The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition (Hardcover)

by Nina Jaffe (Author), Louise August (Illustrator) "Once upon a time in Poland, in a small town near the city of Lublin, there lived a rabbi who had a wife and three..." (more)
Key Phrases: Rabbi Yitskhok

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Despite the subtitle, this is not strictly a Cinderella tale so much as a patchwork of two or three fairy tales, including Cinderella, brought to a Polish-Jewish setting. It begins as a variant on the tale in which a father asks each of his three daughters to declare how much she loves him; the older two answer in obvious ways ("as much as diamonds"; "as much as gold and silver"), but the third says, "I love you the way meat loves salt." The father here, a rabbi, misunderstands and exiles the youngest daughter, who, in this case, receives a magic stick from a stranger (he turns out to be the prophet Elijah). She takes refuge in the house of a faraway rabbi with a handsome son. Add in a wedding (in place of a ball) and the story becomes Cinderella-ish, with the girl using the magic stick to conjure up a pretty dress, shoes and transportation. A missing slipper soon leads to the girl's own wedding with aforesaid handsome son. The wedding supper is prepared without salt, prompting sudden understanding from the bride's father. August endows the story with gorgeously colored linocuts as intimate and attractively homespun as for In the Month of Kislev (written by Jaffe); like Jaffe, she can convey a warm ethnic tradition with her own sophisticated touches and discreet flair. But even with Jaffe's supple, classically cadenced prose, the seams show?the story is best for readers who want the Jewish backdrop. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4-Young readers will recognize Cinderella while adults will see the story of King Lear in this Yiddish tale. When a rabbi asks his three daughters how much they love him, the first two name diamonds and gold and silver and he is content. However, when Mireleh tells her father that she loves him "the way meat loves salt," he is horrified and banishes her from his home. Much like the protagonist in Charlotte Huck's Princess Furball (Greenwillow, 1989), she makes her own way in the world, with the help of Elijah the Prophet, marrying a rabbi's son and inviting her family to the wedding banquet where the food is made tasteless from lack of salt. At last, the rabbi realizes how much his daughter loves him and the families are reunited to live happily ever after. This retelling is enriched by a clear introduction that shows the place of the story in literary tradition; by flowing language that will make it a fine read-aloud; and by linocut illustrations done in oil on rice paper, showing simple faces, embroidered clothing, and rustic homes. The words and music to the traditional Eastern European wedding song, "Mazel Tov," are appended. A fine addition to folktale collections, especially those where Cinderella variants or Eastern-European and Jewish tales are in demand.
Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805043845
• ISBN-13: 978-0805043846
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #220,353 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mazel Tov!, December 15, 2004

By	tvtv3 "tvtv3" (Sorento, IL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

THE WAY MEAT LOVES SALT is a story that tells a Jewish version of Cinderella. The Cinderella tale is found in some shape or form in every culture around the world, with each culture molding and shaping the story to fit their lifestyle. THE WAY MEAT LOVES SALT is also a story that includes the "love test" (how much do you love me) which is found in literature not only in the West but in other cultures as well. The most famous example of the "love test" is in Shakespeare's KING LEAR. So, basically, THE WAY MEAT LOVES SALT is a combination of the opening of KING LEAR and the entire tale of Cinderella, but set in a Jewish village in Poland.

There once was a rabbi who had three daughters. He loved his daughters very much and would do anything for them. However, one day he wondered, "How much do they love me?" He didn't know and the question troubled him. So, he asks his daughters. The eldest replies that she loves him as much as diamonds. The middle daughter replies that she loves him as much as silver and gold. But the youngest replies that she loves him "the way meat loves salt." The father is furious with such an answer and has no idea what she means. In his fury he kicks her out of the house and banishes her from the family. Thus the poor young girl, Mireleh, sets forth and begins living the life of a servant girl. However, she is assisted by a kindly old man who gives her a magical stick. Mireleh keeps the stick a secret and eventually is taken in by another rabbi and his family and this is where the Cinderella part of the story begins.

The book includes a fine introduction by the author that explains who this particular tale came to be written down and what it's origins are. It also includes the lyrics and music to "Mazel Tov!" on the last page. Louise August created the illustrations and the oil-based paints that were used add to the rick folk flavor of the story. It's a fine story to read and even a better one to tell. After all, exactly what is "the way meat loves salt?"

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars cinderella rides again, June 14, 2000

By A Customer

Cinderella tales have been found from almost every land and culture. This Cinderella story is another treasure for those who enjoy fairy tales and studying cultural influence on them.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Cindrella tale and a love test from the Jewish Tradition, March 9, 2004

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

"The Way Meat Loves Salt" is subtitled "A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition," but older readers will recognize a bit of Shakespeare's "King Lear" in the beginning of this tale told by Nina Jaffe. The setting is many years ago in Poland where a rabbi one day asks his three daughters "How much do you love me?" Reyzeleh, the oldest daughter, replies, "I love you as much as diamonds." Khaveleh, the middle child, answers, " I love you as much as gold and silver." However, Mireleh, the youngest daughter, replies "I love you the way meat loves salt," at which point her father banishes her from the home since she has compared him to lowly salt. As to the meaning of Mireleh's comment, that is not yet explained and the rabbi, despite being a student of the Talmud who ponders questions long and hard, spends no time trying to figure out the meaning of his daughter's words.

As for Mireleh, she encounters an old man with shining eyes who gives him a small wooden stick. He sends her off to the home of Rabbi Yitskhok ben Levi, the renown scholar of Lublin, who lives with his wife and son, and explains that the stick is magic: tap in on the ground three times and anything Mireleh wishes for will appear. The young girl is taken into Rabbi Yitskhok's home as a beggar girl and allowed to stay in the attic. When the family goes to Cracow for a wedding, Mireleh longs to attend and uses the magic stick to come up with a dress. At this point we are into the familiar territory of the Cinderella story. But there is still the question of the meaning of Mireleh's words to her father and their reconciliation.

Jaffe notes that the Cinderella tale has been found in countless cultures around the world, with the earliest version being recorded in China in the 9th century. The Jewish version of the tale comes from the story "How Much Do You Love Me?" from the classic collection "Yiddish Folktales," and was apparently sent down in Poland in the 1920s. Jaffe acknowledges that the framing device of "the love test," appears in both Shakespeare and folktales from around the world as well. In Jaffe's hands this becomes a "vunder-mayse" (a wonder tale) of the sort her grandmother might have heard as a child.

"The Way Meat Loves Salt: A Cinderella Tale from the Jewish Tradition" is illustrated by Louise August, who worked with full-color oils on rice paper, providing a rather distinctive look quite compatible with the origins of this story. Teachers or parents will find this story a nice way of showing young readers how there are variations of a well-known theme to be found in literature. What I especially liked about this one is how the elements of a different story, "the love test," are combined in the telling of this particular tale. Consequently we not only have an example of comparative literature here but a look at a more complex form of such storytelling.