About this Item
In Yiddish, vowelized. 1st book: 130 pages, dated 1930. 2nd book: translated from the Russian. 32 pages, undated, probably 1930 as well. 198 x 146 mm. WorldCat: 1st book: Libraries worldwide that own item: 3. 2nd book: Libraries worldwide that own item: 1. Tear in last leaf of second book with loss of a few words. Penciled signature in Hebrew of former owner: Yosef Ortman. Paper yellowed. Morality tales, very popular in the Hassidic community, illustrating the benefits of even the minor mitzvot mentioned in the Tanakh. Jacob Morgenstern wrote many tales published in the form of chapbooks that were very popular among yeshiva students. His fable-like narratives were huge sellers throughout the Russian Empire into the 1920?s. Unfortunately, his publishers didn?t always credit his authorship, probably to avoid paying him, leaving him a poor man. To make ends meet, Morgenstern also worked as a melamed (Jewish grade school teacher), a shadkhen (matchmaker), a badkhen (wedding jester), and he also tutored housemaids in reading and writing, explaining the additional pen name of Yankl Lerer (Yankl Teacher). Morgenstern?s most popular yarn was ?The Story of Three Brothers?, first published in Lodz in 1870 and then in Warsaw in 3 parts the same year. By 1872 it had already been reissued by a number of publishers across the empire and from then on enjoyed wide circulation. The story was later translated into Hebrew and also into a more contemporary Yiddish. ?The Tale of Three Brothers? appealed to Hasidic communities of the 20th century because it is a fantastical very engaging morality tale, pointing to the benefits of keeping not only God?s commandments but also minor mitsvot delineated in the Torah, the message being, no matter how hard life may get, upholding the laws of the Torah must come first. Morgenstern constructed his tales employing popular international motifs and episodes, reminiscent of ?A Thousand and One Nights? but thoroughly couched in folksy Yiddish lore that reflected Jewish national customs. The Tale of the 3 borhers: Part 1: A young man's faithful fulfillment of a particular mitzvah--hand washing--saves him from harm. In this first part of three: in medieval North Africa as the Fatimids battle the Abbasids, a youth saves a small kingdom's prince from the "Storm WInd" brigands and the treachery of his father's vizier, but the robbers still operate and the prince is still in hiding. . . . Part 2: A young man's faithful fulfillment of a particular mitzvah - eating three festive meals every Sabbath -saves him from harm. In this continuation, the second brother's stubbornness as ship's passenger provides the merit to help him guide the ship into port safely when the vessel is becalmed and the crew is stricken. Meanwhile the older brother, now vizier of Zidirim, uses a sleep potion to defeat the traitorous "Storm Wind" robbers, fends off the Fatimids, and reunites the young prince with the king, but then goes out to seek the lost older prince. . . Part 3: . . . . Seller Inventory # 016310
Contact seller
Report this item
