Evolution of Yiddish Literature from 1382 to the Present

like the evolution of life itself. It is a slow, almost imperceptible, process. The stories

begin as simple recapitulations of material from the Torah, and evolve into very

descriptive stories which reflect real life experiences of the authors. Several themes

remain throughout the evolutionary process, the most prevalent being the belief in, and

an unwavering trust in, God. Another aspect of the stories that remains throughout the

evolutionary process is that most stories contain, in one form or another, a lesson or

moral. Some lessons are easily identified within the story, while others are, as in

fables, posted at the end of the story as the Moral. As we move on towards the

enlightenment period, the lessons are less obvious, but no less important.

As I examine the evolution of this literature, I have decided to use the period

divisions contained in the book. In part one (1382 to the Mid Eighteenth Century), we

see several forms of stories. Some are simple recounts of Torah material, some are

similar to fairy tales, and toward the end of this period, we begin to see the appearance

of mysticism. The earliest stories tend

Hasids encouraged personal religious experiences instead of an ardent study of the

comes upon a castle and lives with a she- demon and her followers, committing

The Haskala, or Jewish Enlightenment, period began during the eighteenth

confrontations throughout this period. “In Praise of the Baal- Shem- Tov” clearly

Some topics in this essay:
Eighteenth Century, Jewish Muzhik”, Star Beautiful, Indian Tale”, Pious Jew”, Mayse Book, Childhood” Abraham, Aylen- Shpigel’s, Jewish Enlightenment, Hebrew Yiddish, yiddish literature, religious themes, ethical religious, eighteenth century, enlightenment period, stories mayse book, stories simple, earliest stories, appearance mysticism, main character, evolutionary process, father fairy tale, throughout evolutionary process, ethical religious themes,