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.
Cottonmouth Country
Fish bones walked the waves off Hatteras.
And there were other signs
That Death wooed us, by water, wooed us
By land: among the pines
An uncurled cottonmouth that rolled on moss
Reared in the…
Fringes/tassels on Garments of "Asiatics"
Fringes/tassels on garments of “Asiatics.” In Egyptian art, tassels are a typical feature of the garb of Asiatics, the peoples of Canaan/Israel and Syria, as in this mural from the tomb of Pharaoh…
Papyrus, Rolled, Folded, and Sealed
Papyrus, rolled, folded, and sealed, Elephantine, Egypt, 5th century BCE. See also Papyrus, Rolled and Sealed. The Elephantine papyri provide historical documentation about the members of a Jewish…
Dry Tears: The Story of a Lost Childhood
Stanislaw often told me how much he liked my company, and sometimes he wondered about my Jewishness: “Look at yourself! You cannot be Jewish!” he would exclaim. And yet whenever he spoke to me about…
The Tabernacle
Shown here are two slightly different reconstructions of the Tabernacle based on the Bible’s descriptions; many details derive from educated guesses. The first shows the sanctuary compound with its…
The Letters That Never Came
After the war with Spain came another war. The postman, though, he stopped coming. Well, actually, he didn’t stop. What I mean is, he didn’t stop in. Papa always waited for him by the balcony, he’d be…
“Separation”: My Journey with Alex
“When I get papa out of jail, we’ll join you. We’ll meet at Strasbourg, don’t worry,” Mama said.
When Alex heard about the entire matter, he said: “No, I don’t want to go. I want Mama.”
Alex was very…
Jehu on Obelisk of Shalmaneser III
The panel shown here is part of an obelisk that contains a long inscription summarizing the triumphs of the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (r. 858–824 BCE) until the thirty-third year of his reign. The…
Yom ha-kippurim, the Day of Purification and Atonement
The Lord said to Moses:
Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud…
Warfare
When you take the field against your enemies, and see horses and chariots—forces larger than yours—have no fear of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, is…
A Ruling about Collecting Wood on the Sabbath
Once, when the Israelites were in the wilderness, they came upon a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. Those who found him as he was gathering wood brought him before Moses, Aaron, and the…