Jewish Folk Tales through the Ages | Modern Takes on Old Tales
Within the Jewish culture, there’s a rich and compelling history of storytelling. Though the Hebrew Bible includes folk tales and legends in nearly every book, scholars believe that the origins of this folklore predate their being written down. Many of the most popular Jewish folk tales contain similar characters, plots and morals. The protagonists often face supernatural foes or receive some type of assistance from supernatural aides. Many Jewish folk tales incorporate a quest or include a specific task to be completed. Good is frequently rewarded, evil thwarted and true love often saves the day.
Jewish Folklore in the Middle Ages
Before the invention of the printing press, most Jewish folk tales were passed by word of mouth. Historians find ample evidence that many folktales that originated in Eastern Europe traveled with itinerant Jews as they moved into Western Europe. Documents indicate that, in 1444, 10 years before Gutenberg first used his printing press commercially, a Jewish businessman named Davin de Caderousse was experimenting with the printing process. The first Hebrew books of folklore appeared around 1480.
Classic Collections of Jewish Folklore
As early as the 16th century, scholars started collecting many of the folk tales that had been part of Jewish culture for millennia:
- The Ein Yaakov, compiled in the 1500s, was popular with individuals who did not have the necessary schooling to understand or learn the more complex stories and language of the Talmud
- The Revue des Etudes Juives, a French academic journal first published in 1880, was likely the first printed compendium of Jewish folk tales
- The Legends of the Jews, compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg in 1913, offered readers five volumes of paraphrased Jewish folk tales with an additional two volumes of footnotes
- The Sefer Ha-Aggadah, published shortly after the beginning of the 20th century CE, compiles lore from the Mishnah, the Talmuds and from Midrash literature
- Micha Josef Berdyczewski, who wrote under the surname Bin-Gorion, researched Jewish folklore and folk tales extensively and translated many texts in German
A Few Modern Retellings of Classic Jewish Folklore
Not surprisingly, Jewish folk tales have provided the basis for a number of popular modern works:
- One of the iconic figures of Jewish (and Eastern European) folklore is Baba Yaga, typically appearing as a hag living deep in the woods, often flying around with a mortar and pestle. Baba Yaga tends to exist in between—in between good and evil, in between life and death. A number of modern authors have been inspired by the legend of Baba Yaga. In Burning Girls and Other Stories, Veronica Shanoes envisions Emma Goldman enjoying a cup of tea with Baba Yaga. In Thistlefoot, by Gennarose Nethercott, we meet the Yaga siblings, one a con man and the other a woodworker with magical talents. Olesya Salnikova Gilmore’s The Witch and the Tsar places Baba Yaga in the home of Ivan the Terrible.
- Many Jewish folk tales include interactions with the dead. In The Ghosts of Rose Hill, by R.M. Romero, a violin prodigy visits a cemetery in Prague, encountering a shadowless man who offers a bargain to give her the life of her dreams. As with most things, the devil is in the details.
- In a creative twist on the modern retelling of Jewish folk tales, Shawn C. Harris has written 54 poems drawn from Jewish folklore
- Another icon of Jewish folklore is the golem, a human-like figure usually created out of earth, mud or clay. In The Golem and the Jinni, a widowed golem in New York City befriends an Arabian spirit accidentally freed in the Big Apple. The Golem of Venice Beach, a graphic novel released in 2022, follows a golem for four centuries, from Eastern Europe to the shores of Venice Beach in Southern California.
Gutterman’s and Gutterman Warheit—Serving Individuals and Families for 125 Years
At Gutterman’s and Gutterman Warheit, with chapels in New York and Florida, we provide comprehensive funeral and burial services to members of the Jewish faith. For over five generations, we have been there in your time of bereavement. We will counsel and assist you with every concern after the death of a loved one, from the arrangement of the order of service to the choice of a casket or monument. Our staff can help you make the necessary preparations for sitting Shiva and create a Yahrzeit calendar. We will also be your intermediary with the Chevra Kadisha, ensuring that the body has been cleansed and prepared according to Jewish law before interment.
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