Because God Loves Stories

Steve Zeitlin received his Ph.D. in folklore from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the director and co-founder of City Lore: The New York Center for Urban Folk Culture and a regular commentator for National Public Radio. Zeitlin is the co-author of several books, including A Celebration of American Family Folklore. He lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

Leonard Nimoy In Because god Loves Stories, I recognize actors I performed with on the Jewish stages, the parents and people I grew up with, and a few of the shlemiels I've come across...I don't know how I ever did without it.

• Table of ContentsIntroductionI. ANCIENT TIMES IN CONTEMPORARY TALESNina JaffeThe Most Precious ThingSyd LiebermanChallahs in the ArkCherie Karo SchwartzElijah and the Poor Man's WishMerit of the SabbathJoseph EliasThe Sound of WorkThe Talking MuleRabbi Edward SchecterIsaac's Bar MitzvahII. THE SHTETLA. The Shtetl in FolktaleEve Penner IlsenA Tale of Reb Nakhum Chernobler and a TikkunRabbi Edward SchecterThe Teller of TalesLevi Yitchak Burns the EvidenceSyd Lieberman, Steve SanfieldThe Founding FathersA Chelm MedleyMichael WexThe KugelCorey FischerThe Golem Haunts the Cemetery in PragueB. The Shtetl in Family StoriesRita FecherThe Day My Great-Grandmother DiedPeninnah SchramThe Czar's ArmyThe Czarina's DressHenry SapoznikTants! Tants! Yiddish Music in the Old CountryMatilda FriedmanThink for YourselfMarc KaminskyMy Grandmother's Family TalesIII. THE IMMIGRANT EXPERIENCERoslyn Bresnick-PerryLeaving for AmericaA Real American GirlMy First ThanksgivingBarbara Kirshenblatt-GimblettFrom Immigrant to Ethnic in a Family's TalesRuth RubinGrandmother Elke: Next Year in JerusalemRosa KuinovaThe RefusenikIV. THE LOWER EAST SIDE AND BEYONDA. Tenement LifeSam LevensonThe Tax Man in the Tailor ShopCrucifixionGus Tyler"The Strike of the Schnorrers" RevisitedJack TepperPazamentryShirlee Kresh HeckerPapa's SukkahIke the PikeHank HalioA Jew Who Don't Speak Yiddish:Ashkenazi/Sephardic Cultural DifferencesB. The American SouthSolomon BlattWhat Mr. Blatt Can't EatC. The CatskillsJoey AdamsThe KokhaleynThe TumlerD. Yiddish TheaterBaruch LumetPlotting to Kill HarryZypora SpaismanThe Lonesome ShipE. Jewish Summer CampsRabbi David HoltzWater and WineV. THE HOLOCAUSTA. Folk and Hasidic TalesRabbi Israel Spira/Yaffa EliachEven the Transgressors in IsraelCircumcisionHovering above the PitNina Jaffe and Steve ZeitlinIn Your HandsSam LevensonThe WandB. Bitter MemoriesMelvin KatzOnly the Small SurviveTyphusPretending to WorkThe CigaretteNew BarracksLiberationA Bowl of SoupLisa LipkinWhat My Mother Never Told Me:Reminiscences of a Child of a Holocaust SurvivorBarbara MyerhoffThe ShoeboxRoslyn Bresnick-PerryGoing Home to NowhereVI. HUMOR IN CONTEMPORARY JEWISH LIFEMoshe WaldoksThe Health ClubSteve ZeitlinJewish Laughter, God's Sense of HumorVII. MEANINGS AND REFLECTIONSShelley BrennerEzekiel's WheelSteve ZeitlinA Penchant for ParableRabbi Tsvi BlanchardThe Healing Power of Jewish StoriesSource Notes