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 Escape
All that had happened to him lay behind him like a yawning abyss. There was a strange excitement for him in his adjustment, an intoxication beyond fear. His movements were untrammeled, and as a result…
We Left Slowly
We left slowly. The night was pale.
In the distance the lights flickered.
And you were all loveliness like your two eyes
With tears cupped in them.
The jackal howled as you went to the vineyard
You…
The Sun and I
We wore each other out today
the sun and I
working in the vineyard.
The sun dropped behind the mountain
exhausted, red,
and burning hot
I was left alone.
We were both
a little overheated
today,
the…
My Little Sister
My sister sits happy
at her bridegroom’s table. She does not cry.
My sister will do no such thing:
what would people say!
My sister sits happy
at her bridegroom’s table. Her heart is awake.
The…
Solo Arak
Black ants crawl over nicotine-stained fingertips
dipping a mint leaf into the glass.
The alcohol dismantles Abd al-Wahab’s
“Cleopatra.”
Now all is clear
solo violin
solo flute
solo oud
we’re…
Night and Hope
Looking at her, the coat and everything else seemed to him to be as clear and clean as the sky.
He had to step across the old man’s mattress.
He knew he would speak to him.
“Look after Anne’s things,”…
The Rise and Fall of a Polish Tallis
Sixty years ago, Jacob, who was known in his quarter as Old Jacob, was living in the rue de la Mortellerie. He ran a successful business selling old clothes, scrap metal and even, on occasion, old…
Collection of the Words of the Lord
I had a vision in Salonika, as though the following words were said to somebody: Go lead Yakov the wise into the rooms and when you and he come to the first room, I admonish you that all the doors and…
Besamim rosh (Scent of a Bitter Spice)
Now in regard to your inquiry as to my view on the question of the halakhic status of the odor of leavened substances on Passover, as there are some authorities who maintain that odor is…
Women of Israel, or, Characters and Sketches from the Holy Scriptures
As the first and most beautiful relationship in which woman is undeniably necessary to man—the object of his first affections, to whom he owes all of cherishing, happiness, and health, from infancy to…
Sefer ha-midot (Book of Virtues)
Noble-mindedness is a very fine character trait in the soul of man, and it extends in many directions: primarily in three, which are, noble-mindedness in wisdom, noble-mindedness in power, and noble…
La vocación de Abraham
Terah’s wife is pregnant
day after day she turned pale,
she already knew what she had
but she did not reveal it to her husband.
One day she went out to fields and vineyards,
she found a cavern and…