Eli Yassif

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Jewish Studies. Jewish Folklore. The Study of Folklore. Jewish Culture of the Middle Ages. Medieval History and Culture. Cairo Geniza. Cultural Studies.

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Papers by Eli Yassif

Medieval Cautionary Tales Edited by Peter Speed

Mediterranean Historical Review, 2005

Storytelling as Midrashic Discourse in the Middle Ages

Liverpool University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2013

<p>This chapter describes the phenomenon of storytelling as midrashic discourse in the Midd... more <p>This chapter describes the phenomenon of storytelling as midrashic discourse in the Middle Ages. It connects Midrash to biblical exegesis, expositions of verses, and public study that are well known and accepted in one version or other since the beginning of the scholarly study of Midrash. Midrash is virtually unique in Jewish culture for its unbroken continuity from antiquity to the Middle Ages. In the Midrash's transition from the rabbinic period to later times, the genre was reinvigorated and developed in new and fascinating directions. The chapter also highlights Isaac Heinemann's book, 'Darkhei ha'agadah'. In his book, Heinemann borrows the anthropological model of 'organic thinking', which in his view characterizes rabbinic interpretative mentality.</p>

Folktales of the Jews of Iraq. Tale-Types and Genres

Asian folklore studies, 1990

Storytelling as Midrashic Discourse in the Middle Ages

The Legend of Safed: Life and Fantasy in the City of Kabbalah

Jewish Folklore: Humanistic Values and Pluralistic Venues

Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas, 2006

Traces of Folk Traditions of the Second Temple Period in Rabbinic Literature

Journal of Jewish Studies, 1988

8. L'« Autre » Israël

Les cultures des Juifs, 2005

From Ancient to Modern Jewish Mythologies

Modern Jewish Mythologies, 2000

Contes et légendes du grand méchant Yeshou

Books, 2021

The Hebrew Story in the Middle Ages

Jewish Studies, 2019

Hebrew narratives of the Middle Ages covers a period of about a thousand years, starting approxim... more Hebrew narratives of the Middle Ages covers a period of about a thousand years, starting approximately from the Moslem invasions in the mid-7th century to mid-17th century. It also covers a great variety of cultural spaces, from Palestine to Babylon (Iraq), Europe, North Africa, and parts of the New World. It should be emphasized that Hebrew was not the only language in which narratives were created and disseminated in Jewish culture of the time; Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Yiddish, and Judeo-Spanish were among the Jewish dialects in which narratives were created. However, the following article will deal with Hebrew narratives only, which, like medieval Latin narrative, was the all-inclusive Jewish language that could establish communication between the various communities and cultural spaces. Hebrew narrative of the period is characterized by a great diversity. This is seen from the sources in which these narratives were included: collections of tales, historical chronicles, biblical an...

Alphabet of Ben Sira

Encyclopedia of the Bible Online

Chronicles of Jerahmeel

Encyclopedia of the Bible Online

‘Virgil in the Basket’: narrative as hermeneutics in Hebrew literature of the Middle Ages

Scriptural Exegesis, 2009

This chapter emphasizes the continuity of central ideas over many centuries. Despite tremendous i... more This chapter emphasizes the continuity of central ideas over many centuries. Despite tremendous innovation and change within the literature, it persuasively connects folkloric motifs from a medieval Hebrew folktale with classical images from Jewish tradition. It addresses the question of the authority of narrative texts as historical documents as well as the question of narrative hermeneutics — in all its force and seriousness.

19 Oral Traditions in a Literate Society: The Hebrew Literature of the Middle Ages

Medieval Oral Literature, 2011

The Hebrew Story in the Middle Ages<BR> An Introduction

Jewish Studies Quarterly, 2013

The Study of Hebrew Literature of the Middle Ages: Major Trends and Goals

Oxford Handbooks Online, 2004

This article aims at a critical examination of modern research on medieval Hebrew literature. Her... more This article aims at a critical examination of modern research on medieval Hebrew literature. Here, the definition of ‘medieval Hebrew literature’ excludes writing in Jewish languages other than Hebrew, and singles out literature from other types of non-literary Hebrew writing. The variety of literary types included in this survey ranges from liturgical and secular poetry to artistic storytelling and folk literature. Both early liturgical poetry (piyyut) and the medieval Hebrew story are rooted in the soil of the Talmudic period. The beginnings of medieval Hebrew storytelling were even more deeply connected to the narrative traditions of the Talmud. However, the constitutive moment of the birth of piyyut and narrative as distinct medieval genres had to do with their separation from the encyclopedic, all-embracing nature of the Talmud.

11. The Study of Hebrew Literature of the Middle Ages: Major Trends and Goals

The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Studies

Intertextuality in Folklore: Pagan Themes in Jewish Folktales from the Early Modern Era

European Journal of Jewish Studies, 2009

This article deals with the concept of intertextuality in folk narrative—a theme that has been de... more This article deals with the concept of intertextuality in folk narrative—a theme that has been dealt with only rarely. By analyzing the Hasidic, nineteenth-century folktale of The Sacrificers of Children, we attempt to demonstrate the importance of this theme for folkloristic scholarship and its centrality in the interpretation of folktales.The true importance of intertextuality lies in its contribution to the complexity of the text. The presence of secondary textual elements that are incorporated into the primary text but do not interfere with its ideological and aesthetic independence creates the powerful effect of multiple layers and meanings.We have here a story whose intent and purpose are distinctly and unquestionably didactic and conservative. The storyteller uses the earlier sources—biblical, midrashic, travel literature, medieval exempla—not only as narrative materials, but as references which can bring religious meaning and authority to his text. And yet it can also be rea...

format_quoteIn the Hasidic tale, townsfolk are driven by greed, unlike earlier sources that depict Abraham's sacrifice motivated by faith.format_quote

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Jewish Folklore between East and West. Collected Papers

Asian Folklore Studies, 1991

In his obituary for Haim Schwarzbaum (1911-1983), Dov Noy tells that upon his arrival at Blooming... more In his obituary for Haim Schwarzbaum (1911-1983), Dov Noy tells that upon his arrival at Bloomington, Indiana in 1952 to begin his graduate studies, Stith Thompson asked him whether he knew Haim Schwarzbaum in Israel. He did not, and Professor Thompson invited Dov Noy to his office and showed him the thick file of correspondence that he conducted with Schwarzbaum, saying: "You should know that I correspond with over a hundred folklorists worldwide, and your Haim Schwarzbaum is the most erudite of them all" (Noy 1986, 88). At the time Schwarzbaum was in his early forties. Most of his publications to that date appeared in the literary supplement of newspapers; only two of his articles were published in Hebrew scholarly journals (GANUZ 1984, 10). Yet in his private scholarly correspondence he had already demonstrated his overflowing erudition to be deserving of such an accolade from the leading folktale scholar of our time. Folklorists learned about his scholarly acumen only in the late fifties, when his articles began to appear regularly in scholarly publications. Disciplines Cultural History | Folklore | Jewish Studies | Near and Middle Eastern Studies Comments The journal in which this item was published is now known as Asian Ethnology.

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