Folktales of the Jews, Volume 1: Tales from the Sephardic Dispersion

Thanks to these generous donors for making the publication of the books in this series possible: Lloyd E. Cotsen; The Maurice Amado Foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.Tales from the Sephardic Dispersion begins the most important collection of Jewish folktales ever published. It is the first volume in Folktales of the Jews, the five-volume series to be released over the next several years, in the tradition of Louis Ginzberg's classic, Legends of the Jews.The 71 tales here and the others in this series have been selected from the Israel Folktale Archives (IFA), named in Honor of Dov Noy, at The University of Haifa, a treasure house of Jewish lore that has remained largely unavailable to the entire world until now. Since the creation of the State of Israel, the IFA has collected more than 20,000 tales from newly arrived immigrants, long-lost stories shared by their families from around the world. The tales come from the major ethno-linguistic communities of the Jewish world and are representative of a wide variety of subjects and motifs, especially rich in Jewish content and context. Each of the tales is accompanied by in-depth commentary that explains the tale's cultural, historical, and literary background and its similarity to other tales in the IFA collection, and extensive scholarly notes. There is also an introduction that describes the Sephardic culture and its folk narrative tradition, a world map of the areas covered, illustrations, biographies of the collectors and narrators, tale type and motif indexes, a subject index, and a comprehensive bibliography. Until the establishment of the IFA, we had had only limited access to the wide range of Jewish folk narratives. Even in Israel, the gathering place of the most wide-ranging cross-section of world Jewry, these folktales have remained largely unknown. Many of the communities no longer exist as cohesive societies in their representative lands; the Holocaust, migration, and changes in living styles have made the continuation of these tales impossible. This volume and the others to come will be monuments to a rich but vanishing oral tradition. FoLKTALeS of the Jews, Volume 1: Tales from the Sephardic Dispersion......Page 6 Contents......Page 8 Foreword......Page 12 Preface......Page 16 Acknowledgments......Page 18 Introduction to Folktales of the Jews......Page 20 A Rich and Diverse Folklore......Page 21 Bialik's Vision......Page 22 Other Turn-of-the-Century Collectors......Page 24 The IFA Collection......Page 25 Lost in Translation......Page 26 The Dynamic Diversity of Oral Storytelling......Page 28 Notes......Page 29 Introduction to Volume 1......Page 32 Life after the Edict of Expulsion......Page 33 The Blossoming of Judeo-Spanish Literature......Page 34 Development of Research on Judeo-Spanish Folktales......Page 36 Central Figures......Page 37 Notes......Page 41 A Note on the Commentaries......Page 46 Notes......Page 47 Legends......Page 48 1. The Tenth for the Minyan......Page 49 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 1 (IFA 16408)......Page 51 Notes......Page 52 2. The Wedding Attended by the Patriarchs......Page 54 COMMENTARY ΤΟ TALE 2 (IFA 6471)......Page 64 Notes......Page 65 3. Hebron Purim......Page 67 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 3 (IFA 17063)......Page 72 Notes......Page 73 4. The Miracle of the Torah Scrolls......Page 74 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 4 (IFA 15346)......Page 78 Notes......Page 79 5. The Adventures of Raphael Meyuḥas......Page 81 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 5 (IFA 15348)......Page 85 Notes......Page 88 6. A Story about My Great-Grandfather......Page 89 Notes......Page 91 7. The Sanctification of God's Name......Page 92 Notes......Page 96 8. "Our Teacher Moses" and the King of Spain......Page 97 Notes......Page 100 9. Maimonides and the Study of Medicine......Page 102 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 9 (IFA 4905)......Page 105 Notes......Page 108 10. Why Maimonides Is Buried in Tiberias......Page 109 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 10 (IFA 549)......Page 110 Notes......Page 116 11. The Merchant and Rabbi Meir Baˁal Ha-Nes......Page 118 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 11 (IFA 8391)......Page 120 Notes......Page 129 12. The Coin from the Collection Box of Rabbi Meir Baˁal Ha-Nes......Page 132 Notes......Page 133 13. Sol Hachuel of Tangier......Page 134 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 13 (IFA 14964)......Page 139 Notes......Page 141 14. The Awesome Tale of Rabbi Kalonymus......Page 142 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 14 (IFA 16405)......Page 146 Notes......Page 153 15. A Blood Libel in Jerusalem......Page 157 Notes......Page 161 16. The Baˁal Shem Τον and the Sorcerer......Page 162 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 16 (IFA 863)......Page 166 Notes......Page 169 17. On Passover......Page 170 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 17 (IFA 7000)......Page 172 Notes......Page 175 18. Ḥakham Eliyahu Is Born through the Special Virtues of the Cave of the Prophet Elijah......Page 176 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 18 (IFA 2830)......Page 179 Notes......Page 183 19. The Two Orphans of Istanbul......Page 185 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 19 (17068)......Page 189 Notes......Page 191 20. Three Hairs from Elijah's Beard......Page 192 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 20 (IFA 2420)......Page 193 Notes......Page 195 21. The Man Who Unintentionally Made His Fortune from the Devil......Page 197 Notes......Page 202 22. The Gilgul......Page 203 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 22 (IFA 2634)......Page 209 Notes......Page 210 23. The Prince's Gilgul......Page 212 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 23 (IFA 2644)......Page 217 Notes......Page 219 24. A Letter from Morocco to the Western Wall......Page 220 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 24 (IFA 556)......Page 223 Notes......Page 224 25. Rabbi Jacob the Storyteller; or The Power of Repentance......Page 225 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 25 (IFA 2623)......Page 232 Notes......Page 233 26. The Immigration Pangs of Rabbi Chilibon Franco of Rhodes......Page 234 Notes......Page 238 27. How the New Immigrant Doychon Torres Got Rid of the Cheese He Brought with Him without a Kashrut Certificate......Page 239 Notes......Page 243 Moral Tales......Page 244 28. God Loves the Heart......Page 245 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 28 (IFA 10089)......Page 249 Notes......Page 257 29. The Honest Merchant......Page 260 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 29 (IFA 6295)......Page 262 Notes......Page 263 30. The Rich Man Who Avoided Giving Charity but Later Mended His Ways......Page 264 Notes......Page 267 31. The Pregnant King......Page 268 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 31 (IFA 14043)......Page 269 Notes......Page 270 32. The Rich Man and His Two Sons......Page 271 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 32 (IFA 4441)......Page 273 Folktales......Page 274 33. Noah's Daughter......Page 275 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 33 (IFA 660)......Page 278 Notes......Page 279 34. The Angel Who Descended to Put the World in Order......Page 280 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 34 (IFA 19910)......Page 282 Notes......Page 288 35. Satan's Son......Page 289 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 35 (IFA 16395)......Page 293 Notes......Page 299 36. The Astrologer-King and the Rabbi......Page 301 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 36 (IFA 10086)......Page 306 Notes......Page 308 37. A Bear Makes a Poor Musician Rich but Is Insulted by the Musician's Wife......Page 310 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 37 (IFA 1709)......Page 313 Notes......Page 324 38. An Old Man 's Advice Makes a Poor Man Rich......Page 326 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 38 (IFA 3576)......Page 329 Notes......Page 349 39. Half a Friend......Page 352 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 39 (IFA 16403)......Page 354 Notes......Page 357 40. The Man Who Knew All about Animals, Diamonds, and People's Character......Page 359 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 40 (IFA 6402)......Page 362 Notes......Page 368 41. This, Too, Shall Pass......Page 371 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 41 (IFA 4425)......Page 373 Notes......Page 381 42. Letters from the Angel of Death......Page 383 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 42 (IFA 9704)......Page 384 Notes......Page 385 43. There Is No Escaping Heaven's Decree......Page 386 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 43 (IFA 10084)......Page 395 Notes......Page 401 44. What Heaven Ordains Must Surely Take Place......Page 403 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 44 (IFA 6591)......Page 408 Notes......Page 411 45. The Rabbi's Son and the King's Daughter......Page 412 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 45 (IFA 4735)......Page 420 Notes......Page 428 46. The King's Wise Daughter......Page 432 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 46 (IFA 12549)......Page 442 Notes......Page 443 47. The Trained Cat and the Rabbi's Wise Daughter......Page 444 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 47 (IFA 7602)......Page 448 Notes......Page 451 48. The Rabbi's Son and the Priest......Page 452 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 48 (IFA 10085)......Page 468 Notes......Page 477 49. King Abdul-Aziz, the Jewish Builder, and the Wicked Painter......Page 480 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 49 (IFA 3977)......Page 488 Notes......Page 491 50. The Miracle of Tu b'Shevat......Page 493 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 50 (IFA 10103)......Page 497 Notes......Page 514 51. The Old Woman and the Wind......Page 520 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 51 (IFA 10101)......Page 523 Notes......Page 524 52. King Solomon's Judgment......Page 526 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 52 (IFA 11093)......Page 528 Notes......Page 529 53. Anything to Find Favor with a Woman......Page 531 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 53 (IFA 2254)......Page 532 Notes......Page 533 54. King Solomon, His Ethiopian Wife, and Her Lover......Page 535 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 54 (IFA 2666)......Page 541 Notes......Page 545 55. The Miser Mohel and the Demon......Page 547 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 55 (IFA 9182)......Page 549 Notes......Page 552 56. The Miraculous Circumcision......Page 554 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 56 (IFA 10087)......Page 557 Notes......Page 559 57. The Disciples' Envy of the Rabbi's Son......Page 560 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 57 (IFA 4904)......Page 570 Notes......Page 572 Humorous Tales......Page 574 58. The Story of the Baklava......Page 575 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 58 (IFA 13)......Page 577 Notes......Page 580 59. A Porter Saves Maimonides' Life......Page 583 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 59 (IFA 5503)......Page 585 Notes......Page 587 60. Blinder Than a Blind Man......Page 589 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 60 (IFA 12727)......Page 591 Notes......Page 592 A General Note on the Tales of Djuha......Page 594 Early History of the Djuha Tales......Page 595 Nasreddin Hoca......Page 597 Historical Sources......Page 598 Trickster Tales......Page 599 Notes......Page 600 61. Djuha Helps His Mother......Page 603 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 61 (IFA 12729)......Page 605 Notes......Page 606 62. Djuha's Face......Page 607 Notes......Page 608 63. Why Djuha Never Got Married......Page 609 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 63 (IFA 12726)......Page 611 Notes......Page 612 64. Djuha Plays Dead......Page 613 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 64 (IFA 12551)......Page 615 Notes......Page 616 65. Camel Seeds......Page 617 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 65 (IFA 12724)......Page 620 Notes......Page 621 66. Djuha Counts the Donkeys......Page 622 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 66 (IFA 12552)......Page 623 Notes......Page 624 67. Djuha and the Mules......Page 625 Notes......Page 626 68. A Recipe for Fish......Page 627 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 68 (12716)......Page 629 Notes......Page 630 69. A Fair Division......Page 631 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 69 (IFA 9240)......Page 632 Notes......Page 633 70. A Bad Man's Desserts......Page 634 COMMENTARY FOR TALE 70 (IFA 332)......Page 635 Notes......Page 636 71. The Rabbi and the Priest......Page 637 Notes......Page 638 Abbreviations......Page 640 Narrators......Page 643 Collectors......Page 651 Bibliography......Page 657 Motif Indexes......Page 723 Tale Type Indexes......Page 750 Index......Page 763 25. Rabbi Jacob The Storyteller ; Or The Power Of Repentance -- 26. The Immigration Pangs Of Rabbi Chilibon Franco Of Rhodes -- 27. How The New Immigrant Doychon Torres Got Rid Of The Cheese He Brought With Him Without A Kashrut Certificate -- Moral Tales -- 28. God Loves The Heart -- 29. The Honest Merchant -- 30. The Rich Man Who Avoided Giving Charity But Later Mended His Ways -- 31. The Pregnant King -- 32. The Rich Man And His Two Sons -- Folktales -- 33. Noah's Daughter -- 34. The Angel Who Descended To Put The World In Order -- 35. Satan's Sons -- 36. The Astrologer-king And The Rabbi -- 37. A Bear Makes A Poor Musician Rich But Is Insulted By The Musician's Wife -- 38. An Old Man's Advice Makes A Poor Man Rich -- 39. Half A Friend -- 40. The Man Who Knew All About Animals, Diamonds, And People's Character -- 41. This, Too, Shall Pass -- 42. Letters Form The Angel Of Death -- 43. There Is No Escaping Heaven's Decree -- 44. What Heaven Ordains Must Surely Take Place -- 45. The Rabbi's Son And The King's Daughter -- 46. The King's Wise Daughter -- 47. The Trained Cat And The Rabbi's Wise Daughter. 48. The Rabbi's Son And The Priest -- 49. King Abdul-aziz, The Jewish Builder, And The Wicked Painter -- 50. The Miracle Of Tu Bʼshevat -- 51. The Old Woman And The Wind -- 52. King Solomon's Judgment -- 53. Anything To Find Favor With A Woman -- 54. King Solomon, His Ethiopian Wife, And Her Lover -- 55. The Miser Mohel And The Demon -- 56. The Miraculous Circumcision -- 57. The Disciples' Envy Of The Rabbi's Son -- Humorous Tales -- 58. The Story Of The Baklava -- 59. A Porter Saves Maimonides' Life -- 60. Blinder Than A Blind Man -- A General Note On The Tales Of Djuha -- 61. Djuha Helps His Mother -- 62. Djuha's Face -- 63. Why Djuha Never Got Married -- 64. Djuha Plays Dead -- 65. Camel Seeds -- 66. Djuha Counts The Donkeys -- 67. Djuha And The Mules -- 68. A Recipe For Fish -- 69. A Fair Division -- 70. A Bad Man's Desserts -- 71. The Rabbi And The Priest -- Abbreviations -- Narrators -- Collectors -- Bibliography -- Motif Indexes -- Tale Type Indexes -- General Index. V. 2. Tales From Eastern Europe -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction To Volume 2 -- A Note On The Commentaries -- Tales Of The Supernatural -- 1. The Three-day Fair In Balta -- 2. The Kaddish -- 3. The House Vanished With All Its Inhabitants -- 4. The Rabbi Who Was Tricked -- 5. The Demons And Spirits Under The Fingernails -- 6. The Treasure -- 7. The Bottle Of Oil From The Holy Land -- Hasidic Tales -- 8. Rebbe Shmelke's Matzos -- 9. The Unforgotten Melody -- 10. The Power Of A Melody -- 11. The Happy Man -- 12. How Rothschild Became Wealthy -- 13. Why Rebbe Levi Yitzhak Of Berdichev Deviated From His Custom -- 14. The Blessing Of Elijah The Prophet On Yom Kippur -- 15. Rebbe Pinhasʼl Of Korets -- 16. The Karliner Rebbe's Prescription -- 17. The Merit Of The Third Sabbath Meal -- 18. The Apostate Who Made The Tenth For A Minyan -- Holocaust Tales -- 19. The Fireflies On Rosh Hashanah Night In Lodz Ghetto -- 20. The Miracle Of The White Doves -- Historical Tales -- 21. The Exodus On Purim In The Town Of Yampol -- 22. What Really Caused World War I -- Tales Between Jews And Non-jews -- 23. The Shofar Of The Messiah -- 24. The Redemption Of Captives. 25. The Long Had Gadya -- 26. The Two Friends -- 27. The Gentile Beggar's Secret -- 28. The Boy Who Was Kidnapped And Brought To Russia -- 29. The Jew Who Returned To His People -- 30. The Boots Made From A Torah Scroll -- 31. The Gentile Who Wanted To Screw The Jew -- Moral Tales -- 32. The Old Couple And Their Children -- 33. With The Rebbe's Power -- 34. Gossip Is Worse Than Profaning The Sabbath -- 35. The Tailor Who Was Content With His Lot -- 36. A Poor Man's Wisdom Is Scorned -- 37. A Change Of Place Is A Change Of Luck -- 38. God Will Help -- 39. The Poisoned Cake -- 40. There Is No Truth In The World -- 41. Everyone Prefers His Own Bundle Of Troubles -- 42. Reb Zusha The Shoemaker -- 43. As Face Answers To Face In Water -- 44. Who Has The Right To Benefit From The Ten Commandments? -- 45. The Neighbor In Paradise -- 46. A Trial In Heaven -- 47. White Flowers, Red Flowers. Folktales -- 48. The King's Three Daughters -- 49. A Boy And Girl Who Were Destined For Each Other -- 50. The Three Young Men -- 51. The Poor Man Who Became Rich -- 52. The Stolen Ring -- 53. The Money Hidden In The Cemetery -- 54. Catch The Thief ; Or Don't Put Too Much Trust In A Pious Person -- Humorous Tales -- 55. I Came From Mád And Returned To Mád -- 56. The Jewish Innkeeper -- 57. Little Fish, Big Fish -- 58. Three Complaints -- 59. The Elderly Cantor -- 60. What Kind Of Congregants I've Got! -- 61. What Kind Of Rabbi We've Got In This Town! -- 62. Half Is Mine And Half Is Yours -- 63. A Visit By Elijah The Prophet -- 64. The Emissary From The World To Come -- 65. Froyim Greidinger Revives The Dead -- 66. The Death Of A Wicked Heretic -- 67. Who Had It Better? -- 68. The Shammes Who Became A Millionaire -- 69. I Have No Place To Rest -- 70. Stalin Tests His Friends -- 71. Communism And Religion -- Abbreviations -- Narrators -- Collectors -- Bibliography -- Motif Indexes -- Tale Type Indexes -- General Index. V. 3. Tales From Arab Lands -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction To Volume 3 -- A Note On The Commentaries -- Legends -- 1. The Tenth Man In Hebron -- 2. Reciting Psalms -- 3. The Blood Libel In Constantinople In The Time Of Rabbi Israel Ba'al Shem Tov Of Blessed Memory -- 4. Rabbi Ḥayyim Ben Attar And The Ba'al Shem Tov -- 5. Rabbi Ḥayyim Vital -- 6. Rabbi David Alshqar Knows The Time Of His Death -- 7. Rabbi Shelomoh The Lion -- 8. Shalom [shalem] Shabazi As A Healer -- 9. You Shall Not Destroy The Side-growth Of Your Beard -- 10. The Miracle At The Tomb Of Sidu Bu-'aissa U-sliman, Who Was A Jew -- 11. The Holy Book -- 12. The Ba'al Shem Tov Drags Jesus And Mary Down From A Picture -- 13. The Menorah Of Jerba -- 14. The Miracle Of The Myrtle -- 15. The Jewish Fisherman's Song Of The Sea -- Moral Tales -- 16. The Field That The Lion Entered -- 17. Three Old Brothers Solve A Problem -- 18. The Cobbler And The King -- 19. One Should Always Be Happy With His Lot -- 20. Rabbi Shalem [shalom] Shabazi And The Yemenite Imam -- 21. King Solomon And The Craftsman's Wife -- 22. Remember Days Of Old! -- 23. The Complacent Wife -- 24. Seven Daughters And Seven Sons -- 25. Fertility And Changing Place Bring Luck -- 26. Observing The Sabbath -- 27. It Pays To Love God -- 28. The Resurrected Dead Man (righteousness Saves From Death) -- 29. Charity Begins At Home -- 30. Two Loyal Friends -- 31. He Who Finds A Wife Has Found Happiness -- 32. Elijah The Prophet Saves A Jewish Family From Destruction -- Folktales -- 33. The Cruel Loaner And The Clever Princess -- 34. Three Questions -- 35. The Fateful Debate -- 36. They Did Not Ask Him To Ask The Fish For Anything -- 37. Where Is God's Place In Israel? -- 38. The Rabbi's Daughter And The Miraculous Child -- 39. A Story Of A Prince And A Princess -- 40. Smeda Rmeda -- 41. The Rich Man Who Wanted To Marry His Daughter -- 42. A Woman Of Valor Who Can Find? (the Entrapped Lovers) -- 43. The Man Who Never Took An Oath -- 44. The Apple Tree's Daughter -- 45. The Poor Fisherman -- 46. The Faithful Widow -- 47. The Poor Jew Who Went Looking For His Fortune -- 48. Go To The Cemetary -- 49. The Woman Is The Cause Of Everything -- 50. The Man Who Searched For His Luck -- 51. The Blessed One, Or The Lucky Youth -- 52. Two Brothers -- 53. The Clever Brother -- 54. The Poor Man Who Set Out To Earn A Living (elijah The Prophet) -- 55. A Daughter Awaits A Gift From God -- 56. A Story Of A Brave Son -- 57. King Solomon -- 58. The Partnership With Ashmedai -- Humorous Tales -- 59. Cows Do Not Believe Foals -- 60. Abu Katerina -- Abbreviations -- Narrators -- Collectors -- Bibliography -- Motif Indexes -- Tale Type Indexes -- General Index. Edited And With Commentary By Dan Ben-amos; Dov Noy, Consulting Editor ; Ellen Frankel, Series Editor ; Translated By Leonard J. Schramm ; Illustrations By Ira Shander. Map On Lining Papers. Tales Selected From The Israel Folktale Archives Named In Honor Of Dov Noy. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Thanks to these generous donors for making the publication of the books in this series Lloyd E. Cotsen; The Maurice Amado Foundation; the National Endowment for the Humanities; and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. Tales from the Sephardic Dispersion begins the most important collection of Jewish folktales ever published. It is the first volume in Folktales of the Jews, the five-volume series to be released over the next several years, in the tradition of Louis Ginzberg's classic, Legends of the Jews . The 71 tales here and the others in this series have been selected from the Israel Folktale Archives (IFA), named in Honor of Dov Noy, at The University of Haifa, a treasure house of Jewish lore that has remained largely unavailable to the entire world until now. Since the creation of the State of Israel, the IFA has collected more than 20,000 tales from newly arrived immigrants, long-lost stories shared by their families from around the world. The tales come from the major ethno-linguistic communities of the Jewish world and are representative of a wide variety of subjects and motifs, especially rich in Jewish content and context. Each of the tales is accompanied by in-depth commentary that explains the tale's cultural, historical, and literary background and its similarity to other tales in the IFA collection, and extensive scholarly notes. There is also an introduction that describes the Sephardic culture and its folk narrative tradition, a world map of the areas covered, illustrations, biographies of the collectors and narrators, tale type and motif indexes, a subject index, and a comprehensive bibliography. Until the establishment of the IFA, we had had only limited access to the wide range of Jewish folk narratives. Even in Israel, the gathering place of the most wide-ranging cross-section of world Jewry, these folktales have remained largely unknown. Many of the communities no longer exist as cohesive societies in their representative lands; the Holocaust, migration, and changes in living styles have made the continuation of these tales impossible. This volume and the others to come will be monuments to a rich but vanishing oral tradition. Tales from the Sephardic Dispersion begins the most important collection of Jewish folktales ever published. It is the first volume in Folktales of the Jews, the five-volume series to be released over the next several years, in the tradition of Louis Ginzberg's classic, Legends of the Jews. The 71 tales here and the others in this series have been selected from the Israel Folktale Archives, Named in Honor of Dov Noy, The University of Haifa (IFA), a treasure house of Jewish lore that has remained largely unavailable to the entire world until now. Since the creation of the State of Israel, the IFA has collected more than 20,000 tales from newly arrived immigrants, long-lost stories shared by their families from around the world. The tales come from the major ethno-linguistic communities of the Jewish world and are representative of a wide variety of subjects and motifs, especially rich in Jewish content and context. Each of the tales is accompanied by in-depth commentary that explains the tale's cultural, historical, and literary background and its similarity to other tales in the IFA collection, and extensive scholarly notes. There is also an introduction that describes the Sephardic culture and its folk narrative tradition, a world map of the areas covered, illustrations, biographies of the collectors and narrators, tale type and motif indexes, a subject index, and a comprehensive bibliography. Until the establishment of the IFA, we had had only limited access to the wide range of Jewish folk narratives. Even in Israel, the gathering place of the most wide-ranging cross-section of world Jewry, these folktales have remained largely unknown. Many of the communities no longer exist as cohesive societies in their representative lands; the Holocaust, migration, and changes in living styles have made the continuation of these tales impossible. This volume and the others to come will be monuments to a rich but vanishing oral tradition.