In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Narrators Abbadi, Gad. (c. 1890–1963). Born in Turkey. He immigrated to Israel in the 1930s and worked as a glazier and served as the shammash (caretaker) in his synagogue . He was known as a storyteller in his congregation, telling his stories mainly on Sabbath eve before the afternoon prayer and on Sabbath night before the evening prayer. The members of his congregation used to come to the synagogue early to listen to his stories. He was bilingual, speaking Hebrew and Arabic. His only daughter died young, shortly after her wedding. Abud, Nissim. Biographical information unavailable. Al-Bah.ri, Yitzh.ak. (b. 1913). Born in Izmir (Smyrna) and immigrated to Israel in 1949. He was a glazier, as was his father. He received a traditional religious education and is familiar with the midrashic literature and several narrative anthologies . He had a rather limited knowledge of Hebrew; and when he switched to Judeo-Spanish, his storytelling art improved considerably. His wife committed suicide during the winter of 1979, and this tragic event affected his life and personal demeanor. Albukher, Rachel. (Dates unavailable). Born in the Old City of Jerusalem to immigrant parents who came from Yugoslavia. She returned to her parents’ homeland to marry her cousin; they lived there for some time near Bitolj (Monasitr) as sheep farmers. She spoke Hebrew, Arabic, and Judeo-Spanish. In Bitolj and Jerusalem, she was socially involved and was familiar with folk medical beliefs and practice. She told her story when she was seventy-five years old. Angel-Malachi, Shaul. (b. 1907). Born in the Old City of Jerusalem in his grandfather’s courtyard. He began his elementary education in Talmud Torah in the Old City; but in 1914, his family moved to the Sha‘arei Zedek ward, where he attended modern schools. In 1927, his family moved to Venezuela, where he studied ethnography and journalism and edited a Spanish-language Zionistic monthly, Israel. In 1936, he returned to then-Palestine and settled in Jerusalem. He became involved in public life, being active in the labor movement, the trade unions, and the Jerusalem Labor Council. Later, he served as the executive secretary of the Labor Council of Ramala and became the executive secretary of the trade unions in Jerusalem. He joined the editorial committee of Hed-Ha-Mizrah (1942–1951), a weekly and fortnightly publication of the Oriental communities in Israel, and later that of Ba-Ma’arakhah (1961–) a publication of the Sephardic community. In addition to the numerous articles he has published in these and 596 other publications and the many radio programs that he prepared, he published two folktale anthologies—Be-terem reshit (1977) and Vidas en Jerusalem (1987)—and a play that draws on the life and customs of the Sephardic community in Jerusalem. In 1973, he was recognized as an honorary citizen of Jerusalem, Yakir Yerushalaim. According to their own tradition, his family members are descendants of the convert Luis de Santangel, who was the comptrollergeneral (escribano de ración) of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain and was influential in obtaining their support for Christopher Columbus’s expedition. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, the family moved to northern Italy and then to Saloniki; they have lived in Jerusalem since the second half of the nineteenth century. Shaul learned most of his stories from his grandmother, his mother, and his aunt. His grandmother, who was a domineering figure in the household, educated her grandchildren through fables and tales, telling the appropriate one for each occasion. During the summer nights, she used to tell stories in the courtyard, and neighbors and family friends would gather around to listen. Because of her personality, no one else dared to tell a story in her presence. From his father, Shaul learned talmudic-midrashic tales. As a bilingual narrator in Hebrew and Judeo-Spanish, he continued his family tradition orally, in writing , and in the popular media. Anidjar, Aliza. (b. 1914). Born in Tangier, Spanish-speaking Morocco. She had eight siblings—three brothers and five sisters. Her father died when she was three years old, and her widowed mother had to take care of nine young children. To ease her burden she sent Aliza to her maternal aunt, who took care of her. Aliza helped with the house chores but did not attend school. Upon her return home, she began to work in a cigarette factory, where she met her future husband, David, and married him a few months short of the age...

Share