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.
Aggudat Shirim
Aggudat Shirim (Collection of Songs) was one of several collections of synagogue music published by Samuel Naumbourg between 1847 and 1874. It included a scholarly article about Jewish music.
Pinkas Synagogue (Prague)
The Pinkas Synagogue is the second-oldest extant synagogue in Prague. It is believed that a synagogue was found in that location as early as 1492. The structure now housing the synagogue was founded…
Synagogue Mejor (Bursa, Turkey)
The Synagogue Mejor is a synagogue in Bursa, Turkey, built in the late fifteenth century by Jews who settled in the Ottoman Empire after being expelled from Majorca. Its name “Mejor” commemorates the…
Jewish Wedding at a Synagogue in Fürth
This print depicting a Jewish wedding in Fürth is from the beginning of the eighteenth century, a period of prosperity for the city’s Jewish community. There were between 350 and 400 Jewish families…
Broadsheet Accompanying Model of the Tabernacle
This broadsheet is based on a famous model of the Temple in Jerusalem, owned by Jacob Judah Leon, a rabbi from the Netherlands. Probably produced in Amsterdam, the poster includes illustrations of the…
Oratorio Israelitico Synagogue, Casale Monferrato, Italy
This Piedmontese synagogue, built in 1595, is typical of many synagogues constructed in times and places where Jews did not want to call attention to themselves because of fear of persecution. From…
Tzedek ve-Shalom Synagogue, Suriname
Built in 1736, the Tzedek ve-Shalom synagogue served a Sephardic congregation of Spanish and Portuguese Jews who had migrated from Holland to Suriname. Located in Suriname’s capital of Paramaribo, the…
Jewish Woman at Home
This Jewish woman of the Ottoman Empire wears a blue jacket over a black blouse, with red shoes and a tall hat draped in a veil. The title “Dona Ebrea in casa” translates to "Jewish woman at home."
Burial Society Pitcher and Shield
This pitcher from Nuremberg, Germany, was made around 1650. Cast in silver, the repoussé piece is finely traced and engraved with floral patterns. On its lid sits a shield engraved with a Hebrew…
House of the Book, Brandeis-Bardin Institute, Brandeis, California
The minimalist aesthetic of the House of the Book, a chapel and conference hall, matches other buildings designed by Eisenshtat, a leading American synagogue architect. While he often favored…
If Not, Not
If Not, Not is one of Kitaj’s best-known works. Inspired by T. S. Eliot’s poem, "The Waste Land" (the poet is depicted at bottom left), it portrays a chaotic landscape, storm-swept and strewn with…
Dissolving Myths
Maor was a member of The Common Factor: Kibbutz, a group of artists who were interested in criticizing long-held Zionist and socialist beliefs and myths, at a time when many felt that the kibbutz…