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 Rise of King Herod
Herod was a servant in the house of the Hasmoneans. He put his eyes upon a particular girl. One day, [Herod] heard a heavenly voice that said: Whatever servant rebels now will succeed! [Herod] got up…
The Power of the Exilarch in Commerce
R. Dimi brought figs from Nehardea on a ship. The exilarch said to Rava, “Go and see. If he is a sage, give him first right of sale in the market.” Rava said to R. Ada bar Abba, “Go appraise his…
Punishment of False Witnesses
Perjuring witnesses are not to be put to death until [after] the end of the trial. Because the Sadducees say: [Perjurers were put to death] only after the accused had [actually] been executed, as it…
The Heavenly Prince Melchizedek
[ . . . ] . . . [ . . . ] [ . . . ] And as for what he said: In [this] year of jubilee, [you shall return, each one, to his respective property (Leviticus 25:13), concerning it he said: Th…
John’s Prediction of Jesus’ Coming
As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of…
Stephen’s Speech
Then the high priest asked him, “Are these things so?” And Stephen replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God of glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before…
Letter from Antiochus V to the Gerousia and the Jews
To the nation the king’s letter was as follows:
“King Antiochus to the senate [gerousia] of the Jews and to the other Jews, greetings.”
Jewish Community of Cyrene
And this same Strabo bears witness in another passage that at the time when Sulla crossed over into Greece in order to wage war against Mithridates, he sent Lucullus to put an end to a sedition that…
Twenty-Four Books
Then I answered and said, “Let me speak in your presence, Lord. For I will go, as you have commanded me, and I will reprove the people who are now living; but who will warn those who will be born…
Who May Serve as a Scribe
And that which is taught [in a baraita, which said that] it should be interred, is [the opinion] of this tanna, as [R. Hamnuna,] son of [Rava] of Pashronya, taught: A Torah scroll…
A Pilgrimage for a Rite of Purification
When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us warmly. The next day Paul went with us to visit James; and all the elders were present. After greeting them, he related one by one the…
The Nobility of Priestly Lineage
Now my lineage is not an obscure one, having descended from the priests since the beginning, and just as nobility of birth has a different foundation for each people, among us, membership in the…