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.
Babylonia to Zion: Salman Shina on Iraqi Jews in Early Israel
Salman Shina’s 1955 memoir recounts how Iraqi Jews adapted to new realities in Israel amid loss, struggle, and renewal.
Jewish Military Service in the Ottoman Empire: A New Era of Inclusion
Reports that Jews might be drafted into the Ottoman army sparked debate on equality and belonging, with Ben-Yehuda urging Jews to embrace service.
Report on Isfahan’s Jews: Hardship and Resilience in Qajar Iran
A German Jewish journal recounts the words of Isfahan’s chief rabbi, describing poverty, persecution, and endurance within Iran’s longstanding Jewish community.
Judeo-Arabic Flavors: Tunisian Jewish Recipes from the Early Twentieth Century
This rare Judeo-Arabic cookbook of Tunisian Jewish recipes blends North African spice with Mediterranean tradition.
Self-Portrait in Hiding
View Felix Nussbaum’s haunting self-portrait painted in hiding in Brussels, reflecting fear, identity, and a fragile hope during the Holocaust.
Jewish Women’s Education in Ottoman Istanbul
Learn how Ottoman Jewish teacher Victoria Danon fought to open a Turkish-language school for Jewish girls in 1890s Istanbul, challenging local opposition.
Mizrahi Women in America: Stories of Food and Identity
An interview with American Mizrahi women authors explores how food, memory, and heritage shape 21st-century Jewish storytelling and identity.
A Syrian Jewish Thanksgiving: Ham and kibbeh
A Syrian Jewish family outside of the close-knit Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn evaluates their relationship to tradition through food.
The Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, Interior
This Curaçao synagogue, the oldest surviving one in the Americas, has sand-covered floors.
The Essence of Baseball Explained for Non-Sportsmen
This illustration of a baseball diamond appeared in a short primer on baseball published in a Yiddish newspaper.
Herzl Rug
The machine-woven rugs produced by the by the Torah u-mel’aḥah trade school in Jerusalem for export to France featured important Jewish figures, traditional and modern.
Ketubah for Shavuot
In the Sephardic tradition, a “marriage contract” (ketubah), a symbolic betrothal of God and Israel, is read before the Torah reading on the first day of the holiday of Shavuot.