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.
Magen Avraham (Shield of Abraham)
When a borrower is asked to pay usury or interest, they frequently use this…
Takkanot Kandia (Regulations of Candia): On Purim
May salvation be near, and we be cleansed of great sin. Amen.
I, the undersigned, have witnessed the bad custom practiced among young men on the days of Purim, that in the synagogue during the…
Amulet to Be Hung over the Crib of a Newborn
The Hebrew word Shaddai—another name for God—is etched in the center of this ornate silver amulet from Italy.
A Song That Ought to Be Sung Every Day
I have experienced in yishuvim [Jewish communities—Ed.] that old women are unable to keep the commandment of nido [menstrual purity—Ed.] properly. When they examine themselves and find a spot of blood…
Bayit ne’eman (Faithful House)
In Midrash ḥazit [Midrash Rabbah Song of Songs] it is stated:
And besides that Koheleth was wise, he also taught the people knowledge; ye…
Nishmat Shabbetai ha-Levi (The Breath of Shabbetai ha-Levi)
Everything proceeds from above, from the world of emanation, excepting no point in the lower world. And even a tree, and a stone, and everything comes from above; and this is the procession of…
Devar Shemu’el (The Word of Samuel)
Throughout the tribes of Israel, we faithfully made it known how the holy and wise Nathan of Gaza came here to our camp. He said that he was a prophet, bringing news of the coming of the Redeemer and…
Ḥazon le-mo‘ed (Vision for an Appointed Time): On Daniel
The king assigned them portions of food and wine, each day on its day, from the king’s food and wine. They were to raise [the boys] three years; afterwards some of them would stand before the king…
Lev avot (Heart of the Fathers)
Simeon ben Shetaḥ would say: You should cross-examine the witnesses extensively, and take care with your words, lest they learn how to lie from them [m. Avot 1:9].
Solomon ha-Levi explained: The…
Regimiento de la vida (Regimen of Living)
The rule of the aforementioned fifth and sixth items, which concern going to bed and rising. It is stated and summarized from what has been said in the past, that sleep being so harmful…
‘Eser she’elot (Ten Questions)
Are we who are in this exile the people of Israel, that is, the worshipers of the God of Israel . . . essentially . . . or in . . . name only? . . . For it seems to me that we are not the people of…
The Old Man and the Girl
While the translation is formatted as prose, the original is a poem of ten lines.