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.
Avodat-Ach
Ninio’s art focuses on putting everyday objects into new contexts, which change their original functions, posing questions about the nature of their reality, by opening them up to new relationships…
The Table As It Is
In The Table As It Is, a tabletop perched on precarious legs and precariously set with bottles of wines and glasses seems about to split apart. Dominey’s sculptures present ordinary objects found in…
The War of the Holy Days
Now, my dear friends, do you see what you’re doing? The Holy Days indulged in arrogant boasting, in envy and hatred and warfare. Hanukkah tried to fight them all and carry the day…
The Debate of the Flowers
I wish to praise God
who is great in praises,
who created for man
all kinds of flowers,
and they all are singular
in their colors and scents
and of all the best ones
was the musk flower.
Above all…
Moving Lights
At the close of Independence Day 1972
a biplane plane rose
in the Tel-Aviv sky at dusk
and on its belly
moving lights flashed:
For health and pleasure eat plenty of poultry
Eat as you should…
Hasidic Motifs
A moon full of shimmering honey,
Exuding joy.
What bird beats in my heart?
Fly away—away, but not alone.
What am I shy? What?
Thick empyrean wine.
I’ll take a wicker bottle,
To the cemetery alone…
Remembered and Forgotten
He turned walking on water into a kind of art. Rarely
getting himself wet. He left the ancient harbor at different hours of the day. At times
before sunrise. Sometimes he’d return minutes later…
Hualing’s Garden in Iowa
Wind bells over the river with an
Indian name: transplanted homelessness
disguised as a transplanted home.
The garden jingles. Odorous sandalwood censers,
kimonos and saris flashing well among
the…
An Affirmation
I am not I
when called to account—
plaster over, dumbly benched
the corrosive ardency
of blinkered identification.
To affirm nothing, a veil
of asymptotic bent,
prattling over-
tunes in the striated…
Musicians on Ritual Stand
Musicians on ritual stand, Ashdod, late 11th or early 10th century BCE. Music and dance played an important role in Israel and the ancient Near East in both daily life and special occasions such as…
Bird Figurine with Pillar Base
This terra-cotta bird figurine from Lachish, about 4 inches (10 cm) high, has outspread wings indicating flight. Like the Judahite pillar figurines, its base is a solid pillar flaring outward at the…
Seal of Shema, Servant of Jeroboam, with Lion
A large lion dominates this seal, appearing between the owner’s name (Shema) and his title (servant of Jeroboam). The lion’s jaws are open and its tail curves upward, making the animal appear larger…