"The Jewish Spirit includes ancient stories - oral and written - as well as more contemporary literary narratives by such well-known writers as Grace Paley, Bernard Malamud, Sholom Aleichem, Martin Buber, Leslie Epstein, I. B. Singer, Franz Kafka, and Francine Prose. Selections ranging from traditional Midrash, Hasidic tales, and Sephardic folklore to stories from Morocco, Egypt, Eastern Europe, and North America reveal the unique heritage and customs of the Jewish community." "These inspirational and often humorous stories follow the path of life and speak of origins and ethical dilemmas, teaching succeeding generations how to behave, what to believe, whom to trust or fear, when to laugh, and when to cling fast to hope. Taken as a whole, the stories reveal the universal human condition, refracted through a prism of exile and estrangement so characteristic of the often-uprooted Jewish people." "Illustrating this vast and remarkable anthology is a dazzling array of art relating to the Jewish experience by Marc Chagall, Ben Shahn, Malcah Zeldis, Harry Lieberman, Reuven Rubin, Raphael Soyer, Max Weber, Louise Nevelson and many others."--BOOK JACKET.

"A Fair Street/Welcome book."

Introduction / Ellen Frankel Prologue, Only the Story Remains, Hasidic Tale The Beginning, Traditional Midrash The Dual History of the Prince of Darkness / Howard Schwartz Leviathan and the Fox / Micha Josef Berdyczewski Lilith, Traditional Midrash The Creation of the Soul, Traditional Midrash The Golem, Czech Folktale The Menorah, Theodor Herzl The Werewolf / Martin Buber Cracker, or Because of the Calf and Something More, Yemenite Folktale The Box with Bones, Polish Folktale The Adventures of Hershel Summerwind / Itzik Manger The Prince Who Thought He Was a Rooster / Rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav The Story of My Dovecote / Isaac Babel The Lost Shabes / Kadia Molodowsky The Ape and the Leopard / Berechiah ben Natronai Ha-Nakdan How Much Do You Love Me? Eastern European Folktale The Father Bird and the Fledglings / Gluckel of Hameln The Mother, Lebanese Folktale The Inheritors / Sholom Aleichem True Joy / Kamelia Shahar The Jewbird / Bernard Malamud The Kiss, Hasidic Tale from Electricity a Story / Francine Prose The Most Precious Thing in the World, Traditional Midrash Djuha Seeks a Bride, Sephardic Trickster Tale The Ruby Serpent, Middle Eastern Folktale Lanjeh, Moroccan Folktale The Mouse Seeks a Wife / Berechiah ben Natronai Ha-Nakdan Three Hairs of a Lion, Moroccan Folktale

The Clever Wife, Iraqi Folktale The Pomegranate Girl, Egyptian Folktale In This Country But in Another Language... / Grace Paley Apples from the Desert / Savyon Liebrecht Chelm Lights Up the Night, Chelm Tale Skotsl Kumt, Eastern European Folktale A Meal for the Poor / Mordecai Spector The Prince and the White Gazelle, German Folktale The Bird's Nest / Martin Buber The Sheep of the Hidden Valley / Tsvi Blanchard If Not Higher / Isaac Leib Peretz A Cupboard in the Ghetto / Rachmil Bryks from King of the Jews / Leslie Epstein King Solomon's Ring, Middle Eastern Folktale Alexander and the Eyeball / Gluckel of Hameln Why Naftali of Ropschitz Wore White Trousers / Jiri Langer Fable of the Goat / S. Y. Agnon A House without Suffering / Gluckel of Hameln Gimpel the Fool / I. B. Singer Reb Eisik's Treasure / Jiri Langer It Could Always Be Worse, Eastern European Folktale The Bridge Who Saved Her Husband from the Angel of Death, German Folktale The Mysterious Palace / Hayyim Nachman Bialik The Eternal Wedding Gown / Joseph Opatoshu A Kindness to the Dead / Micha Josef Berdyczewski Before the Law / Franz Kafka A Hill in Bergen Belsen, Hasidic Tale The Death Train / Elie Wiesel Why the Night Watchman Was Denied a Raise, Chelm Tale Epilogue, Begin With Yourself, Hasidic Tale.