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.
The Exploits of Moses
I shall begin by praising the True One
who in six days created the whole entire world
and on the seventh day He ceased work and rested.
Give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, for His…
Midrash ḥemdat yamim
During the seventeenth century, Shalem Shabazī wrote deeply spiritual, kabbalistic poetry that couched his subject— the love of God—in the erotic language of Arabic (and Hebrew) love poetry. His poems…
Higayon be-kinor (Melody of the Lyre)
The Argument of the Sermon: The sermon in its main argument will open…
Illustrations from Sefer minhagim (Book of Customs)
These woodcuts appeared in Sefer minhagim (Book of Customs), a very popular Yiddish book published by Giovanni di Gara, the leading publisher of Jewish books in Venice from 1564 to 1609. It was the…
Spice Container
This ritual spice container is thought to have been made in Frankfurt am Main. It is decorated to represent a four-story tower with brick walls. At its top, two short spires flank a central, taller…
Silver Cup
This silver-gilt cup is decorated with representations of the biblical patriarch Jacob’s twelve sons, each standing in his own separate archway with his Hebrew name inscribed underneath. This cup was…
Portrait of Court Jew with Ring
The identity of the sitter for Portrait of Court Jew with Ring is unknown. It is possible that the man in the picture is Jost Liebmann (also known as Juda Berlin), a Court Jew and jeweler in Berlin…
Reader’s Desk
This wooden tevah—a stand or reader’s platform used for supporting Torah scrolls—was made and used in Yemen. It was the practice in Yemen for boys to become active participants in synagogue services…
Jewelry Box
This exquisite jewelry box was crafted in Nuremberg, Germany, before 1540 and given to a bride for her wedding. Etched in steel, copper-plated, and partly gilt, the panels, on four sides and the lid…
Circumcision Set
This silver circumcision set was crafted in Salonika in the Ottoman Empire. The cylindrical silver casket holds a circumcision knife; its handle is made from agate. A similarly shaped powder box and…
Portrait of Samson Wertheimer
Samson Wertheimer (1658–1724) occupied a number of prominent roles, including court Jew, Austrian financier, and chief rabbi of Hungary and Moravia. This portrait was painted around the time when he…
Shadai’a (Dedicatory Plaque)
This shadai’a (dedicatory plaque) from the Romaniote community in Ioannina, Greece, is made of repoussé silver with an engraved Hebrew inscription. The central inscription is a rhymed text dedicated…