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.
Tales of Asenath Barazani inside an Amulet
Asenath the daughter of R. Samuel Adoni (Barazani) was a wise woman and a great Torah scholar. She studied the secrets of kabbalah and acquired a considerable reputation for performing miracles and…
Amulet for Woman in Childbirth (Germany)
This early printed amulet from Germany, meant as protection for a woman in childbirth, is adorned with woodcuts illustrating the Hebrew months of the year. The main panel, framed by images of the…
Responsum: On Printed Megilot (Scrolls of) Esther
Question: . . . When Rabbi Joseph Ottolenghi was visiting this land, he told me that he printed sixteen megillot on parchment prepared for this purpose [i.e., to be used for the scrolls—Ed.]. When I…
Approbation for a Printing House
“That which is well known needs no proof,” and the root cause is the skilled operating of the printing shop in the holy community of Żółkiew [Zhovkva], may the Rock preserve it, which was established…
Jonen dalim (He That Has Mercy on the Poor)
Offstage, Edom and Jonen Dalim.Edom:Chase that filthy beggar away from my door!Jonen:God punishes those who despise the poor.Israel:Edom sees my tatters and feels disgust…
Born-where
Around noon they got dressed warmly and went for a walk. The fog stood high, suddenly the sun broke through, Jesuit Meadow was full of snow. As they crossed Rustenschacher Street there was a Breughel…
Gayness and God: Wrestlings of an Orthodox Rabbi
I am an Orthodox rabbi and I am gay. For a long while I denied, rejected, railed against this truth. The life story that I had wanted—wife, kids, and a family that modeled Torah and hesed—turned out…
We Turn Our Thoughts
We turn our thoughts to yesterday…to a world that lives only in our memory.
As we recall the days gone by, we know the past is irretrievable.
Yet—through the gift of memory, we recapture treasured…
Leonard Bernstein
Al Hirschfeld was most famous for his caricatures of actors, musicians, and other figures from the arts and public life. He himself preferred to be known as a “characterist.” After the birth of his…
The Treasure
Yakhne-Brayne [Reading slowly and with difficulty so that the words run together in a monotone.]:“And God caused the Temple to be destroyed and said, ‘I will remember your sins and you will devour…
Ewer and Basin
This ewer and basin from Turkey were used to wash hands ritually during the Passover seder. Owned by the Benguiat family, a large and prominent Sephardic family in the Ottoman Empire, the objects…
Outlines of Jewish History
Co-incident with the founding of relief associations was the establishment of the Jewish orders, among which the first was the B’ne B’rith, chiefly for…