Countering violence through never-ending tales

Once upon a time, I thought that the foundation of Israel in 1948 would set an example of peace and good will on this troubled planet. Sadly, this has not occurred, and the decline of Israel as a model state has compelled me to do soul searching, for my hope as a Jew was that we Jews, especially Israeli Jews, would be able to avoid violence and oppression to survive in this troubled world.

My desire to demonstrate that there needs to be a solution to violence is best expressed ironically in the great German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine’s poem “For Esau” (1824):

For a century we’ve abided each other,
Giving our brotherly due.
You abide that I breathe,
And, though you rage, I abide you.
But occasionally, in dark times,
Good spirits in full flood,
Your tender, pious paws
Have colored my blood.
Our friendship is firmer,
It grows stronger as we age;
I’m becoming almost like you.
I, too, am beginning to rage.

To avoid raging, I have always turned to the pen to demonstrate that conflicts can be avoided and that Jewish writers, especially in the period from 1880 to 1940, provide exceptional examples of how oppressed Jews sort peaceful ways to minimize violent conflicts.

For the last five years I have assembled fantastic tales, a startling novel, and essays that virtually express the hope of Jewish authors to resolve conflict. The irony of these works reveals that one can speak truth to power even though it might be dangerous to do so. 

Between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Jewish writers in Europe and America published countless stories addressing “the Jewish Question”—the intense debate about the treatment of Jews following their so-called emancipation.

The tales, essays, and novel in my collection stem from this Question and subvert the anti-Semitism that the debate represented. Humorous and bittersweet, and filled with ironic reversals, these are stories of fantasy, magic, and transformation—tales about little people who assert their humanity; about the Golem, the gargantuan savior of Jews; about rabbis who use wisdom and patience to protect their people; and much more. While illuminating the problems faced by Jews of the period, from assimilation and conversion to pogroms and fascism, these stories offer hope about surviving and overcoming anti-Semitism,

All of the tales in this book were told or written by Jewish authors who dealt with their own “Jewish” questions about assimilation, conversion, secularization, religious dogmatism, pogroms, and more pogroms. Written originally for a Jewish readership, many of the narratives include ironic twists and self-deprecating humor. Yet, they all stress the necessity of hope for the survival of the Jewish people and their diverse religious traditions and experiences.

All of the tales, the novel, and the essays speak for little people who use their talents as best they can to overcome authoritarianism and fascism. Most of the stories include a miraculous transformation or turn of events when it appears that a particular Jew might be harmed or killed. Yet, there is no violence, and the writers of these tales generally reflect the difficult conditions in shtetls, ghettos, and towns. Some of the tales were written or collected by familiar authors like Karl Emil Franzos, Israel Zangwill, I. L. Peretz, and Sholom Aleichem, and others by less well-known writers such as Hersh Dovid Nomberg, Helena Frank, and Gertrude Landa. I have organized the shorter tales chronologically so that readers can gain a sense of the changing  times for Jews.

In general, I have shaped the anthology around the Jewish Question and how it has penetrated the minds of people throughout the world  for centuries. This is also why I have returned to the two devastating tales “The Operated Jew” and “The Operated Goy,” for they reflect, I believe, how bitter the conflict between Jews and gentiles of different persuasions was and still is today.

My anthology intends to uncover the hope of various Jewish writers whose works contend with anti-Semitism. Indeed, it is my hope that utopian possibilities from the past may still help us regain our sense of humanity.

Jack Zipes is the author of Buried Treasures: The Power of Political Fairy Tales and The Irresistible Fairy Tale; translator of The Original Bambi and The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm; and editor of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice (all Princeton). He is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at the University of Minnesota.