The Jewish Book of Fables: The Selected Works of Eliezer Shtaynbarg

The fable has a 3000-year-old tradition in Jewish literature, going back to the Bible and the Talmud. Other works of fables abound in the long stream of Hebrew literature, but it was not until the advent of the illustrious poet and fabulist, 'Eliezer Shtaynbarg that fable writing in Yiddish was honed to perfection. His originality, narrative skill, deft characterizations, comic sensibility, and moral fervor placed him squarely in the artistic tradition of Aesop, La Fontaine, and Krylov. This volume marks the first time that a book has been devoted solely to his work. Expertly translated from the Yiddish by award-winning author and translator Curt Leviant, this edition features the fables printed in both English and Yiddish.