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.
Outcast
I sit by the desk. Four hours of sleep is enough. The rain beats strongly on the neighboring garage’s tin rooftop. The roar of a bus rises from afar. Early rising workers head for the morning shift…
The People, Food Fit for a King
The warden didn’t answer. He was scared to make a mistake, to say something that would be even more damaging to him, so he cleared his throat and didn’t say a word. The commander repeated his question…
Götz and Meyer
Götz and Meyer. Having never seen them, I can only imagine them. In twosomes like theirs, one is usually taller, the other shorter, but since both were SS non-commissioned officers, it is easy to…
Everything Is Illuminated
It was agreed that Grandfather and I would go forth at midnight of 1 July. This would present us with fifteen hours. It was agreed, by everyone except for Grandfather and I, that we should travel to…
Cyrus Cylinder
Cyrus Cylinder, Babylonia. In the inscription, Cyrus, the king of Persia (reigned 559–530 BCE), declares that he was chosen by Marduk, the god of Babylon, to free its citizens from the tyranny and…
Judicial Flogging in Egyptian Painting
Judicial flogging in Egyptian painting, Beni Hasan, Egypt, Twelfth Dynasty (1938–1759 BCE). A culprit is held down by three men as the court overseer watches. Biblical law included provisions for…
Papyrus, Rolled and Sealed
Papyrus, rolled and sealed, Samaria, 4th century BCE. This legal document had multiple seals affixed to it, apparently from different individuals (see the translation of this document, Slave Sale)…
Window Balustrade from Ramat Rahel Palace
Palm imagery is a common motif in decorative architectural elements like window balustrades. Each of the four columns in this partial restoration from the biblical period is six inches in diameter and…
French Lessons
[…] On my first research trip to France as a professional scholar in the summer of 1982, I set out to find the only fascist intellectual discussed in my dissertation who was still alive; his name was…
Cow and Calf
This drawing of a cow and her calf appears on the right side of a pithos (storage jar) from Kuntillet Ajrud. The cow and calf are a common motif associated with fertility and protection. Kuntillet…