“Jewish Legends, Lore and Lullabies From The Treasure Trove Of Hebrew Tales”
Published by Eti Shani
Smashwords edition
Copyright 2012 Eti Shani
cover image: A traditional illustrated ketubah (Jewish marriage contract), source: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, License: Public Domain
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The images View Of Jerusalem and Les Juifs devant le mur de Salomon and the table scene from the Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia (1906 – 1913) are in the Public Domain and have been included here for illustration purpose.
The stories have been translated into English by Eti Shani and adapted for contemporary readers by André Klein.
© 2011 learnoutlive.com
“Days are scrolls, you may write on them what you wish.” - Rabbeinu Bachayei
Introduction
Each and every culture lives and breathes stories to remember the past, to transmit its knowledge and wisdom to future generations. And, as Eli Wiesel once said, no other people have such a desire to remember like the Jews. The Hebrew Bible, without even mentioning its philosophical and metaphysical implications can simply be understood as a compilation of the greatest stories ever written - stories, that have inspired people all over the world up to this day. Whether it is the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, Joseph and his brothers or Moses in the desert, these narratives have become known far beyond the Hebrew culture where they originated. And yet, they are only the tip of the ice-berg. This culture has a story for each situation, each week and hour, and they don't just contradict each other sporadically, but it's as if the narratives themselves are in constant disagreement with each other, always striving to bring up alternative viewpoints, which even in the most orthodox texts sometimes borders on the heretic, as in the infamous bible commentary which says that Moses had the “face of a murderer”.
Nowadays, secular people are mainly interested in stories for their entertainment value but a good story can do a lot more than just entertain. As mentioned above, a story is a container of consciousness, transferring the spirit of times through the generations. Therefore, it can also be described as an educational device. In the Western world, Aesop's fables come to mind when thinking about educational narratives and are often quickly disregarded by modern readers for their linear morality and preachiness. But when we go to the Middle East we find very different kinds of stories that are not linear at all, which are almost always ambiguous and often confusing for Western readers. In this respect, the Jewish stories are a lot closer to those found in, let's say, Arabian Nights than to the highly didactical narratives of classical antiquity, for example.
The following stories have been taken from various Hebrew sources and were rewritten by the authors to make the riches of Hebrew storytelling more accessible for today's readers. The selection of materials ranges from Midrashim (Bible commentaries and alternative narratives) to historical tales of figures such as Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakai to popular parables and allegories.
The Tale of the Olive Tree
hen
King Solomon died, the animals grieved him sobbing and crying. The
trees went into a deep sorrow, their leaves changed colors and fell
off, their branches bowed towards the ground, the sun did not shine
and heavy dark clouds covered the sky.
Only the olive tree continued to grow within its evergreen leaves, as if nothing had happened.
The trees started whispering to each other, “Look at this olive tree, it continues to live without bothering to grieve, what an arrogant plant!”
The olive tree was listening attentively to the other trees’ tirades but kept silent, taking in sun and water and letting humans pick its rich fruits.
One winter night when a dark storm was blowing, all the trees were moving and branches flew in the air. Suddenly a strong crack, a poignant sound was heard from the olive grove.
None of the trees knew what had happened.
In the morning, when the storm was gone and the sun was shining, the trees looked in the direction of the olive grove, where the cruel sound had come from that night. They looked at the olive tree's trunk and they noticed a big crack inside. Its heart was broken.
At that moment the trees understood that their grief was exterior (they had changed their leaves' colors and let them fall), while the olive tree’s grief was interior: that’s why its heart was broken, and its trunk was cracked.
And until this day whenever we pass by an olive-tree and see a split in its trunk we remember this story.
-
source: Middle Eastern folklore
The Donkey Driver
abbi
Hiya and Rabbi Yossi met one night in the Tower of Zor. They sat
together around a table and were delighting in each other’s
presence.
Rabbi Yossi said, “I am relieved to be in this delicate meeting with you, my friend. You see, while I was walking to this Tower of Zor an old donkey driver along the way made me feel sorrow.”