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.
Jehoash’s Fable
He [Amaziah] defeated ten thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt, and he captured Sela in battle and renamed it Joktheel, as is still the case. Then Amaziah sent envoys to King Jehoash son of…
Praise of the Man’s Body
My beloved is clear-skinned and ruddy,
Preeminent among ten thousand.
His head is finest gold,
His locks are curled
And black as a raven.
His eyes are like doves
By watercourses,
Bathed in milk…
The Rape of Europa
The rape of Europa is a story from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus seduces the princess Europa and, taking the form of a bull, carries her on his back to the Mediterranean island of Crete. The…
Les Hitlériques, cover
Les Hitlériques was a collection of anti-Hitler verses that Knafo composed in Mogador, Morocco in September and October 1939. This courageous and biting publication was very different from his…
My Little Son
I have a son, a little son,
a youngster mighty fine!
and when I look at him I feel
that all the world is mine.
But seldom do I see him when
he’s wide awake and bright.
I always find him sound…
Warsaw Ghetto Memorial (Warsaw, Poland)
When the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial was erected in 1948, it stood amid the ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto. One of the key intentions was to convey the message that Jews had not gone to their deaths in the…
Hanukkah
By the window I lit a taper
A Hanukkah candle, gentle child.
Many are the memories
And the memories are brilliant.
A regiment of riders, mighty men,
If they appear before you,
Do not fear, gentle…
And the Bush Was Not Consumed
Herbert Ferber’s twelve-foot-high sculpture was originally commissioned to adorn the façade of Congregation B’nai Israel in Milburn, New Jersey. Percival Goodman, the new building’s architect…
A Comet Portending War
I have seen other stars
with a tail before,
but the people were frightened
by this awesome torch.
As an omen of war
it does sadden my heart.
Let us turn to our God,
let us try to please Him.
Virgins Plus Curtains Minus Dots
Houses hold virgins
The doors on the chain
‘Plumb streets with hearts’
‘Bore curtains with eyes’
Virgins without dots
Stare beyond probability
See the men pass
Their hats are not ours
We …
Second Haman
[In the royal palace. In the background stands the throne; on it sits the royal couple. To the left of the throne stand Klemens and the ladies of the court; to the right Count Lubecki and the…
Wedding Riddle
This wedding riddle from Italy is written in Hebrew and Judeo-Italian. Wedding songs, sometimes performed by professional jesters, were traditional at Jewish weddings. Some had lyrics in the form of…