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.
Torah Pointer (Poland)
This silver Torah pointer from Poland is inscribed in Hebrew: “The hand [i.e., pointer] of Joseph Halevi, crowned with success, donated in the name of his son Abraham on the eve of R[osh] H[ashanah]…
Kiddush Cup of Judah Loew (Prague)
This silver kiddush cup is believed to have belonged to Judah Loew. Known as the Maharal of Prague, Judah Loew ben Bezalel spent twenty years as rabbi in Moravia, moving in 1573 to the Bohemian…
Kiddush Cup (Nuremberg)
Kiddush cups are used for the ritual blessing over wine. This one, partially made of gold, was crafted in Nuremberg, Germany, and was used in a synagogue in Lublin, Poland. The engraved plant and…
Kiddush Cup (Frankfurt am Main)
This gold, repoussé, punched, and engraved cup was used for kiddush (the ritual sanctification of the Sabbath over wine) in the home of the Speyers, a prominent and wealthy family in the Jewish ghetto…
Hanukkah Lamp (Frankfurt am Main)
At the center of the backplate of this silver Hanukkah menorah from Frankfurt am Main is a scene depicting the biblical heroine Judith, who has cut off Holofernes’s head and is about to place it in a…
Hanukkah Lamp (Frankfurt am Main)
The master silversmith Rötger Herfurth was particularly well known for his Hanukkah lamps, most of which have backplates and rampant lions, a style he popularized and which came to be known as the…
Hanukkah Lamp (Heilbronn)
This sleek and unornamented Hanukkah lamp is strikingly different in design from traditional menorahs. Inspired by the principles of the Bauhaus, it strives for both functionality and beauty but…
Hanukkah Lamp (Frankfurt am Main)
This magnificent cast-silver Hanukkah lamp, modeled on the ancient menorah, was created in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The legendary Judith stands at the top, surrounded by animals and angels below…
Hanukkah Lamp (Germany)
A prayer, Ha-nerot halalu anu madlikin (“These lights we burn”), usually recited after the blessings for lighting the Hanukkah candles, is inscribed on the back panel of this Hanukkah menorah from…
Hanukkah Lamp (Frankfurt am Main)
This silver Hanukkah lamp is an example of a new type for home use that became popular in the late seventeenth century in Frankfurt am Main. Designed to resemble an ancient menorah, it has a central…
Hanukkah Lamp (Nuremberg)
This Hanukkah menorah was made in Nuremberg, Germany, where it was characteristic in the eighteenth century for Hanukkah lamps to include a parchment with the blessings for lighting. At the time…
Hanukkah Lamp (Algeria)
This terracotta Hanukkah menorah from Cabilia (?), Algeria, is decorated with painted black triangular shapes (possibly representing humanoid figures) on a background of yellow, with edging in reddish…