Authors: Shlomo Carlebach, Susan Y. Mesinai
ISBN-13: 9781568219608, ISBN-10: 1568219601
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Aronson, Jason Inc.
Date Published: June 1996
Edition: (Non-applicable)
A collection of stories by the late, world-renowned rabbi and folk singer Shlomo Carlebach.
Storytelling is a time-honored means of teaching religion. Susan Yael Mesinai, translator and editor of famous American rabbi/folksinger Shlomo Carlebach's tales, has performed a service in presenting them to a much wider audience here. These stories reveal the mundane and spiritual lives of human beings struggling to make sense of their chaotic experiences. A common thread links them: the idea that faith gives meaning and purpose to ordinary existence. Shlomo's stories-each a sermon in itself-can evoke a responsive chord in anyone. While the themes are primarily Jewish, the stories impart universal religious truths. They suggest that life lived according to basic religious tenets results in good fortune now and joy in the hereafter. They are also literature, employing direct language to convey their message. A glossary of Yiddish terms (Carlebach uses many in his storytelling) removes any possible barriers and provides Mesinai a perfect vehicle for retaining the flavor as well as the linguistic richness of the stories. This book should delight people of all ages and beliefs. (Oct.)
Acknowledgments | ||
Preface | ||
The Storytelling Yid | 1 | |
Everybody Knows | 13 | |
LeHaim! To Life! | 23 | |
The Baal Shem Mistreats a Jew | 29 | |
Saving a Bride and Groom | 41 | |
How a Great Light Is Born | 47 | |
A Meeting on the Road | 53 | |
Reb Baruch's Tallit | 59 | |
The Great Fixer | 65 | |
The Lamed-vav Tailor | 77 | |
A Broken Engagement | 87 | |
The Work of Our Hands | 97 | |
A Bit of Charity | 103 | |
A Share in the World to Come | 113 | |
The Three Advices of Levi Yitzhak of Berdichev | 123 | |
You Can't Pray in a Dry Tallit | 131 | |
The Wind | 139 | |
The Mikveh Yidele | 145 | |
Yankele the Thief | 157 | |
The Wheel | 167 | |
You Must See What's After | 185 | |
The Grave Next to the Megale Amukos | 195 | |
Under the Bed | 203 | |
Fixing the Exile | 211 | |
The Rich Man and the Thief | 221 | |
A Taste of Paradise | 231 | |
Moishele the Water Carrier | 235 | |
The Ugly Woman | 239 | |
The Trisker Maggid | 253 | |
When the Messiah Comes | 259 | |
Glossary | 263 |