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.
Mishnah Terumot
1. If a woman [who was married to a priest] was eating terumah [the priest’s portion], and they came and said to her, “Your husband is dead,” or “He divorced you”; or if a…
Mishnah Makhshirin
1:1. Any liquid that is desired at the start, even though it is not desired at the end, or, if it is desired at the end, even though it was not desired at the start, [it] comes under the law of if…
Bavli Gittin
[The mishnah taught that] Hillel [the Elder] instituted a document that prevents the sabbatical [year] from abrogating an outstanding debt [prosbul]. We learned [in a mishnah]: [if one prepares—Ed.] a…
Ruth Rabbah
21. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law (Ruth 1:14). All kisses are of licentiousness, except for three: A kiss of greatness, a kiss of [greeting after] absence, and a kiss of parting. A kiss of greatness…
Mishnah Ḥagigah
Mishnah Ḥagigah 1:8 reflects the rabbinic view that interpretation itself is a sacred source of authority, allowing even the shortest biblical text to support a vast system of practice.
Oven of Akhnai
In the talmudic tale of the Oven of Akhnai (b. Bava Metzia 59a–b), divine voices yield to human interpretation and rabbinic authority defines Torah.
Mourning for Jerusalem
Tosefta Sotah 15 guides Jews after 70 CE to mourn Jerusalem’s loss with moderation—preserving faith, life, and tradition beyond the Temple.
Studying Torah in the Synagogue
According to b. Megillah 29a, after the Temple’s fall God’s presence moved to synagogues and study houses—creating new centers of sacred life.
Priestly Status and Privilege
In m. Horayot 3:8, the rabbis redefined authority after the Temple’s fall, elevating Torah study over priestly lineage and transforming Jewish leadership.
The Split Human in Greek Thought
Plato’s Symposium imagines the first humans split by Zeus; love is the longing for reunification.
Creation and the Early History of Humanity
Genesis begins with two creation stories, Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden of Eden, and the first murder.
Fire and Revelation in Song of Songs Rabbah
In Song of Songs Rabbah 1:10, Ben Azai’s study burns with divine fire, revealing how rabbinic interpretation could reenact revelation through Torah itself.