Great Jewish Short Stories [antikvár]

IntroductionMost of the stories in this collection are modem; a few are ancient. They were written in Hebrew, German, Yiddish, Russian and English, yet all are, to a discerning eye, very clearly Jewish. The oldest of ?lem, Tobit, is pious and moral but its comedy and pathos have a familiar and contemporary flavor. Carried into exile, Tobit will not eat the bread of the gentile, he remembers God with all his heart, he defies the law of the land in observing the divine law, and gives burial to the dead of his nation. But when his son Tobias sets forth on his errand with the disguised angel his dog follows them. The presence of that dog on such an errand is a characteristic touch of Jewish wit. And the poor bride persecuted by the demon Ashmodaiseven times married she remains a virgin^is saved only because Tobias is instructed to make a dreadful stink by burning fish in the bridal chamber to rout the demon. The story is both touching and funny. Obstinate, righteous, sententious Tobit is a charming old man. His prayers are heard; an angel is sent, but the dog, trotting after the angel, is also slyly introducedand the burning of the fish. Some two thousand years later, in the stories of Isaac Babel and Bashevis Singer, the world and the works of mankind are seen in an oddly tilted perspective very similar to that of Tobit. In a recent story by Singer, "The Spinoza of Market Street," there is another wedding. This time a dusty old scholar, devoted to Spinoza, is rejuvenated. His bride, a homely charwoman, is rescued from barrenness and from ugliness. She is transformed, becomes lovely. Happy but dazed, the old groom in the night mumbles his apologies to Spinoza for this absurd lapse from seriousness.The religion of the Jews has appeared to the world as divinely inspired history. The message of the Old Testament, however, cannot easily be separated from its stories and