Play any of the above for appropriate music for browsing!
You will need the free RealAudio plugin to play
RealAudio files. The RA files here will download before playing.
This page is a subset of texts derived from the three major online Sourcebooks listed below, along with added texts and web site indicators. For more contextual
information, for instance about Western imperialism, the Islamic world, or the history of
a given period, check out these web sites.
A Canaanite Statue:
Possibly El Late Bronze Age II, Megiddo, [At Oriental Institute]
"El" is the God whose name appears in names such as "IsraEl",
MichaEl", etc.
WEBThe Iron Age 1200-550 BCE [At BU]
All three are outstanding webpages at BU by John R. Abercrombie which contain modern
accounts of the periods' material cultures, and very extensive image files connected to
the ANEP by Pritchard.
2ND Gerald A. Larue: Old Testament Life and
Literature [Modern Text]
The entire book is online at infidels.com. This is a "secularist" website, which
attitude can be just as distorting as Biblical literalism. In this case the text is
useful.
2NDCriticism of the Documentary
Hypothesis [Modern Annotated Bibliography]
Literalist Jews and Christians have long rejected the documentary hypothesis, and, as in
this link, many modern scholars agree that it is not as simple as was proposed in the
past. The problems of the Bible's creation and editing are real, however, and admission by
scholars of difficulties with one theory does not indicate that these can be ignored.
2NDHidden Messages and Bible Codes? [Modern Article]
From the Skeptical Inquirer. Discusses whether the Bible contains codes from God
WEB The Tel Dan Inscription [Internet Archive]
Concerns the discovery of an Aramaic inscription in 1993, which may be first extrabiblical
evidence for the House of David.
WEB Post Biblical Judaism [At Calgary]
Eliezer Segal's course page, with extensive notes on E. P. Sanders, Judaism:
Practice & Belief, 63 BCE-66 CE (London and Philadelphia, 1992)
WEB Eliezer Segal's Homepage [At
Calgary]
Professor Segal teaches a variety of courses, including one on Medieval Jewish history, at
the University of Calgary.
WEB Medieval Judaism [At Calgary]
Prof. Segal's class notes and more.
The Pact of Umar, 7th
Century (?) or another version [At this Site]
This is a report of the agreement made by the Caliph Umar with conquered Christians.
Similar toleration was permitted to other "people of the book".
Benjamin of Tudela (1160-1173): The Itinerary of Benjamin of
Tudela Critical Text, Translation and Commentary by Marcus Nathan Adler. [At Traveling
to Jerusalem/U Sth Colorado]
The Black Death and the Jews 1348-1349 CE
[At this Site]
Contains: The Confession of Agimet of Geneva, , October 20, 1349; Jacob von
Königshofen (1346-1420); Chonicle; The Epitaph of Asher aben Turiel,
Toledo, Spain, 1349.
Ordinance
of the Jews of the Crown of Aragon, 1354 CE
This ordinance or takkanah was the product of an increased sense of Jewish
vulnerability in the years after the Black Death (1348).
Synod of
Castilian Jews, 1432
Ordinances from assembly of the Jews of the kingdom of Castile at Valladolid in
1432.
Jews and the Later Roman Law 315-531 CE [At this
Site]
Laws by Constantine the Great, Constantius (337-361), Theodosius II (408-410), and
Justinian (527-565).
Julian and the Jews, 361-363 CE [At this Site]
From Sozomen, Ecclesiastical History written about 443-450 CE
Three facts predominate when considering the important role of Jews in the Medieval
economy. In most places and times, medieval Jews were legally unable to participate in
agriculture, the economic activity of the vast majority of both Christian and Muslim
populations. There is a lot of evidence that scattered Jewish communities kept in contact
with each other. Finally, although credit was essential to economic activity, lending
money on interest (usury) was forbidden by Muslim and Christian law [although there were,
in practice, many Christian money-lenders]. (Jewish law also forbids usury within the
Jewish community, but permits loans to those outside).
The result of these situations was that Jewish economic activity had to focus on
professional skills, trading, or credit provision.
Matthew of Paris: The
Usury of the Cahorsins, 1235
Cahorsins, along with Lombards, were the Christian groups most associated with
money-lending in the middle ages.
WEB Khazaria
Information Center [website]
A Resource for Turkic and Jewish History in Russia and Ukraine. Also conatins a very
extensive guide to the web on Eastern European Jewish history. This site, by Kevin Brooks,
is a serious investigation.
WEB The Khazar Heritage [website]
This site is largely based on racist claptrap.
Sepher Yetzirah [or Sefer Yatzira], translated from the Hebrew by Wm. Wynn Westcott, [At Wolf's Den]
The Sepher Yetzirah is one of the most famous of the ancient Qabalistic texts. It was
first put into writing around 200 C.E. Westcott's Translation was first published in 1887
Judah Ha-Levi (ca 1075-1141): The Kuzari, also known as The
Book of Argument and Proof in Defense of the Despised Faith (Kitab al Khazari).
The entire first book of the Kuzari, a philosophical treatise written by the
Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet, Judah Ha-Levi. It is written in the form of a
dialogue, purportedly between the king of the Khazars and the representatives of various
belief systems, culminating with a rabbi.
The Hypertext Halacha, [At Project
Torah.org]
A translation of the Shulchan Aruch and Mishna Berurah. An excellent source
for the details of Jewish religious law.
Byzantine Liturgy
for Good Friday [At this Site]
This is a current English translation. It shows how the very negative Christian message
that Jews were "Christ-killers" was conveyed to the people through the liturgy
of the churches. Latin Catholic Good Friday services were just as anti-Semitic, although
it has now been reformed. This aspect of Christian liturgy made Holy Week an extremely
dangerous time for Jews thoughout Christian-majority lands.
John Chrysostom (c.347-407): Homilies Against the
Jews [At this Site] from sometime before 398. Horrific.
Image: Jewish Usurers, from the Rotulus Judeorum,
1233
An English caricature of Jews as coinclippers and and usurers.
Thomas of Monmouth: The Life and Miracles
of St. William of Norwich, 1144, excerpts [At this Site]
One of the major accusations against Jews of the charge that they killed Christian
children. This blood-libel was the center of a number of saint's cults. See the Catholic
Encylopedia [1913] article William
of Norwich for much background information. [Note that this article, while rejecting
the Ritual Murder and Blood Libels, does end by suggesting that some of the cases were
based on real incidents.]
Image and Story of Anderl von
Rinn: A Blood Libel Saint, supposedly 1462, in fact 17th century [At this Site]
An image from Rinn showing the ritual murder of Anderl von Rinn. This file also contains
many links to other "blood libel" information.
Martin Luther: Before 1517: Letters
to Spalatin [At this Site]
These letters are interesting in showing Luther's atitude towards Rome and towards
theology. They also reveal that Luther's hatred of Jews, best seen in his 1543 letter, was
not some affectation of old age, but was present very early on.
"On The Jews and Their Lies", a treatise by Martin Luther (translated by Martin H. Bertram, Luther's Works, Vol. 47: The Christian In Society IV, ed. by Franklin Sherman (c) 1971
Fortress Press, pages 121-306) has been removed because of copyright objections. We will attempt
to provide a new translation of the German text at some point, but meanwhile welcome a translation
any scholar wishes to supply.
The Status of Jews and Christians in Muslim Lands,
1772 CE [At this Site]
A question on the position of Jews in Islam, and the answer of the Shaikh Hasan Al
Kafrawi, The Shafiite [Professor of canon law in Cairo, d. 1788 CE]
Image: Rodrigo Lopez 1594
Lopez was a Portugese Marrano (a "hidden Jew"), who was Queen Elizabeth's
physician. He was executed for working to poison her.
Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593): The Jew of Malta1589
[At Project Gutenberg]
Not merely an anti-Semitic play, since it attacks Christian hypocrisy, but the Jewish
villain would be seen by an audience without any actual Jews to counter the image.
William Shakespeare (1564-1616): The
Merchant of Venice, first performed 1597?, [At Project Gutenberg]
Surely the most famous of all early modern plays with Jewish characters. The question of
whether the play is Antisemitic remains open for some commentators.
WEB Southwest Jewish
Archives [At Arizona]
The site includes texts and discussions on Crypto-Jews and Jewish pioneers in the American
West.
19th Century
WEB Walnut Street
19th Century Jewish-American history, poetry and fiction, polemics and philosophy. Has an
online library of 19th century Jewish books.
WEB Jews in the Civil War
Contains an impressive collection of original texts from both Union and Confederate sides.
See the Internet
Modern History Sourcebook for texts by and about Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud and Albert
Einstein. Marx was the son of convert parents, Freud rejected religion, and Einstein was
not conventionally religious.
Albert Einstein: Letter to
Roosevelt, Aug 2, 1939 [At MPHPA], along with Roosevelt's response and the discussion by
the scientific community
Martin Luther: Before 1517: Letters
to Spalatin [At this Site]
These letters are interesting in showing Luther's attitude towards Rome and towards
theology. They also reveal that Luther's hatred of Jews, best seen in his 1543 letter, was
not some affectation of old age, but was present very early on.
"On The Jews and Their Lies", a treatise by Martin Luther (translated by Martin H. Bertram, Luther's Works, Vol. 47: The Christian In Society IV, ed. by Franklin Sherman (c) 1971
Fortress Press, pages 121-306) has been removed because of copyright objections. We will attempt
to provide a new translation of the German text at some point, but meanwhile welcome a translation
any scholar wishes to supply.
Emile Zola (1840-1902): J'accuse, L'Aurore, 13 January 1898, in French [at Cnam] or J'accuse [French
text][At BPJJ]
Zola's scathing attack on the Dreyfus case.
T.S. Eliot, Burbank with a
Baedeker: Bleistein with a Cigar [At Bartleby]
Eliot, one of the greatest of 20th-century poets was, nevertheless, an anti-Semite. The
casual anti-Semitism of much of the Western elite tends to be overlooked in discussions of
religious and racial anti-Semitism, but was an important contributor to the tragedy of the
Holocaust. [See also Eliot's The Waste Land.]
The
Protocols of the Elders of Zion [PDF File] [At D. Dickerson] [Full Text]
Note that this text, which has directly caused the death of thousands of Jews, is a
complete fabrication. See
here for a discussion of the text.
The 25 Points, 1920 [At
this Site]
An early Nazi program.
Adolf Hitler: Mein Kampf,
full text [At Hitler.org], and in
German,
[At Adolf Hitler.ws]
Please note that this text is emphatically not endorsed by the Jewish History
Sourcebook.
Radio Islam [Website]
Includes an attack on the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Paris (who just happens to have
Jewish roots)!
-->
Zionism Page [At Internet Archive, from Muslim Net]
A virulently anti-Semitic page which presents as historically accurate the text of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and Henry Ford's The International Jew.
[The same site's page on
Hinduism is no better.]
2ND Winthrop D. Jordan: Slavery and the Jews,
review of The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews at The Atlantic,
September 1995 [At The Atlantic Magazine, subscription required]
The Nazi
Marking/Identification System [At HistoryPlace]
This page contains a reproduction of an original document illustrating the various types
of triangles/markings assigned to different categories of prisoner.
Gerhard Bodendorfer: Excuse
Instead of Confession of Guilt? A Statement About the Vatican Documents"We
remember: A Reflection On the Shoah" [At Jewish-Christian Relations]
Very critical of the Vatican.
Country Studies
Prepared for Library of Congress under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Department of the Army. These are full descriptions of the countries
concerned, in terms of history, geography, economy, etc. There are also useful
bibliographies. [At LOC]
2ND Ross Shepard Kraemer: Summary of Her Share of the
Blessings: Summary of Women's Religions Among the Pagans, Jews, and Christians in
the Greco-Roman World [At Sunshine for Women]
WEB Center
for Jewish History
Comprised of four institutions of higher Jewish learning: the American Jewish Historical
Society, the Leo Baeck Institute, Yeshiva University Museum, and YIVO Institute for Jewish
Research. They intend to create a campus complex devoted to the furtherance of Jewish
scholarship in the heart of New York City: The Center for Jewish History.
WEB Khazaria
Information Center
A Resource for Turkic and Jewish History in Russia and Ukraine. Also conatins a very
extensive guide to the web on Eastern European Jewish history.
WEB Kalanu [At Baltimore]
Kulanu, "All Of Us", is an organization which reflects the community of
interests of individuals of varied backgrounds and religious practices dedicated to
finding and assisting lost and dispersed remnants of the Jewish people
MUSIC
WEB Israel Gimel
The Israeli-Jewish-Yiddish-Hebrew-Folk-Cultural Music Midi Free Library. Also has a good
guide to other Jewish Music sites on the web.
WEB Service/Song Archive [Daniel Macks]
Many words available, in transcription, Hebrew and English translation.
If any copyright has been infringed, this was unintentional. The possibility of a site
such as this, as with other collections of electronic texts, depends on the large
availability of public domain material from texts translated before 1923. [In the US, all
texts issued before 1923 are now in the public domain. Texts published before 1964 may be
in the public domain if copyright was not renewed after 28 years. This site seeks to abide
by US copyright law: the copyright status of texts here outside the US may be different.]
Efforts have been made to ascertain the copyright status of all texts here, although,
occasionally, this has not been possible where older or non-US publishers seem to have
ceased existence. Some of the recently translated texts here are copyright to the
translators indicated in each document. These translators have in every case given
permission for non-commercial reproduction. No representation is made about the
copyright status of texts linked off-site. This site is intended for educational use.
Notification of copyright infringement will result in the immediate removal of a text
until its status is resolved.
