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.
Dedication (to Gracia Nasi): Ferrara Bible
It would not seem proper, most magnificent Lady, that now we are about to print the Bible in our Spanish tongue, translated from the Hebrew word for word—so rare a work never before known until our…
Amude shesh (Marble Pillars)
And with this ethical teaching I saw fit to seal up the pillar of Torah, which in our generation is very much weakened, and on the verge of the abyss, as all its methods of study are corrupt from the…
Midrash Shemu’el (The Midrash of Samuel)
Furthermore, I say that another reason for this [commentary] is that since all of these ethical principles were given to Moses at Sinai and it is necessary to fulfill them, when one hears about them…
Moshia‘ ḥosim (Savior of Those Who Take Refuge)
On the signs of the plague and the poisonous fever that is called pestilence, and how a person should conduct himself to guard himself from them, in accordance with the nature of this lower…
Novelot ḥokhmah (Fallen Fruit of Wisdom)
[ . . . ] Now you know and are witness that I have composed several works on various topics. However, I did not write them in order to publish them; rather, I prepared them for my own use, to…
Lament on the Fire of Salonika
And yet she was the jewel of perfection to all far and near
Who had not seen such splendor, all who came from north and south
From all lands and gathered there, the distinguished
Who were drawn to…
Phoenician Ship
Phoenician ship in Assyrian relief from palace of Sennacherib (reigned 705–681 BCE), Nineveh. Transport galleys flee Tyre in the face of Sennacherib’s attack in 701 BCE. Soldiers and passengers stand…
When to Sound an Alarm for Jews Abroad?
When should Jews in one country start protesting about what they perceive as the peril of Jews in another country?
To answer the question, we must first analyze the specific conditions of the…
Chosen Voices: The Story of the American Cantorate
Twenty-three Jews came to America in 1654 and some five million live in the United States today. Though this seems like a long story, it is but a short chapter in the history of Judaism. Anything…
Remarks at Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Swearing-In Ceremony
Thank you, Chief Justice. Mr. President, distinguished guests, colleagues, and friends. Not yet two months ago, President Clinton announced his intention to nominate me as Associate Justice of the…
Jerusalem and Athens: The Congruity of Talmudic and Classical Philosophy
The Talmud is one of the great, classical writings of human civilization—enduring, influential, nourishing. It claims its place among the most successful pieces of writing in the history of humanity…