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.

The Art of Boxing, Preface

After the many marks of encouragement bestowed on me by a generous publick, I thought that I could not better evince my gratitude for such favours, than by disseminating to as wide an extent, and at…

Introduction to Euclid

The Gentiles abuse us and say that we are a foolish nation, not a wise one. They consequently slander the words of our sages, and say that whoever studies them becomes divorced from the norms of…

Plan for the Invasion of Jamaica to Emancipate Slaves and Interrogation Testimony to British Authorities Following His Arrest for the Plan to Emancipate Slaves in Jamaica

“When the genie of liberty inspired me the noble project to carry to the English, our natural…

Portrait painting of man wearing long wig, facing viewer, and holding book in left hand, and cloak draped over left arm.

Portrait of Don Francisco (Abraham Israel) Lopes Suasso

Don Francisco Lopes Suasso (Abraham Israel Suasso, 1657–1710) was born in Amsterdam, the oldest child of wealthy Portuguese Jewish banker Antonio Lopes Suasso. Francisco followed in his father’s…

Metal oval with three candlestick holders.

Candle Reflector

This candle reflector is made of repoussé brass, engraved and punched. The three candle holders are set into a frame decorated with flowers and leaves.

Portrait painting in circular frame of boy leaning to one side and facing viewer.

Portrait of Abraham da Costa

Among the portrait miniatures of family members that Catherine da Costa painted is this locket portrait of her son, Abraham da Costa (b. 1704), when he was ten years old.

Two finials engraved with designs on the base and minaret-shaped tops with Hebrew text visible through cut-out windows.

Torah Finials (Morocco)

Inscriptions on the stems of these silver Torah finials indicate that they were made by Joseph Arvatz and Chaim Maman in Morocco, and inscriptions on their rims state that they were owned by Rabbi…

Print portrait of man in skullcap and beard, in front of bookshelf and holding open book in his hand, with crown and Hebrew text underneath.

Portrait of Isaac Aboab da Fonseca

This engraving portrays Isaac Aboab da Fonseca, a rabbi, kabbalist, and preacher, born in Castro Daire, Portugal, to a family of New Christians. He arrived in Amsterdam with his family at the age of…

Printed page with Hebrew text on right side and illustration of tall tower with wheels inside it on left side.

Technical Diagram from Joseph Delmedigo’s Elim

This is a technical diagram from Joseph Delmedigo’s Sefer Elim (Book of Elim), a scientific and philosophical work published by Menasseh Ben Israel.

Print depicting two scenes with French text under frames: top shows men in prayer shawls sitting while one man on central platform sounds a ram's horn. Bottom image shows men in prayer shawls sitting and standing in room with several lit candles.

The High Holidays

Between 1723 and 1737, illustrator Bernard Picart partnered with the Dutch bookseller, editor, and publisher Jean-Frédéric Bernard on Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (R…

Painting of four fish on paper on a table.

Seven Smoked Fish on a Grinding Slab

Hershberg is considered one of the leading realist painters of our time. He has said that a true artist sees reality as a “continual feast, a never-ending delight to the eyes,” and hopes that his…

Aerial photograph of two people in hats and suits walking.

If One Day during Purim, Everybody by Chance Will Disguise Themselves as Orthodox Jews, Will the Messiah Come?

This photograph of two Jews reduces them to an abstraction, a single black shape, in a composition that includes the round shapes of manhole covers, the curving black lines of a street grating, and…