Folktales of Joha, Jewish Trickster

Contents

Contents Preface…1 Introduction by Tamar Alexander…5 The Myth of Laughter…17 CHAPTER 1: Joha and his family…21 “Joha laughed, the whole family laughed.” CHAPTER 2: Joha at school…35 “Learning makes you sweat blood.” CHAPTER 3: Joha and work…45 “Joha wanted to die in order to get enough sleep.” CHAPTER 4: Joha and the animals…69 “Don’t die, donkey, until the new grass grows.” CHAPTER 5: Joha and the bride…85 “Don’t look at the bride or the cloth by candlelight.” CHAPTER 6: Joha and his wife…101 “Joha remembered to kiss his wife only the day his mother died.” F o l k t a l e s o f J o h a vi CHAPTER 7: Joha, son, and grandson…129 “Like father, like son! But what a grandson!” CHAPTER 8: Joha and the king…137 “I kill the king beneath my cloak.” CHAPTER 9: Joha and his neighborhood…157 “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” CHAPTER 10: Joha talks about himself…173 “Joha went to the baths and didn’t stop talking about it for years!” CHAPTER 11: Joha and the God…191 “God created him, but He forgot to visit him.” CHAPTER 12: Joha and the law…207 “Don’t blame the thief, blame the one who leaves the door open.” CHAPTER 13: Joha the glutton…233 “Once you start to eat, you won’t stop.” CHAPTER 14: Joha in the hospital…257 “One is born with luck and good fortune, and another with a double hernia.” CHAPTER 15: Joha and death…267 “Joha died, but his fame endured.” Narrators’ Circle: “The Ladies of Ladino”…279 Informants…282 ...