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Great Tales of Jewish Fantasy and the Occult: The Dybbuk and Thirty Other Classic Stories

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The stars of this compilation include the anonymous writers of a 14th century classic, Ansky (of Dybbuk fame), Rabbi Nachman of Bretslav and The Neder(sic). THere are even two representatives of the Haskala or Enlightenment (who were vicious towards observant Judaism in general and Chasidic Judiasm in particular, but still used the symbolism)

Most of these stories are told in the classic fairy tale vein, popularized by the Brothers Grimm. Some are satiric, some are symbolic with symbolism that eludes the reader, some make no sense whatsoever and some are classics. Rabbi Nachman's tales are the most esoteric, while Ansky's stories are the most entertaining and accessible.

Beautifully written tales, translated with an excellent ear to detail and great commentaries (although there does seem to be some pc handwringing over the sexism of some of the tales, but it's not too annoying.)

Buy it. Buy this book now. Then buy other works by the writers contained in the book. This compilation is a great addition to fantasy folk literature. If you are a fantasy reader,you will welcome the relief from unicorns saving the kingdom from the Tolkein imitators. If you aren't a fantasy fan, you will just love this book for its own merits.

This is an extraordinary set of tales for all who love works of fantasy and fairy tales as well as those interested in Jewish folklore and tradition.
They range from beautiful fairy tales such as Three Wedding Canopies by the genius YL Peretz, the wise stories of Rabbi Nachman of Bratislav (Whose writing inspired Franz Kafka), the master of writing on the occult and supernatural S Ansky, to more cynical and satirical pieces such as The Mare by Mendele Moykher-Sforim.
The Golem is a translation from the original manuscript written by Yudl Rosenberg in 1909.
It was a response to the terrible blood libels which had gained credence in the 1890s and was leading to greater attacks on Jews. Rosenberg relies on age-old Hassidic hagiography and folklore to create this folk tale of Rabbi Liva and his creation through kabbalah of the Golem, a manlike creature made from dust and ashes, that Rabbi Liva uses to perform great miracles and to save the innocent and punish the evil.
He uses the Golem to frustrate the evil designs of the spiteful and malicious anti-Semite Father Tadeus. A young Jewish girl is kidnapped and forcibly converted to Christianity before being rescued by the Golem, and forgeries of the blood libel are disproved through the Golem's deeds and the evildoers aiming to frame the Jews unmasked.
The tragedy of a brother (who was swapped at birth) and sister marrying each other, is averted, amidst much supernatural and metaphysical phenomena.
This is a tale of Jewish folklore, fantasy and kabbalah and is both glorious and intriguing.
It is also a commentary, on the fate of the Jews through the ages.
There is During the Middle Ages a Jew passes away, and is buried, with kaddish spoken for him.
When his soul's deeds are weighed the good deeds and the bad deeds are completely balanced and since the sins do not outweigh the virtues the soul would not go to hell, and since the virtues did not outweigh the sins the soul would not go to heaven.
It was determined that he would fly about in the middle until G-D remembered him and took pity on him and summoned him with His Grace.

But it was also ruled that if he could bring three valuable gifts to the Saints, during his wanderings, he would be admitted to Heaven.

The soul witnessed three incidents of attacks on Jews and brought back three gifts

A rich Jewish merchant is murdered by bandits and the spirit carries to heaven a speck of soil from Palestine, signifying the eternal link between the Jews and the Land of Israel.
A beautiful young Jewish girl is sentenced to be executed by being dragged through the streets by a wild horse, for leaving the ghetto and walking the streets of the Christian town during a Christian holiday.
She asks for pins to sew the hem of her dress to her legs, sticking the pins deep into her flesh, so that her body would not be exposed when she is dragged through the streets.
The spirit pulls a bleeding pin out of the condemmned girl's leg and flew up to heaven to give it as a gift to the angels.

A Jews is executed in a prison, but refuses to die without his skullcap.
The spirit takes the bloody skullcap as a gift to the saints in heaven.

The tale here details some sardonic treatment of society and materialism, as well as indictment by Peretz of mediocrity and and pettiness.

The message is more metaphysical than social, but also tells something of the situation of the Jewish people and their eternal ideals and faith.
Herein lies the hope.

Peretz is an intellectual hero of mine because he rejected cultural universalism, seeing the world as composed of different nations, each with its own character.
Each nation is special and unique in it's own way.
That is my philosophy.
He saw his role as writing to express 'Jewish ideals...routed in Jewish culture and Jewish history'.
His writings, often of fantasy and metaphysical phenomena always reflect Jewish ideals and Jewish experiences through the ages.
There is also the beautiful fairy tale with a Jewish flavour, The Three Wedding Canopies, where Peretz writes an excellent commentary of history and human affairs:
"Nations and chiildren have a keen eye, that is to say, they can recognize at first glance things that the wisest sages fail to see. Their very first impression tells them who is truly good, honest and pious, and who is wearing a mask on his facve-and has hell in his heart".
Then there is the story of the rabbi who turned into a werewolf, and the rich tale of sad longing and hope The Messiah of the House of Epraim by Moshe Kulbak.
What these works have in common is classic writing, a Jewish perspective and a focus on the supernatural and metaphysical.

Originally published as The Great Works of Jewish Fantasy and Occult in 1976, this 1991 edition contains stories by some of Judaism's greatest writers, including Y. L. Peretz (four tales), Mendele Mocher Seforim (two), and the famous somewhat mysterious, some argue "mad," Rabbi Nachman of Braslav (five), and others, for a total of thirty-one stories. The tales vary in length from two to one hundred and eighteen pages. There are humorous, fantastic, mysterious, mystical, cabbalistic, skeptic, messianic, rational, irrational, satirical, and pragmatic tales. We meet kings and paupers, clever and ignorant men and women. We see individuals and groups concerned about their families, themselves, and God; while others run away or are too confused to move. Some tales are ambiguous, such as many by Peretz and Rabbi Nachman, making them delightful, memorable, and thought provoking. While some mention Jewish customs or beliefs, these stories reflect the strivings, delights, and problems of all cultures, and can be read with joy and advantage by all.

Rabbi Nachman's A Tale of a King and a Wise Man is an example of an ambiguous, perhaps even obscure, thought-provoking tale. A king heard of another king who claimed to be powerful, truthful, and unassuming. This other king secluded himself, and even hid behind a curtain. The king sent his wise man to get a picture of this other king, for none existed of this hidden king. The wise man arrived and found that everything in this other kingdom was a lie: the dealings between people, families, courts, and political system. He went to talk to the king of this other land and told him about all the lies that he heard. This provoked the officials around the king to anger. But the wise man praised the king. He said that the king must be good and wise. He could not be a liar like his people. Surely he did not know about the lies because he lived behind his curtain. The king was impressed by the praise, as all people are impressed by praise, and opened the curtain to see who was speaking to him. The wise man saw the king's face, memorized it, and was able to paint it and give it to his king.

What is going on here? Is this a parable? What does Nachman mean by everyone telling lies? Is he talking about humanity, that people are not living properly? Who is this other king? Who are his officials? What is the significance of the picture that the king wants of this other king? Is the other king God or the laws of nature that control the world or both? Are the officials a metaphor for clergy? By the picture does Nachman mean a description of how God functions in the universe? What does the praise of the king signify? Is it prayers to God? Is the rabbi/author criticizing God? Is he mocking God or our conception of God? What is he saying about God? Is Nachman "mad"?