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.
Book Acquisitions of the ‘Ets Haim Yeshiva for the Years 1718/9 and 1732/33
Established in 1616 as part of a yeshiva in Amsterdam, the Ets Ḥayim library continues to function to this day, making it the oldest operational Jewish library in the world. It moved to its current…
Safed Exorcism
I was in the midst of a large group of people who were there, close to a hundred people, among them scholars and heads of communities. And two men, who knew adjurations and many things, approached the…
Sifte yeshenim (Lips of the Sleepers): On Citing Authors
I am astonished to see that for reading just the names of the holy books, one receives his reward, as if he had read and studied them all. If so, then one will not make much of an effort to study…
O my soul’s beloved (Yedid nefesh)
O my soul’s beloved, merciful father, drag your servant to do your will!
Your…
The Adarah’s Vow
“The State of Israel is a distant dream,” said Jeremiah, “and my dream is close by.” I knew, of course, what he meant, but I wanted to continue talking about the subject that preoccupied me more than…
Ivory Spoon
This spoon from Hazor has a wide handle intricately incised on its front with a sequence of palmettes curving upward instead of the more common downward-turning volutes. The spoon’s use is unclear. It…