Judaic Studies

Established in 1947, the American Jewish Archives collects, preserves, and makes available for research, materials on the history of Jews and Jewish communities in the Western Hemisphere, including data of a political, economic, social, cultural, and religious nature.

Established in 1892, the mission of the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) is to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish heritage and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation and dissemination of materials relating to American Jewish history. The AJHS illuminates American Jewish history through its many archival treasures, scholarship, exhibitions, and public programs. Among the treasures of this heritage are the handwritten original of Emma Lazarus’ The New Colossus, which graces the Statue of Liberty; records of the nation’s leading Jewish communal organizations, and important collections in the fields of education, philanthropy, science, sports, business, and the arts.

This digital collection of primary source material documents everyday lives, families, communal institutions, religious organizations, voluntary associations, businesses, and political circumstances of Jewish life throughout the western hemisphere over four centuries.

This site contains a collection of Jewish newspapers published in various countries, languages, and time periods.

This site provides inforamation about and finding aids for the organizational records of JDC, the overseas rescue, relief, and rehabilitation arm of the American Jewish community, the JDC Archives houses one of the most significant collections in the world for the study of modern Jewish history. With records of activity in over 90 countries dating from 1914 to the present. Includes access to millions of digitized documents.

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Archive contains 23 million documents, photographs, recordings, posters, and films. Its collections reflect the life and culture of Jews around the world and is also one of the world's foremost resources for the study of East European Jewry, Yiddish literature and language, the Holocaust, and the American Jewish immigrant experience.

The Jewish Women’s Archive is a national organization dedicated to collecting and promoting the extraordinary stories of Jewish women. JWA explores the past as a framework for understanding the issues important to women today; inspires young people with remarkable role models; and uses Jewish women’s stories to excite people to see themselves as agents of change.

The American Jewess (1895-1899) described itself as "the only magazine in the world devoted to the interests of Jewish women." It was the first English-language periodical targeted to American Jewish women, covering an evocative range of topics that ranged from women's place in the synagogue to whether women should ride bicycles. It offered the first sustained critique, by Jewish women, of gender inequities in Jewish worship and communal life. This site provides digital reproduction of the 8 volumes of The American Jewess.

Shapell Manuscript Foundation is an independent educational organization dedicated to collecting and exhibiting original manuscripts and historical documents. The Foundation’s focus encompasses unique themes in American history and the Holy Land, with emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Its extensive holdings include manuscripts and items from American presidents, most notably a large collection of Abraham Lincoln manuscripts; Mark Twain; Jewish soldiers in the Civil War; Albert Einstein; Theodor Herzl and early Zionism.

This digital archives contains documents from the combined collections of five historic synagogues, including documents from 1730 until the beginning of the 20th century.