Bücher von Miriam Hoffman

Legends of the AlefBet: The Origins of the Alphabet is Professor Miriam Hoffman's epic examination of the origins of written language.At Columbia University, Professor Hoffman spent decades researching the folklore and legends of the ancient Hebrew and Yiddish alphabets. Now, utilizing and illustrating that research, she entertains and educates her readers with the amazing stories that illuminate our modern languages.Utilizing the original 1919 artistic serigraphs of master artist Ben-Tsiyon Zuckerman, as well as the colorful Alefbet of con­temporary artist Michael Muchnik-plus additional artistic and related imagery-each letter is examined through its his­tory and the literary and artistic depictions that surround it.This masterfully enlightening historical and academic work provides readers with scholarly insight into our modern lan­guages and cultures.

Folktales belong to the earliest folk literature, likely predating Jewish sources. Once they were adapted into the Jewish setting, they were integrated into our own mythology. Folktales were told as parables with a moral undercurrent to expose human frailty and strength, vanity and heroism. Anything that wasn''t said openly was disguised as a parable or a folktale. The Jewish folktale encompasses wit and wisdom, evil and goodness, breaking down established norms, unmasking foolish pride, and fighting against injustice. The tales, legends, parables, and folktales in this book tell of miracles, heroism, cowardice and above all, the poor folk and the wealthy ones. In short, they are our most treasured legacy.