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.
Romance of a Horse Thief
Tirzeh rose early the following morning, cooked some schav, beat in several eggs, boiled a pot of potatoes, and put the food on the table to cool. As soon as she sat down, she remembered…
Saâda the Moroccan
Meanwhile, the beautiful Saâda wandered the streets of Blidah . . . She continued straight ahead, without purpose or thought.
She went . . . She found Blida banal with its one-story European…
Hear, O Israel!
Hear, O Israel!
Will you never tire of repeating in your prayers:
“Praised be the Eternal, who avengeth my injuries,
Who protecteth my rights, who supporteth me in need,
Who crusheth my foes, who…
A Caravan in the Desert (Right and Left)
To the right and left, just sand and sand,
yellow desert without a path.
A caravan passes, moving silently,
like a dream there, so strange.
The tinkling of bells rises and falls rhythmically.
Cam…
Zayt gezunt (Farewell)
Farewell, farewell,
Tomorrow I depart.
I’ve sewn myself a pack
And had my hair cut off.
I’ve got myself a belt
That’s tethered to my chains,
Said good-bye to all my neighbors
Through the wall that…
My First Encounter with Peretz
[The writings of the nineteenth-century maskilic writers] Perets Smolenskin and Yitsḥok Erter opened cracks in the faith of Hasidic young men [like Asch himself]. Their life of [Talmud] study without…
Oldest Jewish Cemetery in America
The oldest Jewish cemetery in the United States is located in New York City; the grave of Cantor Gershom Mendes Seixas can be seen here in the burial grounds of Congregation Shearith Israel.
The Voice of Gladness
I have merited to make this book, which I named Kol sasson [The Voice of Gladness], for the reason that our masters of blessed memory said that it is obligatory for everyone…
Feuchtwanger Cent
In 1829, German Jewish metallurgist Lewis Feuchtwanger attempted to introduce a metal alloy known as “German silver” into U.S. coinage, promoting this nickel silver as a less-expensive alternative for…