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.
A Poetic Introduction to the Yom Kippur Service (Seder ha-‘avodah)
When all was not,
You were all that was,
and when You prepared all
You filled all.
When You [ ] all,
You are ever renewing,
for in the beginning You were aged,
and in the end youthful.
No…
The Sayings of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai and His Students
9. [R. Yoḥanan] said to them, “Go forth and observe which is the right path to which a person should cleave.” R. Eliezer said, “A good eye.” R. Joshua said, “A good associate.” R. Yosi said, “A good…
The Martyrdom of R. Akiva
When they took R. Akiva out to be executed, it was time for the recitation of the Shema‘. And they were raking his flesh with iron combs, and he was [reciting the Shema‘, thereby] accepting upon…
The Balsam Industry in the Jordan Valley
After Cleopatra obtained these gifts [of territory in Judaea and Arabia from Antony] and escorted Antony, who was campaigning against Armenia, as far as the Euphrates, she turned back and came to…
Lending and the Prohibition of Interest
What is usury [neshekh] and what is increase [tarbit]? It is usury when a man lends a sela for five dinars, or two se’ahs of wheat for three, because he bites [noshekh] [off too much]. And what is…
Passover Pilgrims
As the Festival of Unleavened Bread was at hand in the first month, which the Macedonians call Xanthicus and we call Nisan, all the people flowed together out of the villages to the city and…
Atonement of Sins
One who says: I shall sin and repent, sin and repent, they do not afford him the opportunity to repent. [If one says:] I shall sin and Yom Kippur will atone for me, Yom Kippur does not effect…
Circumcision as Improvement on Creation
A philosopher asked R. Hoshaiah. He said to him, “If circumcision is so beloved [a commandment to the Lord], why was it not given to Adam, the first [man]?” He said to him, “Why does this man [i.e…
The Ordeal
3. If before [the writing on] the scroll was rubbed out, she said, “I refuse to drink,” her scroll is stored away, and her meal offering is scattered over the ashes. And her scroll is not valid to be…
Death with a Divine Kiss
Let all righteous ones pray to You at the time of finding (Psalm 32:6). [ . . . ] R. Naḥman bar Isaac said: The time of finding refers to death, as it is said: Findings [totsa’ot] at death (Psalm 68…
Resurrection as Reward for the Righteous
And when he was at his last breath, he said, “You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we…
Eternal Worms and Fire
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.a And if your foot causes you to…