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Sandy Schuman“Creating Stories Since 1951” |
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There is always another side to the story. | ||
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A Rabbi, a Prophet, and a King Walk into a Bar – sounds like the setup for a joke, and indeed it is, but it is also the entry point into a rich tapestry of cultural heritage. In Jewish Stories Every Person Should Know, storyteller Sandy Schuman curates a collection of narratives that reveal the heart of Jewish humor, traditions, and values.
Schuman offers a witty definition of his subject: a distinctively Jewish story is “one that a non-Jew wouldn’t understand, and a Jewish person has already heard.” This anthology invites readers to rediscover these essential tales, ranging from the mystical to the hilarious. The collection includes classic folklore, such as the origins of the phrase “This Too Shall Pass” and the travels of the Prophet Elijah, alongside Talmudic legends like “The Oven of Akhnai.” It also features contemporary humor, such as the sectarian absurdity of “The Man on the Bridge” and the community conflicts resolved in “The Bakery Bout.”
More than a simple archive, this book is a call to action for the oral tradition. Schuman asserts that Jews are the “People of the Story,” using narrative as the primary vehicle for transmitting traditions and beliefs. He encourages readers to learn the “bones” of these stories and then “flesh them out” in their own voices, providing a glossary to assist with Hebrew and Yiddish terminology. Whether used to teach a child about hospitality or to diffuse a heated argument among colleagues, these stories are designed to be told, heart to heart, wherever they serve a purpose.
This vest pocket book, measuring just three by five inches (the size of an index card) and only 53 pages in length, makes a handy companion for learning these stories.
