Rabbinic Fantasies: Imaginative Narratives from Classical Hebrew Literature
Search in google:
This remarkable anthology of sixteen narratives from ancient and medieval Hebrew texts opens a new window onto the Jewish imagination. Presenting the captivating world of rabbinic storytelling, it reveals facets of the Jewish experience and tradition that would otherwise have remained unknown and examines the surprisingly deep connection between the values of classical Judaism and the art of imaginative narrative writing. Virtually all the narratives appear here in English for the first time. Sometimes pious, sometimes playful, and sometimes almost scandalous, they are each accompanied by an introduction and notes. The selections are framed by essays by David Stern and Mark Jay Mirsky that examine the various moods and forms in which the rabbinic imagination found expression and explore the impact that this unique form of narrative has had on modern fiction. The translations are by Norman Bronznick, Yaakov Elman, Michal Govrin, Arthur Green, Martha Himmelfarb, Ivan Marcus, Mark Jay Mirsky, Joel Rosenberg, David Ruderman, Raymond Scheindlin, David Stern, and Avi Weinstein.
AcknowledgmentsIntroduction3A Note on the Selections and the Translations311Rabbinic Parables352Two Narratives About God473Jonah and the Sailors from Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer594Sefer Zerubbabel675Midrash on the Ten Commandments916The Tale of the Jerusalemite1217Midrash Eleh Ezkerah or The Legend of the Ten Martyrs1438The Alphabet of Ben Sira1679Parables from Sefer Ha-Bahir20310Narrative Fantasies From Sefer Hasidim21511Love in the Afterlife: A Selection from the Zohar23912Asher in the Harem25313The Misogynist26914The Sorcerer from Meshal Ha-Kadmoni29515Job's Novella from A Valley of Vision31316The "Dream-Talks" of Nahman of Bratslav333In a Turn of the Scroll: An Afterword349
