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.
Alexander and the Birthright of Israel
And to the sons of the concubines that Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts (Genesis 25:6). In the days of Alexander the Macedonian, the children of Ishmael came to challenge Israel regarding the…
Pharisees and Sadducees on Resurrection
When Paul noticed that some were Sadducees and others were Pharisees, he called out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the…
Some Precepts of the Torah
These are some of our regulations [concerning the law of G]od, that are pa[rt of] the precepts we [are examining and] they [a]ll relate to [ . . . ] and the purity of [ . . . ] . . .…
Jesus Heals on the Sabbath
After this there was a festival of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay…
Polemic against Festivals
But I do not think you need to learn from me about their anxiety over food, their superstition about the sabbath, their arrogance over circumcision, and the pretense they make of fasting and of their…
Rabbinic Criticism of the High Priest
With regard to [the prominent priests] and those like them, Abba Saul ben Batnit said in the name of Abba Joseph ben Ḥanin: Woe is me due to [the high priests of] the house of Boethus…
Pompey’s Conquest
His triumph had such a magnitude that, although it was distributed over two days, still the time would not suffice, but much of what had been prepared could not find a place in the spectacle, enough…
A Wisdom Poem
Hear the commandments of life, O Israel;
give ear, and learn wisdom!
Why is it, O Israel, why is it that you are in the land of your enemies,
that you are growing old in a foreign…
Scribes Slain by Seleucids
Then there came to him [Demetrius son of Seleucus] all the renegade and godless men of Israel; they were led by Alcimus, who wanted to be high priest. They brought to the king this accusation…
The Altar as Source of Life
Both the stones of the altar ramp and the stones of the altar were from the valley of Beth Kerem. They dug from the virgin ground below and brought whole stones [to the Temple] over which no iron had…
Priestly Politics and the Cause of War
At the same time things were happening in the temple. Eleazar, the son of the high priest Ananias, a young radical who was Captain of the Temple at the time, persuaded the ministers in charge of…
The Sale of the Priestly Service
Thus shall Aaron enter [the holy place] (Leviticus 16:3): R. Berekhiah [said] in the name of R. Levi: Thus [be-zot]: Scripture makes known that [Aaron] lived 410 years [the numerical equivalent of the…