The Mishle Shu’alim (Fox Fables) of Rabbi Berechiah Ha-Nakan: A Study of Comparative Folklore and Fable Lore

Schwarzbaum, Haim. The Mishle Shu’alim (Fox Fables) of Rabbi Berechiah Ha-Nakan: A Study of Comparative Folklore and Fable Lore. Kiron: Institute for Jewish and Arab Folklore Research, 1979. First edition. Small quarto. (4), lv, (1), 658pp. Index. Glossy white printed wrappers, with black lettering on front cover and spine. Some light soiling to wrappers, but overall a very good, internally clean and sound copy.

The publication is a comprehensive study, through annotations and textual commentary, of medieval Jewish folklore, with a focus on the Mishle Shualim (Fox Fables) of Rabbi Berechiah Ha-Nakdan. The fables were some of Berechiah’s own invention, others were reworkings of Aesop’s fables, while others origins can be traced to Talmudic and other sources. g- to vg. Softcover.

Berechiah ben Natronai Krespia ha-Nakdan (ha-Nakdan, meaning “the punctuator” or “grammarian”), commonly known as Berachya (13th century), was a Jewish exegete, ethical writer, grammarian, translator, poet, and philosopher. His most famous works are Mishle Shualim (Fox Fables) and Sefer Hahibbur (The Book of Compilation) (50745) $95