
To the eminent sage, his honor our rabbi, R. Samson Bacchi of Casale, may the Compassionate One keep and preserve him
Ma‘avar Yabbok (Crossing the Jabbok)
And the sages have stated, in regard to the reward of those who serve the Almighty and carry out His will in this world, in Song of Songs Rabbah 6:8: Anyone who occupies himself with the Torah in this…
Colophon: Tikune ha-Zohar (Mantua Edition)
The peaceable and faithful in Israel (2 Samuel 20:19), the heads of the exile of Ariel, the same are the mighty men of old, the men of renown (Genesis 6:4), wise men of understanding [see Deuteronomy…
Letter from One Jewish Student to Another
Wisdom rests quietly in a wise man (Proverbs 14:33); nothing which he purposes to do will be withheld from him [see Job 42:2]. I envisioned a man who was diligent in his labor, who was as bright as…
Kol sakhal (Voice of a Fool)
Kol sakhal (Voice of a Fool), a polemical work attacking rabbinic Judaism, has been the subject of many scholarly debates. To this day, its composition and aims remain shrouded in mystery. The author…
They call him Meir
When I heard that Meir the teacher had exchanged his glory for futility, I said:
They call him Meir, but he has no light, for all the lights around him have gone dim.
Indeed, he has a thick cloud…
Her Hair
O peerless beauty, veil your hair, lest you play havoc with the world, without lifting a finger! They are famous throughout the world, they ring in the ears of all who hear of them. The weakest…
My heart is seeking out the Lord
My heart is seeking out the Lord, and to Almighty God I pray
That He come back unto the altar, shelter me beneath His shade,
And that He settle Israel’s throngs in a tranquil dwelling place.
In…