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.
Former Tajik Barbers with Their Israeli Customers
In 1978, anthropologist Frédéric Brenner began traveling around the world with the aim of creating a visual record of the Jewish diaspora at the end of the twentieth century. Over the course of his…
Chronicle of Fez
I have found written in the handwriting of the sage, our master, the crown and glory that rests upon our heads, the perfect sage and excellent judge, who is modest and happy in all his affairs. His…
Wedding Poem for Jacob Teixeira and Sarah Ximenes
Jacob Teixeira was born in Amsterdam in 1724 to Judith Nunes Henriques (b. Amsterdam, 1703–1732) and Joseph Teixeira (b. London, 1699–1775), who descended from the wealthy Portuguese Teixeira family…
Hymn to the Sabbath
Come, my beloved, to meet the bride, we’ll greet the Sabbath’s arrival.Observe and remember in a single utterance the singular Lord instructed us; the Lord is One, and One is His Name, for glory, for…
Vía de salvación (Path of Salvation)
Great God, author of death and life! for as much as Thy sovereign clemency shows itself so propitious toward me, that in the midst of the illness in which Thou hast placed me…
She‘are kedushah (Gates of Holiness)
You already know that concerning all matters of supernal attainment, one needs to be alone in his house so that others will not disturb his thought, and he himself needs to…
Meḥir yayin (The Price of Wine): On Esther
I, Moses, son of his honor my father and teacher, the leader and guide, Israel, may he live a long and good life, I who am called Moses Isserles of Kraków, was among the exiles [see Ezekiel 1:1] who…
Dialogue of Adam and Eve
Beautiful mistress mine,
upon whose snow at dawn
the rose is forming
on fields of mother of pearl.
Pure and lovely lily,
who amid coral protects itself
from the pure crystals
that the…
Storage Jar with Lamalekh Stamp
Storage jar with lamelekh stamp, Lachish, late 8th century BCE. More than 2,500 large storage jars, with a capacity of 12 to 14 gallons each, have seal impressions on their handles with the word lamel…
Ivory-inlay Piece with Repeating Palmettes
This piece from Samaria shows lotus shoots sprouting from the base of each palmette, with alternating open and closed blossoms. The repetition of the images is characteristic of the art of this period…
Bone Handle with Grazing Horned Animals
The primary register of this handle from Hazor shows two grazing caprids (perhaps deer or gazelles), a popular motif (see “Bulla of Shebanyahu Son of Samak, with Grazing Doe”). Beneath them is a…
Israel—Little Big Country
The northern Negev and the Negev mountain range
Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like watercourse in the Negev
They who sow in tears shall reap with songs of joy
—Psalms 126:4–5
More than half of the…