Yiddish Folktales

by Beatrice Silverman Weinreich (Editor), Leonard Wolf (Translator)

Filled with princesses and witches, dybbuks and wonder-working rebbes, the two hundred marvelous tales that make up this delightful compendium were gathered during the 1920s and 1930s by ethnographers in the small towns and villages of Eastern Europe. Collected from people of all walks of life, they include parables and allegories about life, luck, and wisdom; tales of magic and wonder; stories about rebbes and their disciples; and tales whose only purpose is to entertain. Long after the culture that produced them has disappeared, these enchanting Yiddish folktales continue to work their magic today.

Part of the Pantheon Fairy Tale and Folklore Library

Genres: Jewish, Folklore, Fiction, Short Stories, Judaism, Mythology, Folk Tales

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of nonsense tales, parables, fairy tales, tales about crafty tricksters and plain old fools, and legends -- particularly legends. A wide variety.

I was particularly interested in the fairy tales. There's a Kind and Unkind Girls variety that plays out normally; a Love Like Salt tale where Sorele finds herself at a rabbi's house, not a royal court; an East of the Sun, West of the Moon variant where it's the son who sets out to find his father, not the bride her bridegroom; a Master and Pupil where he marries the sorcerer's daughter, and a number more.

[Cynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories collected here represent the volumes upon volumes upon volumes more collected by folklorists of the or the YIVO (the Institute for Jewish Research). Charged with collecting stories of the folk and older generations living in the early 20th century, the folklorists had to convince many storytellers of the value of their stories, that they and their stories were possibly better than the stories published in all those books people paid to read. What a concept to the under-educated who knew they were getting left behind.

Most of these Yiddish stories describe the lives of the Jewish folk who spoke Yiddish. Occasionally these stories show how Jews and Christians have sometimes lived and worked alongside each other.

* Town Buildings. Local lord wondering what to spend surplus money on--church, synagogue, or town hall.

* Graves. A kind and generous Christian recognized by Jewish community as being kind and generous.might make something if shrine at the gravesite of the Christian.


Occasionally the stories are variations upon the traditional stories that I grew up in here in the US. These somewhat similar stories describe

* Fool sons. These sons seem to not to have the sudden good luck like some stories, such as the Jack and the Beanstalk variety. Instead these fool sons came to a bad end.

* Shoemaking elves. These elves did not run away when they were discovered. Instead these.elves.ran away when left suits of clothes, as in needed payment received for good work done.

This collection shows me something of the variety of traditional tales.

Allegory
Wonder tales
Pious tales
Humorous tales
Legends
Supernatural tales

Overall these takes seem to more town and country than urban. For a more urban collection, I recommend by Sheldon Oberman.

If anyone knows of a Sephardic collection of tales, please book or collection information in the comments section.

[Douglas Florian · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don't have to be Jewish to love Yiddish Folktales, but it couldn't hurt. As good as chicken soup for giving the reader a warm wonderful feeling. There's a wide range in the 178 folktales here: allegories, children's stories, pious tales, and humorous tales, not to mention ghosts, golems, villains, elves, and dibbuks. My favorites were Wisdom or Luck, Poverty Grows and Grows, Good Manners and Foolish Khushim. The traditional Jewish folk art paper cuts, popular in 19th and 20th century Russia and Poland, lend a graphic folky touch.

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a storytelling class so I could find a story to tell. This book was perfect for finding not one, or two, but at least fifteen stories I want to tell. Having to pick one will be a struggle.

However, these stories are funny, heartwarming, wisdom-sharing, and all around highly recommended. I know I’ll be sharing and telling stories from this book for years to come.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to admit that it was not a wise decision to treat this book like a novel and read it from start to finish. For me personally, the tales were sometimes repetitive and the sheer number of stories (178) made it hard for me to want to continue reading at times. I feel that this book is the kind that, for the best reading experience, should be picked up spontaneously, flipped to a random page, and read until you decide that you've had enough. It is the kind that welcomes you to revisit it—a week, or 5 months, or 2 years later with fresh eyes looking for a homey nostalgic experience.

For me, these short, easy to read tales brought back memories of reading Aesop's fables, Italian folktales, and the brothers Grimm book. I also appreciate that the stories were separated into different categories—wonder tales, pious tales, etc.—so that I could see the similarities within each genre. I liked the wonder tales best, probably due to my love of fantasy and myths.

I think that the purpose behind this book—preserving the Yiddish Folk culture—and the culture itself is fascinating. These stories (and many more) were passed down orally generation to generation, among friends, and even to strangers; now they are written down, and can be shared with people across the world, and I think that is amazing.

[Susan Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I devour folktales from many lands and peoples. This book is a collection of folktales and legends from the Yiddish-speaking world of Eastern Europe. My favorite section was # 7, "Elves and Dibbuks, Ghosts and Golems: Supernatural Tales." Here I found the most original-sounding and unusual stories. Most would qualify today as 'flash fiction' because they are often short, scary, and succinct. In the six previous sections of the anthology, themes, frameworks, even whole narratives are quite familiar because they also appear in folktale anthologies from the UK, Scotland, and Ireland, from Scandinavia, and from Western Europe. Evidence of cultural interchange across the centuries?
This anthology is the result of field work done by collectors of folktales and legends, especially the ethnographic expedition by writer-folklorist Sh. An-ski, who wrote the famous play, 'The Dibbuk.'.

[Scotty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a thoroughly entertaining collection! The stories are all varied, but there seemed to be a lot of common themes. I especially enjoyed the last section, "Elves and Dibbuks, Ghosts and Golems: Supernatural Tales." This section seemed to have the most unique stories, whereas some in the other sections kind of ran together at times. Section two, "A Rooster and a Hen, Let the Story Begin: Children's Tales" was definitely more unique, but it was so non-sensical that it was a real slog to get through.

Story quality aside, the collection is brilliantly compiled and edited. There are great notes for the stories, and each section has an introduction that gives valuable insight into the origins of the story archetypes. To really enjoy the marrow of the book is to delve deeper into each story, the places, the names.

[Peter Pactor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book contained interesting and varied stories on a broad number of topics even within the editor's categories. There are stories to teach, stories of pranks, stories of demons and stories of thanks, and many more. If you are Jewish, this book is a must. It will connect you with your culture and you can experience the culture of your ancestors in the small Jewish villages that disappeared at the time of the Holocaust. If you are not Jewish you will find the stories engaging, entertaining, and often with a valuable moral. The book is worth reading.

[Andrew Gardner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have you ever finished a book and thought “well that was a waste of time…”? I hate to say it but that’s how I felt after reading this book.
I thought for sure I would love reading folktales I’d never heard before and a few of them were very engaging and funny. But for the most part it seemed very dry and unappealing.
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to DNF books I didn’t like by the 25/30% mark and I should have done that here.
Womp womp

[Ariel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to finish this collection because the stories are a little like poems. You have to read them and think about them. As with all collections of these kind, the tales vary in quality. But some were new to me and all well told. Another bonus was the beautiful paper-cut silhouettes for illustration, made by Eastern European Jews before the Holocaust.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories mostly come from Eastern Europe, and were collected from various sources. I found the brief introduction about how the stories were collected and organized as interesting as the tales. Some are children's tales, some more adult, many are funny, a few are spooky.

I was glad for the glossary in the back, even though an explanation was often provided within the tale.

[Olivia Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

one review described this book as feeling a nice bowl of warm soup and i couldn’t agree more. it felt so comforting reading this and gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. it’s as though you’re enjoying something your child self would have loved but at the same time it’s mature enough that your adult self loves it too.

[Laura Boudreau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Large, varied collection of folk tales, providing a view into entertainment and superstitious belief throughout Jewish history.

[Hazy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, diverse collection of imaginative folktales from a culture I'm not that familiar with. Enjoyed reading this.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it. Some tales memorable and worth retelling.

[Zilla Novikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tales are familiar to me, in the best sense of the word, and the scholarship brings a new depth to old friends.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wisdom, truth, and laughter all rolled into one. There is a reason that these tales last for centuries: they never fail to delight!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful collection of folk tales. Really stellar.

[Suzuka]

NB - book you read at the Polin Museum which had some really interesting parables in it

[Mia Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute. reading in europe

[Christine Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories used:
Two Brothers Who Went to the Devil

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of stories. Admittedly, these are geared more towards children - picture the "bedtime story" read aloud situation, which makes sense, since these were derived from Yiddish oral history! I'm also giving it the "Atheist Seal of Approval," that is to say, unlike author Yiddish folktale authors, those that write a bit more complex stories, there's not as much "hidden religious agenda" in these stories. Sure, there are a few that I won't be reading to my kids if I ever have any, kind of like how we'll be skipping "Tradition" on the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack until my kids are old enough to realize how antiquated those ideas are, but for the most part, these tales are just that: tales, revolving around life in the shtetl, not in the shuel. The prose style, much like big brother Sholom Aleichem, is deceptively simple, but the best thing about these stories is that they've got a lot of hidden riddles and double meanings. Plus, dibbuks.

[Rachel Hope Crossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so delightful! It is marvelous to read the stories which are divided into different categories such as "Naked Truths and Resplendent Parables", "Magic Rings, Feathers of Gold, Mountains of Glass", and "Justice, Faith, and Everyday Morals." Favorites of mine include The Snake Bridegroom, The Golden Feather, The Poor Rabbi and His Three Daughters. Two marvelous Cinderella stories here are How Much Do You Love Me? and The Princess of the Third Pumpkin.

[Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really loving this one. It's for when someone asks you to tell them a story...

[The other John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one's an entertaining collection of folk tales from the Jewish folks of Eastern Europe. They're pretty short and straightforward, mostly collected in the early decades of the 20th Century. I can only imagine that they were much more entertaining when told by a storyteller. Still, it's a nice collection to keep handy for a brief entertaining read.

[Giovanni Botta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finito nel 01/gen/1970 00:00:00