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.
Ezra as Priestly Scribe
This Ezra came up from Babylon as a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which was given by the God of Israel; and the king showed him honor, for he found favor before the king in all his requests.
Writing Down the Oral Torah
R. Judah bar Naḥmani, the disseminator for Resh Lakish, expounded [as follows]: One verse says: Write you these words, and one verse says [i.e., it states later in that same verse]: For…
The Struggle between Jason and Onias III
When Seleucus died and Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, succeeded to the kingdom, Jason the brother of Onias obtained the high priesthood by corruption, promising the king at an interview three…
The Priest at the Head of the Community
Rule of the assembly of all the camps. All of them shall be enlisted by their names: the priests first, the levites second, the children of Israel third, and the proselyte fourth; and they shall be…
Description of the Synagogue in Alexandria
It was stated: R. Judah said: Anybody who did not see the double stoa of Alexandria did not ever see the glory of Israel. It was like a large basilica with a stoa inside a stoa. Sometimes there were…
A Sign of Mourning
The sages taught [the following baraita: When] a sage dies, his study hall ceases [its regular study as a sign of mourning over him. When] the president of the court dies, all of the study halls in…
Priestly Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
And while the sacrifice was being consumed, the priests offered prayer—the priests and everyone. Jonathan led, and the rest responded, as did Nehemiah. The prayer was to this effect:
“O Lord, Lord…
Nakdimon ben Gurion’s Prayers for Rain
Once when all Israel went up for a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, it happened that there was no water for them to drink. So Nakdimon ben Gurion went to a certain gentile lord and said to him: Lend me twelve…
A Hosha‘na Litany for Sukkot
For the sake of Your truth
For the sake of Your covenant
For the sake of Your greatness
For the sake of Your law
For the sake of Your glory
For the sake of Your promise
For the sake of Your…
The Numerical Sayings
7. [There are] seven things [characteristic] in a clod, and seven in a wise man:
- A wise man does not speak before one who is greater than he in wisdom.He does not break into his fellow’s speech.He is…
The Importance of Practical Education
All practices, employments, and studies, for us, refer back to piety toward God; for [Moses] did not leave any of these phenomena unexamined or indeterminate. All education and the training of habits…
Supervising Agricultural Workers
If one hired laborers and told them to work early or to work late, he has no right to compel them to do so where the custom is not to work early or not to work late. In a place where the custom is to…