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 Decree of Caesar Augustus to the Jews of Cyrene
Caesar Augustus, high priest and tribune of the people, ordains as follows: Since the nation of the Jews has been found agreeable to the Roman people, not only at this time but also in the past, and…
Scribes Appointed by David
David, desiring to appoint his son king over all the people, called together their rulers in Jerusalem, along with the priests and Levites. Having first counted the Levites, he found them to be thirty…
Rabbinic Descriptions of the Second Temple Structure
1:3. There were five gates to the Temple Mount: the two Huldah Gates on the south, which were used for both entrance and exit; the Kiponus Gate on the west, which was used for both entrance and exit…
Pompey’s Conquest and Appointment of Hyrcanus II
But when the siege engine was brought forward, the greatest of the towers was shaken by it and brought down, and it broke through part of the fortifications, so that the enemy began pouring in. First…
The Corruption of the Priests
And now, my children, I know from the writings of Enoch that in the end-time you will act impiously against the Lord, setting your hands to every evil deed; because of you, your brothers…
The Synagogue as Travelers’ Inn
The dilemma was raised before [the sages: In the case of] two partitions [that] have a roof over them, what is [the halakhah? Is this structure also treated like a house?] Come [and]…
Ben Sira’s Hymn of Thanksgiving
Ben Sira is a wisdom book written in the land of Israel around the 180s BCE (before the Maccabean wars but after the high priesthood of Simon II; see HELLENISTIC PERIOD). The book was written in…
Eleazar’s Prayer for Israel’s Deliverance and Victory
Then a certain Eleazar, famous among the priests of the country, who had attained a ripe old age and throughout his life had been adorned with every virtue, directed the elders around him to stop…
Ḥanina ben Dosa’s Prayers for Rain and Cessation of Rain
R. Ḥanina ben Dosa was travelling when it began to rain. He prayed:
Master of the Universe!
The whole world is at ease while Ḥanina is in distress?!
The rain stopped.
When he arrived at home, he…
An Aramaic Piyyut for Passover
Speaking the Praises of the King of the World,
I will declare [these] nights
before the whole assembly:
He chose for Himself
a singular dove whose name is “My dove” (Song of Songs 1:6)
He saw…
The Admonition to Witnesses in Capital Cases
How did they admonish witnesses in capital cases? They brought them in and admonished them, [saying,] “Perhaps you will say something that is only a supposition or hearsay or secondhand, or even from…
Rabbinic Support for Elementary Teachers
For R. Judah said [that] Rav said: That man shall truly be remembered for good, and Joshua b. Gamla is his name. For without him the Torah would have been forgotten in Israel. For in the beginning, he…