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.
Confession
“Meanwhile months and years disappeared. At twenty-eight I was still without a husband, still an eligible virgin . . . It was spring—free, warm. My heart ached so, I thought I’d go crazy . . . the…
Bavli Bava Meẓi‘a
Until when is he [the defrauded party who has been given a worn coin] permitted to retract [the transaction and return the coin]? In towns, until he can show [the coin] to a money…
R. Ḥisda’s Daughter
[And in] what [way was prophecy given] to children? [It was] like this [incident involving the] daughter of Rav Ḥisda, [who when she was a child] was sitting on her father’s lap. […
Honor and Authority in the Jerusalem Talmud
In y. Bikkurim 3:3, 65c–d and y. Horayot 3:9, 48c, the rabbis reshape Roman customs of honor, redirecting respect from rulers to Torah and the sages who embody its wisdom.
Lifelong Torah Learning
Mishnah Avot 5:22 defines a lifetime of Torah study, linking each stage of life to learning and making study the essence of Jewish living.
The Death of Judah
Now Judah heard of the fame of the Romans, that they were very strong and were well-disposed toward all who made an alliance with them, that they pledged friendship to…
Herod Moves against Antigonus and Avenges His Brother
Herod had by now sailed from Italy to Ptolemaïs, and, having put together a considerable force of mercenaries and native Jews, was advancing…
Alexandra
Herod [ . . . ] heard of the arrest of his brother from others, and on the advice of the daughter of Hyrcanus, to whose daughter he had been betrothed, he became…
Josephus Goes over to the Romans
“Our best course then, my friends, is to take the sensible view and not compound our human predicament with impiety towards the God who created us. If our lives are…
The Fortress at Masada
So the Roman general arrived with his forces to take on Eleazar and the Sicarii occupying Masada with him. Silva quickly established control of the whole surrounding area, set…
Conflicts between Christians and Jews at Alexandria
About this same time, it happened that the Jewish inhabitants were driven out of Alexandria by Cyril the bishop, on the following account. The Alexandrian public is more delighted with turmoil than…
Kartīr’s Smiting of Religious Minorities
And from province to province, place to place, and throughout the empire, the services to Ohrmazd and the gods increased. And the Mazdayasnian [Zoroastrian] tradition and the magi received great honor…