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.
History of the Israelite Nation, from Abraham to the Present Time
On this occasion a singular event occurred, which gave a new impulse to the piety and energy of Joshiah. The original copy of the laws, supposed to be written by Moses himself was found in the temple…
Aviezer
One day I came back from my synagogue and sat down in my room to take breakfast—a bowl of milk and some bread, instead of the compote juice and butter cake that had been my customary…
Response to “A Bible View of Slavery”
On the eve of the Civil War, a Southern rabbi explains why the Jewish tradition requires an antislavery position. His congregants disagree vehemently with his stance.
A Few Remarks Regarding the Education of Women
So, is it not an injustice for girls to be so neglected that the refined feelings which are God’s gift to all mankind are often destroyed in them? But if you speak to Jewish parents they will tell you…
The Russification of Jews
A major issue within the internal politics of the Russian government concerns the Russification of populations in our remote regions who follow different religions and are of other ethnic backgrounds…
The Synagogue of Nahmanides in Jerusalem
This map showing the Naḥmanides Synagogue in Jerusalem, named after the medieval rabbi, was made in Italy by a Jewish scribe and is an example of a “pilgrimage scroll.” Pilgrimage scrolls were known…
Likute Yosef (The Compilation of Joseph)
Likute Yosef (The Compilation of Joseph), a commentary on prayers, is an important source of information about the Jewish religious culture of Worms, Germany, one of the oldest and most important…
Jewish Betrothal Ceremony
This illustration depicting a Jewish betrothal ceremony appeared in the book Jüdisches Ceremoniel (Jewish Ceremonial Customs), by Paul Christian Kirchner, a Jewish convert to Christianity. The first…
Haggadah
In 1583, Mattetiah ben David Spagnolo completed this illuminated Haggadah for Leon ben Judah Bili. Greek (Romaniote/Byzantine) Jews had lived on the island of Crete since the Second Temple period…
Title Page of Moses Cordovero’s Tefilah le-Moshe (Prayer of Moses)
Moses Cordovero was a revered scholar and teacher in the kabbalistic center of Safed, which stressed the importance of mystical prayer and kavanah (mystical intention). Tefilah le-Moshe contains kavan…
A Woman Drawing Water from a Well
Sifre ‘evronot—manuals for calculating the Jewish calendar, including leap years and holidays—were a popular genre of Ashkenazic illustrated manuscripts in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries…
She Said to Him, “You Be the Driver and I’ll Be the Madam,” Then They Picked Up the Fender and Posed, Hillbrow, 1975
Photographer David Goldblatt dedicated much of his work to documenting racial injustice in South Africa. The title of the photograph tells its story. Two Black South Africans use a car fender to role…