Free Library Resources
Resource Tools
Free Web Research Databases
Find freely accessible Judaica databases. This list is being updated. If you find links that are not working let us know at library@hebrewcollege.edu. If you have suggestions of links to add, send them along.
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Search Tools
Bibliography of the Hebrew Book
A comprehensive bibliography of approximately 90% of books printed in the Hebrew Language between 1470 and 1960.
Chumash & Commentary English Search
Includes a “concept search” for related passages and mefarshim.
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) includes many full-text, quality-controlled scholarly journals. There are more than 600 journals included in the directory which cover the areas of religion, philosophy, social sciences, gender studies, education, anthropology and more.
A database of articles, books and documents on a broad range of education-related issues, published by Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), a federally funded national information system.
Institute for Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts
The Institute for Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts (IMHM) catalog contains records for nearly all Hebrew manuscripts in existence today. Where relevant, the catalog also links to digitized images from the manuscripts. Note: You must select “Manuscripts” under “Library” before beginning your search, or your query will search the entire National Library of Israel system. The database is only searchable on Hebrew.
Kabbalah: The Aramaic Language of the Zohar
A very useful blog for the introductory study of the Zohar with online dictionaries, grammars, and introductory commentaries.
RAMBI—The Index of Articles on Jewish Studies—is a selective bibliography of articles in the various fields of Jewish studies and in the study of Eretz Israel. Material listed in Rambi is compiled from thousands of periodicals and from collections of articles—in English, Hebrew, Yiddish and European languages—mainly from the holdings of the Jewish National and University Library in Israel. To search, select Rambi Web.
Talmud Subject Search. English language easy reference subject guide for the Talmud.
Classic Texts Online
Bible study resources, including resources for studying the weekly Torah portion. Sources include traditional biblical commentaries from The Rabbinic Bible – Mikraot Gedolot. Tools include an online bible concordance and the Brown Driver Briggs (B.D.B.) Biblical dictionary.
Halacha Brura and Berur Halacha
This site contains links to Rabbinic texts from many sites.
This website concentrates on the works of North American rabbis (in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English), and also contains thousands of older works. About 40,000 out-of-print books and journals may be downloaded as PDF images. Published by the Society for the Preservation of Hebrew Books, this website is focused on preserving all Torah seforim ever printed.
Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg
In the early 1900s, Ginzberg collected midrashic and aggadic stories about the Bible and Biblical characters and wove them together into one narrative.
Mechon Mamre: Online Resources for Learning Torah
This online database offers free access to the texts of Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (in Hebrew, Aramaic, English and parallel Hebrew and English); Rambam’s Mishneh Torah (in Hebrew); Mishnah, Tosefta, Talmud Yerushalmi, and Talmud Bavli (in Hebrew). For Tanakh verses with links to relevant references in the rabbinical literature (in Hebrew), go to Sifrut HaKodesh.
Portal to a comprehensive list of online text sites. In Hebrew.
Online bar/bat mitzvah tutor study. Translation – This is the Five Books of Moses along with commentaries. Torah – The weekly reading with Hebrew, translation, transliteration and chanting. Haftarot – Selections from Prophets that accompany the weekly and holiday Torah readings.
Online Handwritten Torah & Megilot
Each page is accompanied by comments related to writing the scroll, questions for comment, or fine points of the text.
Webyeshiva. Extensive list of online Hebrew sources
The mission of the Open Siddur Project is to liberate the creative content of Jewish spiritual practice as a collectively shared resource
Pirqe Rabbi Eliezer Electronic Text Editing Project
Contains digitized images of three manuscripts.
This site is a collection of links to rabbinic primary texts, journals, dictionaries, and other study tools.
Responsa for Today and Responsa from the Conservative/Masorti movement
Links to Early American Reform prayer books.
Sefaria Living Library of Jewish Texts
Large collection of Jewish canon material assembled in the public domain. Easy to navigate. Includes Hebrew and some English translation.
Many older rabbinic works are available in PDF form on this site.
Israel’s main learning and teaching resource for children, parents, educators and schools, provided by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (in Hebrew). Snunit offers access to various databases and journals, portals and websites, lesson plans and teaching materials, teachers’ and students’ chat rooms. It includes a subject navigator and full-text searches.
(Hebrew) Tanakh (accessible by perek), Mishnah by masechet), Tosefta (by masechet), Yerushalmi & Bavli (by daf and amud), Midrash Tanhuma, and Mishneh Torah (by sefer and perek)
The complete Soncino English translation of the Talmud.
Steinsaltz Koren English Talmud
The William Davidson Talmud, a free digital edition of the Babylonian Talmud with the English and Modern Hebrew translation by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, interlinked to major commentaries, biblical citations, Midrash, Kabbalah, Halakhah, and an ever-growing library of Jewish texts. Texts are being added on the Daf-Yomi schedule
Traditional Jewish texts with some classical commentary. Clearly organized. In Hebrew.
Dictionaries and Concordances
The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project
The CAL is a text base of the Aramaic texts in all dialects from the earliest (9th Century BCE) through the 13th Century CE, currently with a database of approximately 2.5 million lexically parsed words, and an associated set of electronic tools for analyzing and manipulating the data, whose ultimate goal is the creation of a complete lexicon of the language. Note: It is a work in progress, not a completed dictionary. Accordingly, any citations for scholarly purposes should include the date when the data was found.
PDF vol. 1 1
Marcus Jastrow’s A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushlami, and the Midrashic Literature
Dukhrana online searchable version of Volume I & II
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.
The Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon
With an appendix containing the Biblical Aramaic. Based on the lexicon of William Gesenius.
Over 16,000 abbreviations from Judaic sources and commentaries.
Online free simple spelling and grammar checker
Newspapers
Thanks to the Library of the Leo Baeck Institute, the German-Jewish newspaper is now available in completely digital format online, though the Internet Archive
Compact Memory—Internetarchiv jüdischer Periodika (in German)
Compact Memory offers searchable digitalized versions of dozens of German-Jewish journals and newspapers from the 18th through 20th centuries.
Historical Jewish Press (National Library of Israel)
Easily searchable database of Jewish newspapers from around the world. 45 Titles, 1843-1987.
Early Hebrew Newspapers
Jewish National and University Library, David and Fela Shapell Family Digitization Project: Hazevi, Halevanon, Hamagid, Havazelet, Hazefirah, Hameliz
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) Archives
Founded in 1917, the JTA has been the primary source for specifically Jewish news until the present day. Their archives have been digitized and are completely searchable online.
Jiddischer Drucke (Yiddish Prints)
This “Yiddish Prints” Collection of the Frankfurt University Library contains about 800 Yiddish books of all kinds, some of which are extremely rare books or unique editions. The texts were printed in Hebrew letters in Western, Central and Eastern Europe between the middle of the 16th century and the beginning of the 20th century.
Check here for Israeli newspapers including Ha’Aretz, Jerusalem Post, Ye’diot Achronot, Ma’ariv and more. Find current information on Israeli politics, events, business and entertainment in English, Hebrew and Russian.
Union List of Digitized Jewish Historic Newspapers and Periodicals
Comprehensive list of digitized Jewish newspapers (with Latin characters and Hebrew characters in separate tabs) and links to the sites that provide access to them
Music
Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archive
The Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archive offers thousands of fully searchable tracks of Jewish music and humor, including cantorial, Yiddish, Ladino, Israeli and Hasidic performances and radio broadcasts. Hebrew College’s extensive LP collection has also been digitized and included in the Archive. (QuickTime music player must be installed) Off-campus access is available: To access the Dartmouth Jewish Sound Archive from off-campus, go to the archive website and register on the top right of the page.
Database for traditional piyutim (religious poetry) with commentary and analysis.
Online Encyclopedias
Produced by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, this is a comprehensive encyclopedia of the Holocaust.
The 12-volume Jewish Encyclopedia was originally published from 1901–1906. This online version contains more than 15,000 unedited articles and illustrations from the original encyclopedia. Since the original work was completed almost 100 years ago, it does not cover a significant portion of modern Jewish history (e.g., the creation of Israel, the Holocaust, etc.).
Jewish Language Resource Website
This site, maintained by a global team of experts in their respective fields, includes a map of 18 Jewish languages, as well as descriptions and resources for their use and study.
The Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe
By Gershon David Hundert (Editor)
This unprecedented reference work systematically represents the history and culture of Eastern European Jews from their first settlement in the region to the present day. More than 1,800 alphabetical entries encompass a vast range of topics, including religion, folklore, politics, art, music, theater, language and literature, places, organizations, intellectual movements, and important figures. The Encyclopedia covers the region between Germany and the Ural Mountains, from which more than 2.5 million Jews emigrated to the United States between 1870 and 1920. In addition to the encyclopedia articles in the printed volumes, the website provides access to a collection of photographs, audio, video, digitized documents, as well as specific resources for educators and researchers.
Books: General Jewish History
Internet Jewish History Sourcebook
Fordham University’s immense corpus of links to full-text primary sources. Includes texts from the ancient to the modern period.
COJS: Center for Online Jewish Studies
The COJS is an online repository of rich digital images depicting primary resources from throughout Jewish history. “History 101” is the primary gateway to these images, which include detailed contexts.
The New York Public Library has over 700 Yizkor Books memorializing various towns in Europe, and nearly all of them are digitized. Most of them are in Hebrew or Yiddish, but there are some English translations available as well
Hebrew Literature Tools
Modern Hebrew Literature – a Bio-Bibliographical Lexicon.
The Academy of the Hebrew Language
Resources for the History of the Hebrew Language
Ben Yehuda Project / פרויקט בן-יהודה
Classics of Hebrew literature including poetry and prose, essays, letters, memoirs, and reference works converted to a format that is readable and searchable on the Internet. In Hebrew. A free digital library of Hebrew literature, maintained and updated by volunteers
Texts and short linguistic explanations for answering common Hebrew grammar questions. In Hebrew.
A concise overview of the field of modern Hebrew literature, presented in English by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lexicon of Modern Hebrew Literature
This extensive lexicon, compiled by Joseph Galron-Goldschlager, includes a description and bibliography for nearly every important author of Hebrew literature. In Hebrew.
Poetrans is an index of poetry translations into Hebrew. A digital database of poetry books translated into Hebrew.
Israeli Culture
This Hebrew site is a forum for authors to present their literature. Users can vote and comment on the works. It is a good resource for new and cutting edge forms of literature.
This database, sponsored by the Israeli Film Council and others, provides information about Israeli film from its inception to the present day. Includes a history of Israeli film, an alphabetical listing of films with further information, and more. Note: Site entirely in Hebrew
סיפור ישראלי- Israeli Stories (radio program)
An often humorous Israeli radio broadcast in the style of “This American Life”.
Hebrew University in Jerusalem Youtube Channel
Includes student interviews, faculty lectures, and videos from the extensive Spielberg Jewish Film Archive.
Israeli Government Sites
Includes historical records, press releases, information about current MKs and committee activities and a live feed from the Knesset floor (requires plugin). Content available in Hebrew, Arabic and English.
Supreme Court Website בית המשפת העליון
Includes previous court decisions and a history of the court, information about the justices and upcoming cases. Limited sections available in English and Arabic.
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
Reports on demographics, business/economy, and environmental trends. Available (most in English as well as Hebrew) as PDF files.
Financial reports, educational material and historical archives available in English, Hebrew and Arabic.
VERSA: Opinions of the Supreme Court of Israel
Available through the Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, this website provides contains a searchable database of hundreds of translated cases, media from ISCP events, and links to items of interest pertaining to the Court.
Knesset Research and Information Site (Hebrew)
The Hebrew site for the Knesset Research and Information site includes a vast array of documentation for Knesset business and discussion.
Knesset Research and Information Center (English)
Select documents from the Israeli Knesset that have been translated to English.
This project, produced by Cardozo Law School, has translated many of the decisions of the Israeli Supreme Court and included them in a searchable database.
Online Archives
The National Library of Israel
(Formerly The Jewish National and University Library/JNUL)
Comprehensive collection of online resources freely available in a wide range of subjects and media, including E-Journals, Scanned Books & Newspapers, Photography, Manuscripts, Music and much more. Searchable in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.
The Israeli Center for Education Technology has developed many websites aimed at integrating new technologies with traditional Jewish texts. Most databases in Hebrew.
Volumes of the American Jewish Year Book from 1899 to the present.
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is America’s national institution for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history, and serves as this country’s memorial to the millions of people murdered during the Holocaust. A partial bibliography, by subject, of Holocaust related resources compiled by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum can be found here.
The Harvard Law School Library’s Nuremberg Trials Project is an open-access initiative to create and present digitized images or full-text versions of the Library’s Nuremberg documents, descriptions of each document, and general information about the trials.
North American Jewish Databank (NAJDB)
National and community level social scientific studies of the North American Jewish population.A repository of both national and community level social scientific studies of the North American Jewish population. The collection includes both contemporary and historical data. (Access is free but users must register with a username and password.)
Established in 1953, Yad Vashem is the world center for documentation, research, education and commemoration of the Holocaust. Many of their resources have been made available digitally, including their large photograph archive and the Central Database of the Shoah Victims’ Names.
Jewish Women
Women in Judaism: A Multidisciplinary Journal
An academic, refereed journal published exclusively online, and devoted to scholarly debate on gender-related issues in Judaism.
Jewish Women’s Archive Encyclopedia
The Jewish Women’s Archive has an extensive encyclopedia of important Jewish women around the world.
Annotated Bibliography and Guide to Archival Resources on the History of Jewish Women in America
By Phyllis Holman Weisbard, Women’s Studies Librarian’s Office, University of Wisconsin, Madison. This bibliography concentrates on books, chapters in anthologies, and periodical articles on the collective history of American Jewish women and archival resources on individuals and women’s organizations.
Edited by Judith Pinnolis. A website dedicated to Jewish women’s contributions in music.