Fables In Jewish Culture

Fables in Jewish Culture catalogues almost 400 Jewish scrolls and books from the collection of Jon A. Lindseth that contain animal stories with moral connections. Spanning six centuries, the books are in several languages, including Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and Judeo-Persian. They were printed all over the world and include animal stories from the Hebrew Bible and other religious texts as well as translations of secular stories, such as Aesop's fables in Hebrew. The catalogue is divided into four sections—Biblical works, rabbinic works, medieval works, and postmedieval works—and each entry is illustrated with a page or more from the work, a detailed description of the characteristics and publishing history of the work, and description of the fables contained therein, along with a discussion of their literary and/or cultural-historical significance. This volume includes a foreword by Jon A. Lindseth, describing how he assembled this collection of Jewish books containing fables, as well as essays on the role of fables in Jewish culture, their use in Biblical and rabbinical literature, and their appearance in Jewish and Yiddish literature. Fables in Jewish Culture concludes with a bibliography of fables in Jewish literature and multiple indexes that allow readers to locate works by a number of criteria, including fable, author, title (in English, Hebrew, and Latin), and printer. Contributors: Marion Aptroot, David Daube, Simona Gronemann, Jon A. Lindseth, Raphael Loewe, Lies Meiboom, Emile Schrijver, David Stern, Heide Warncke, Irene Zwiep.

Fables in Jewish Culture catalogues almost 400 Jewish scrolls and books from the collection of Jon A. Lindseth that contain animal stories with moral connections. Spanning six centuries, the books are in several languages, including Hebrew, Yiddish, Aramaic, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and Judeo-Persian. They were printed all over the world and include animal stories from the Hebrew Bible and other religious texts as well as translations of secular stories, such as Aesop's fables in Hebrew. The catalogue is divided into four sections--Biblical works, rabbinic works, medieval works, and postmedieval works--and each entry is illustrated with a page or more from the work, a detailed description of the characteristics and publishing history of the work, and description of the fables contained therein, along with a discussion of their literary and/or cultural-historical significance. This volume includes a foreword by Jon A. Lindseth, describing how he assembled this collection of Jewish books containing fables, as well as essays on the role of fables in Jewish culture, their use in Biblical and rabbinical literature, and their appearance in Jewish and Yiddish literature. Fables in Jewish Culture concludes with a bibliography of fables in Jewish literature and multiple indexes that allow readers to locate works by a number of criteria, including fable, author, title (in English, Hebrew, and Latin), and printer. Contributors: Marion Aptroot, David Daube, Simona Gronemann, Jon A. Lindseth, Raphael Loewe, Lies Meiboom, Emile Schrijver, David Stern, Heide Warncke, Irene Zwiep.

Reproduced pages of the original 17th-century Yiddish, including the woodcuts, face the first English translation of the 34 fables that comprise Wallich's Sefer Mesholim. A valuable resource for students of the Yiddish language and of European Jewish culture of the early modern period. The fables come mostly from Aesop and medieval Hebrew and German sources. Well annotated. No index. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Individual fables by Yiddish poet and writer Shtaynbarg (1880-1932) have appeared in various English anthologies, and there is a thriving critique of his work in Yiddish, but Leviant (Hebrew and Yiddish, Rutgers U.) offers the first collection in English devoted to his work, with the Yiddish on facing pages. The fables, one to three pages long, elevate interactions between mundane objects, animals, or people into spiritual encounters. They draw on the ancient tradition of Hebrew fables. Annotation (c)2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

This book presents a varied group of 40 fables which can be found scattered through the Talmud and in certain collections of midrashim. More than stories about talking animals and their interactions with each other and with humans, the fables offer readers--including children--a way into understanding the Talmud and Midrash. The notes and essay help to explain the Jewish teachings in the fables. --From publisher's description.

"Berechiah added his own narrative details to the traditional stories, using every opportunity to introduce Biblical quotations and allusions and use the language and lessons of the Old Testament.

The very cordial welcome given to my earlier volume of “Jewish Fairy Tales and Fables” has prompted me to draw further upon Rabbinic lore in the interest, chiefly, of the children. How the wise Rabbis of old considered the necessities of the little ones, whose minds they understood so perfectly, is obvious from such legends as those dealing with boyish exploits of the great Biblical characters, Abraham, Moses, and David. These I have rewritten from the stories in the Talmud and Midrash in a manner suitable for the children of to-day. I have ventured also beyond the confines of these two wonderful compilations. There is a wealth of delightful imagination in the legends and folk-lore of the Jews of a later period which is almost entirely unknown to children. I have drawn also on these sources for some of the stories here presented. My desire is to give boys and girls something Jewish which they may be able to regard as companion delights to the treasury of general fairy-lore and childish romance.

A collection of classic Jewish folktales which emphasize values and moral lessons, each with an introduction that places it in context with other Jewish teachings.

Captures the wit, wisdom, and lore of Jewish tradition in a collection of folktales, legends, and literature.