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.
Organic Thinking: A Study in Rabbinic Thought
Chapter I. IntroductoryI. The Problem of Coherence“There is (thus) a zone of insecurity in human affairs,” remarks William James in his essay on The Importance of Individuals, “in which all the…
The Opinion of the Torah: Illuminating the Present Jewish Condition According to the Light of the Torah
Written on the Occasion of the Ritual Slaughter Decree in Poland, 1936 [Parliament considered a bill to have animals killed by electricity, rather than by a knife, as required by Jewish law. The bill…
The Ban Pronounced against Greek Wisdom
Maimonides, the greatest Jewish philosopher of the Middle Ages, was of the opinion that the principles and methods of metaphysics formed part of the traditional lore of the sages of the Mishnah and…
Excerpts from His Sacred Writings
54. There are two paths toward faith; one is the absolutely true one, and the other is the rational one. The latter changes in accordance with the times. There are occasions when, if there is some…
Jewish Badkhonim-Actors
Some decades ago Jewish badkhonim-actors [jesters] were still a very common phenomenon. Most of the time the badkhn was not only an entertainer improvising rhymes and funny sayings, but also an actor…
World History of the Jewish People
1. The Sociological Method of Jewish HistoriographyThis is a universal history of the Jewish people in that it fully corresponds to the contents and the scope of this extraordinary…
The Source of Our Belief
A Good Catholic must believe that the Pope is infallible. A good communist must believe that Stalin is never mistaken. A good Bundist can and ought to ask himself at all times whether his party…
Memoirs of an Assassin
Paris, Tuesday, May 25, 1926, half past three in the afternoon. The car in which I had suddenly found myself honked and barely managed to drive through the dense throng, with people screaming on all…
Manifesto of the General Jewish Workers’ Union (Bund) in Poland
Adopted at the Anniversary Congress in Warsaw, November 13, 1937 To the Jewish working men and working women.To the rank-and-file of the Jewish people and working intellectuals!At a difficult time…
Father, King
Lord God, You are very mercifulSo incline Your ears toward usAnd Remove Your Anger from usFor the Great sins that we have committed.Day and night we will pray to GodTo accept our pleas,And hear our…
Shire Yehudah (The Songs of Judah)
Let the elders rejoice and the discerning be glad, the students and rabbis be happy, and the princes and the officers, and the wealthy and the needy exult, with the poor and those lacking sustenance…
Sarah Bernhardt as Cleopatra
Postcards, such as this image of the actress as Cleopatra, advertised Sarah Bernhardt’s celebrated performances for global audiences. Born Henriette-Rosine Bernard to a Jewish courtesan of Dutch…