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.
Roman Imperial Legislation regarding the Patriarch
the same two augusti to caesarius, praefectus praetorio
The Jews shall be bound to their rites; while we shall imitate the ancients in conserving their privileges, for it was established in their…
Prayer of Simon the High Priest for Israel’s Deliverance
Then the high priest Simon, facing the sanctuary, bending his knees and extending his hands with calm dignity, prayed as follows: “Lord, Lord, king of the heavens, and sovereign of all creation…
Rabbah’s Prayer for Rain
[King Shapur’s mother] sent a message to Rabbah: Concentrate your mind and pray for divine mercy, for there is no rainfall. He prayed:
Master of the Universe!
O God, we have heard with our ears, our…
A Litany for Fast Days
Answer us, our Father, answer us!
Answer us, our Redeemer, answer us!
Answer us, our Seeker, answer us!
Answer us, Majesty and Honor, answer us!
Answer us, Ancient in consolation, answer us!
Answer…
The Stages of Life
[Judah ben Tema] used to say:
- At five years of age the study of Scripture;At ten the study of Mishnah;At thirteen subject to the commandments;At fifteen the study of Talmud;At eighteen the bridal…
Gender Differences in Torah Education
And teach them to your children (Deuteronomy 11:19–21): your sons and not your daughters, the words of R. Yosi b. Akiva. On the basis of the verse at hand they [the rabbis] have said: When a child…
The Obligations of Agricultural Workers
Workers may recite [the Shema‘] from atop a tree, and they may recite the Prayer from atop an olive tree or from atop a fig tree. But from all other kinds of trees one must come down to recite the…
Jesus’ Teachings on Charity and Public Giving
[I]f anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone…
Pilgrims Swell Jerusalem’s Population
The total number of prisoners taken in the whole course of the war amounted to 97,000: and the number of those who died in the siege from beginning to end was 1,100,000. The majority of these were of…
In Defense of the Sabbath
After this continuous unbroken feast which has neither beginning nor end, the second to be observed is the sacred seventh day, recurring with six days between. Some have given to it the name of virgin…
The Rights and Obligations of a Husband
A father has authority over his daughter in her betrothal [whether it was effected] by money, document, or intercourse. He is entitled to anything she finds, to her handiwork, and to annul her vows…
Funeral Ceremony
Our divine law has also provided for the decent burial of the dead, without extravagant burial rites or the building of illustrious monuments. Rather, it enjoined that the funeral arrangements be…