Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Casale Monferrato, Marietti
Description
The innocent and idealistic Benjamin and his hardheaded friend Senderel have humorous escapades as they search for the legendary Ten Tribes.
User reviews
LibraryThing member raizel
I think this would be funnier and cleverer if I lived then and there. As it is, it sometimes feel too clever by half. Benjamin wants to follow in the tradition of Benjamin of Tudela (1130-1173) and J.J. Benjamin (1818-1864), who traveled to far-off places and he names himself Benjamin the Third.
I was troubled by the two men abandoning their wives, so that they are agunot, without any remorse. The details of the story give a sense of what everyday life was like in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. The introduction, uncredited, explains the importance of Shalom Jacob Abromovich, whose pen name is Mendele Mocher Seforim, to Yiddish and Hebrew literature.
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(J.J. Benjamin called himself Benjamin the Second.) He manages to convince his friend, Senderel, a day-dreamer and henpecked husband, to join him in his journeys as he tries to get to Jerusalem. In fact, they don't get much further than about three towns away from their shtetl. Benjamin doesn't really need to worry about leaving his family destitute, since he spent his days studying and hanging out in the synagogue while his wife provided their income. I was troubled by the two men abandoning their wives, so that they are agunot, without any remorse. The details of the story give a sense of what everyday life was like in the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe. The introduction, uncredited, explains the importance of Shalom Jacob Abromovich, whose pen name is Mendele Mocher Seforim, to Yiddish and Hebrew literature.
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LibraryThing member jonfaith
The sages of Glupsk, known for their ingenuity in making mountains out of molehills, chasing wild geese and locating mares' nests, have, by drawing sundry inferences, by reading between the lines, shown that the legend is not without a considerable amount of truth.
Discovered this at a sale this
Several laugh out loud moments, mostly of the bumpkins being tormented by spouses variety. Take my wife--please. Two would be prophets heed the call of itchy feet and hit the road braving bedbugs, amorous calves and the machinations of conspirator.
Discovered this at a sale this
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afternoon, a Don Quixote of the shtetl. Apparently the author grew bored and abandoned it, though he did translate it from Hebrew to Yiddish.Several laugh out loud moments, mostly of the bumpkins being tormented by spouses variety. Take my wife--please. Two would be prophets heed the call of itchy feet and hit the road braving bedbugs, amorous calves and the machinations of conspirator.
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Subjects
Language
Original language
Yiddish
Original publication date
1878
ISBN
8821161676 / 9788821161674