Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Reading Notes B: The Rabbi's Bogey Man

The Rabbi's Bogey-Man - Focus on the relationship between Rabbi Lion and his creations
  • Lion decided to make himself a servant when people treated him as a magician
  • Made a mechanical woman for labor, was alarmed at first when it started to move
  • De-animated the woman at night
    • Didn't trust his creation from the beginning, believed that she would cause mischief
  • Woman got destroyed in an accidental fire she started when Lion was preaching on Sabbath and kids ordered her to make a fire for them
  • Lion says that the creature has no life except for what the Sacred Name gave it
  • New creation: man larger than the woman, made for the king
  • Trusted man less than woman, took name out during Sabbath
    • Justified, after what the woman did
    • If man doesn't know of previous creation, seems like Lion has no trust for the man at all
  • Man improved, then spoke and wanted to fight for the king
    • Said he was made for the king, belongs to the king: aware of the circumstances of his creation
  • Lion was scared of the "monster" he created, but wasn't willing to give up the usefulness of a free and efficient servant
  • Man tried to break into the synagogue and destroy the scrolls of the Holy Law in order to make more bogey-men to serve the King and kill all the Jews
    • Lack of decisive action, or attempt at understanding, on Lion's part resulted in man escalating to drastic action
    • Man's ambitions grew the longer he was forced to be a slave to Lion
    • Wanted revenge on Lion (kill all Jews)
  • Lion took parchment from man and man collapsed

(Possible Arist: Sol Aronson, Web Source)

Biography: The Rabbi's Bogey-Man from Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertude Landa.  Web Source

No comments:

Post a Comment