Unlike most other ancient European, Near Eastern, and Mediterranean civilizations, Jewish culture surprisingly developed no early epic tradition: while the Bible comprises a broad range of literary genres, epic is not among them. Not until the late medieval period, Beginning in the fourteenth century, did an extensive and thriving epic tradition emerge in Yiddish. Among the few dozen extant early epics, there are several masterpieces, of which ten are translated into English in this volume. Divided between the religious and the secular, the book includes eight epics presented in their entirety, an illustrative excerpt from another epic, and a brief heroic prose tale.These texts have been chosen as the best and the most interesting representatives of the genre in terms of cultural history and literary quality: the pious “epicizing” of biblical narrative, the swashbuckling medieval courtly epic, Arthurian romance, heroic vignettes, intellectual high art, and popular camp.

Jean Baumgarten's Introduction to Old Yiddish Literature, thoroughly revised from the first edition and translated into English, provides students and scholars of medieval, Renaissance, and early modern European cultures with an exemplary survey of the broad and deep literary tradition in Yiddish. Baumgarten conceives of his work as the study of an entire culture via its literature, and thus he conceives of literature in a broad sense: he begins with four chapters addressing pertinent issues of the larger cultural context of the literature and moves on to a consideration of the primary genres in which the culture is expressed (epic, romance, prose narrative, drama, biblical translation and commentary, ethical and moral treatises, prayers, and the broad range of literature of daily use - medical, legal, and historical). In the field of early Yiddish studies the book will be the standard of intellectual breadth and scholarly excellence for decades to come. In this second edition, the hundreds of text citations and bibliographical references that are the scholarly basis of the study have been verified, and the citations translated anew directly from the original source.

Bovo d'Antona by Elye Bokher (Elyiahu ben Asher haLevi Ashkenazi, 1469-1549) is a chivalry poem written in Yiddish in Padoa, in the year 1507, and printed under the author's supervision in Isny (Germany) in the year 1541. The present book intends to present a critical edition of this poem, together with a commentary. An introduction will focus on various related questions, such as the place of the Bovo d'Antona in European literature and in Italian literature, Bovo d'Antona and the chivalric genre in Old Yiddish literature, the analysis of the manuscript versions in comparison with the printed edition, the relationship with the Italian source and the readership. An appendix will deal with later transformations of the Bovo-Bukh. "Bovo Bukh is an excellent example of the relationship between romances and folktales,and Rosenzweigʼs introduction and edition of this important early Yiddish text will be appreciated by scholars of early Modern literature and folk narrative." - Dr. David Elton Gay, Indiana University, in: Fabula 59:1-2 (2018)

Publisher Description

This is a 16th century Yiddish verse romance which relates the adventures of the hero Bovo d'Antona. The poet spins an episodic tale of friendship and betrayal, of disguise and discovery, and of knightly battles. Professor Smith's prose translation makes this little book accessible to the English-speaking public for the first time.

In Of Lodz and Love, Chava Rosenfarb revisits her themes of the the shtetl and pre-Holocaust Poland, of economic and political oppression, and of the upheavals that would herald a new Jewish national and political awakening. The story takes Yacov, son of Hindele, and Binele, the daughter of the chalk vendor Yossele Abedale, to the industrial town of Lodz during the first years of Poland's independence, both before and after the country entered the war with the Bolsheviks. The would-be young lovers evolve separately against the backdrop of the city's own struggle for economic survival. In sometimes tragic turns, they make their way in the strange urban culture, rapidly acquiring the skills to survive. Translated from the original Yiddish, this book serves as prologue and as counterpoint to the urbanization of Jewish life in Poland. In its elegance and subtle wit, and overwhelming human dignity, it is not only the testimony of a vanished world, but a powerful love story.

This volume is the first comprehensive anthology of early Yiddish literature (from its beginnings in the twelfth century to the dawn of modern Yiddish in the mid-eighteenth century) for more than one hundred years. It includes the broad range of genres that define the corpus: Arthurian romance, heroic epic, satire, lyric, drama, biblical/midrashic epic, devotional literature, biblical translations, glosses, medicine, magic, legal texts, oaths, letters, legends, autobiography, travelogue, fables, riddles, and adventure tales. One hundred and thirty texts in the original Hebrew alphabet, edited anew from the earliest extant sources, are provided with introductory headnotes that include detailed information concerning sources, author (if known), the research literature, and the place of the text in the literary tradition.

“My dear children, I write this for you in case your dear children or grandchildren come to you one of these days, knowing nothing of their family. For this reason I have set this down for you here in brief, so that you might know what kind of people you come from.” These words from the memoirs Glikl bas Leib wrote in Yiddish between 1691 and 1719 shed light on the life of a devout and worldly woman. Writing initially to seek solace in the long nights of her widowhood, Glikl continued to record the joys and tribulations of her family and community in an account unique for its impressive literary talents and strong invocation of self. Through intensely personal recollections, Glikl weaves stories and traditional tales that express her thoughts and beliefs. While influenced by popular Yiddish moral literature, Glikl’s frequent use of first person and the significance she assigns her own life experience set the work apart. Informed by fidelity to the original Yiddish text, this authoritative new translation is fully annotated to explicate Glikl’s life and times, offering readers a rich context for appreciating this classic work.

Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- 1. Introduction -- 2. "Whither Am I to Go?": Old Yiddish Love Song in a European Context -- 3. (Non- )Intersecting Parallel Lives: Pasquino in Rome and on the Rialto -- 4. Purim Play as Political Action in Diasporic Europe and/as Ancient Persia -- 5. Vashti and Political Revolution: Gender Politics in a Topsy-Turvy World -- 6. The Political Liminality of Mordecai in Early Ashkenaz -- 7. Feudal Bridal Quest Turned on Its Jewish Head -- 8. The Other of Another Other: Yiddish Epic's Discarded Muslim Enemy -- 9. Conclusion -- Appendix: Elia Levita's Short Poems (English translation) -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- H -- I -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Y

This text describes how Yiddish storytelling became the politics of rescue for generations of displaced Jewish artists, embodying their hopes and fears in the languages of tradition. It suggests that there lies an aesthetic and moral sensibility totally at odds with Jewish humour and piety.