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.
The Penknife
Listen, Jewish children, and I will tell you a story about a penknife. It’s not a made-up story, but a true story that really happened to me. There was nothing on earth I yearned for as much as I…
Shpanyer-arbet Tallis Machine
Shpanyer-arbet (spun work) was the name for a type of decorative gold and silver lace that adorned yarmulkes, prayer shawls, and other Jewish ritual garments in Eastern Europe. It was woven on a…
Home Again
Cover of sheet music for “Do Not Say Goodbye” from the Marx Brothers’ musical comedy Home Again. The comedy was set in the style of vaudeville, with a series of musical and comedic numbers based…
Israel That Erred, Remains Israel
He read my songs of sorrow and mourning . . .
Has one Poet wreaked against his People
If I erred through licentious ways,
If I erred, vain and unfaithful?
Thus mourns my song. No word of comfort…
History of the Jews
This Sixth Part is the last part of the “First Period” of Jewish history, which we have called “Israel in its Land.” Part Seven, which follows, will be the first part of…
The Jewish Ethnographic Program
With good reason the Jewish people have earned the highest title to which a nation can aspire, the honor of being called The People of the Book [Am ha-seyfer]. “Der Seyfer,” the book, has…
Creating God’s Presence in One’s Consciousness
“I am the Lord your God” [the first of the 10 commandments, namely, to believe in God] precedes [the second commandment] “You shall have no other Gods,” for through complete contemplation of “I am the…
A Son of the Ancient Race
A Son of the Ancient Race is one of the few paintings with Jewish themes made by Jozef Israëls. It is from a series of paintings and drawings of secondhand clothing peddlers in Amsterdam’s Jewish…
The Hand of Man
The Hand of Man appeared in the first issue of Alfred Stieglitz’s journal, Camera Work. Its title alludes both to the transformation of the natural world by humans and the capacity of humans to create…
The Traveler
The Traveler was painted soon after the Russian Revolution, around the time that Marc Chagall was appointed commissar of the arts for Vitebsk, the site of Yehudah Pen’s academy, where Chagall had…
Jewish Customs
An Addendum to the History of R. Moses Isserles
Rabbinic literature assigns to customs (minhag) an extensive and highly prominent role. In fact, the talmudic sages always looked upon customs with…
The Wars of the Lord
10. And now, with the Lord’s help, we will return to our primary question: We asked you to tell us, according to the opinion of the kabbalists, to whom do we say our prayers, and make all of our…