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.
Lost Youth
Lost Youth is from a series of paintings called Forever, whose themes are youth, love, and death. Hod intended this picture, which depicts attendees at the funeral of a young Israeli soldier, as more…
‘Olam hafukh (The World Upside Down)
Although the troubles worsened and the city of Padua was in a state of turmoil [see Esther 3:15], there remained hope and divine mercy for the Jews, as not one person in the ghetto was dead or ill…
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…
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…
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…
Sacred Fragments: Recovering Theology for the Modern Jew
Why does a book on Jewish philosophy begin with a discussion of revelation? First, because it is revelation that creates Judaism as a religion. […] Without God’s…