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.
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.
