Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations and maps.
Abbaye de Cornards, 44
Abbaye de Liesse, 44
Abdera, 21, 112, 114–115, 120, 122, 130, 135, 151, 157, 158, 159; in ancient literature, 243n9; in Boḥen tsadik (Perl), 128–130, 176; and Brody, 129–130, 176; and Chelm, 171, 174, 177, 183, 211; as foolish town, 21, 114, 116–118, 121, 123, 127, 130, 151, 157, 159, 172, 174, 176, 177, 180, 183, 211; as literary topic, 115, 116; and “Oyzer Tsinkes un di tsig,” 21; and Schildburg/Schilda, 116, 118, 121–122, 151, 157, 250n30, 183. See also History of the Abderites; Nachlass eines Sonderlings zu Abdera
Die Abderiten: Eine sehr wahrscheinliche Geschichte (Wieland). See History of the Abderites
“Abderiten von heute unter den Juden” (Segel), 151, 171, 173–176, 177, 178–179, 183, 184, 190; and Chelm, 151, 171, 174–175, 176, 177, 179; and Schildbürgerbuch, 174–175, 177, 179, 184
Abderitenstreich (Abderite antics), 157–158
Abolafia, Yossi, 217
Abraham Joshua Heschel of Apt, 144
Abramovitsh, Sholem Yankev, 19, 137
Agnon, Shmuel Yosef, 194
agune, 139
Aksenfeld, Yisroel, 137
Aleichem, Sholem. See Sholem Aleichem
Alexander II, Tsar of Russia, 140
Alkvit, B., 14
Allen, Woody, 9
Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums (Berlin), 178
Almi, A., 182
alphabet: Hebrew, 77, 81, 83, 84, 91; Jews and Western script, 79–80, 82–84, 167, 194; Jews’ disapprobation of Roman script, 82–83; Latin characters, 79, 82. See also galkhes
Alteration (Netherlands), 102
Am Urdsbrunnen (Rendsburg), 249n4. See also Am Ur-Quell
Am Ur-Quell (Hamburg), 151, 171–174, 176–177, 180; Chelm tales in, 174–177, 179, 183, 184
Amsterdam, 7, 78, 82, 85, 90, 102, 108, 152
Anatomy of Melancholy (Burton), 243n9
Andree, Richard, 172–173, 177, 184
Angel of Death, 12–13, 21, 227n80
The Angel’s Mistake (Prose), 31
Annalen der Universität zu Schilda (Laukhard), 157
“Anno 1839” (Heine), 164–165
Antiklerikale folks-mayses (Mirer), 206
antisemitism, 91, 151, 177, 178, 209
Argentina: Yiddish literature in, 17, 24, 30; Yiddish theater in, 16, 17
Arndt, Ernst Moritz, 250n30
Ars poetica (Horace), 96
Ashkenazy, Daniella, 216
Association of Jewish Writers and Journalists in Warsaw. See Fareyn fun yidishe literatn un zhurnalistn in Varshe
Athens, 28; as literary place, 118
Atticus, Titus Pomponius, 74
Aurbacher, Ludwig, 162–163
“Aus dem Leben des hohen Rabbi Löw” (Bloch), 255n5
Austrian National Library, 238n24
Austro-Hungarian (Habsburg) Empire, 102, 113, 127, 131, 141, 142, 177, 178
Ausubel, Nathan, 17; “The Chelm Goat Mystery,” 22; Treasury of Jewish Folklore, 17, 19, 22–23, 214
Avé-Lallemant, Friedrich Christian Benedict, 92
Ayn nay lid ouf der megile (Efrayim bar Yuda Levi), 82
Ayzenshlos, Alter, 204
Ayzenshlos, Rokhl Leye, 204
Baal Shem Tov, Israel, 126, 256n7
badkhn (pl. badkhonim), 45, 58
Bakhtin, Mikhail, 43–44
“Di balade fun Hershele Ostropoler mit der levone” (Manger), 233n51
Barnai, Yossi, 217
Barry Sisters, 212
Basel, 67
Bässler, Andreas, 68
Bastomski, Shloyme, 207
Bavarian State Library, 52, 226n58
Bebel, Heinrich, 67
Becher, Yosef, 247n113
Beer, Peter, 83
Beireis, Gottfried Christoph, 90
Belehrung der Jüdisch-Teutschen Red- und Schreibart (Wagenseil), 81–83
Belorussia as literary place, 198
ben Ze’ev, Judah Leib, 130
Bengal, Ben, 30
Berdichev, 182
Berdychiv. See Berdichev
Berkowicz, Michael, 194–195
Berlin, 92, 125, 152, 159, 173, 194, 225n35, 237n56; Haskalah in, 116, 123–124, 130, 168–169
Bernstein, Ignatz, 141, 168, 169–171, 183, 195
Bialik, Ḥayim Naḥman, 202
Biberach, 116
Bible, Hebrew, 53, 238n12, 147, 162, 186; Esther 9:7, 229n128; Song of Songs, 147; in Yiddish, 81
Bibliotheca Hebraea (Wolf), 52, 90–91
Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, 238n24
Bibrka. See Bóbrka
Bick, Herz. See Bik, Herts
Big Bang, 33–34
Bik, Herts, 141, 142; Der Khelemer khokhem, 142–145, 146, 148, 179
Bik, Jacob Samuel, 142
Biłgoraj, 206
Binder, Mark, 224n6
Birnbaum, Nathan, 78
Blitsende vitsen oder lakhpilen (Dik), 131, 132, 141
Bloch, Jan, 146
Blum, Eliezer. See Alkvit, B.
Bobertag, Felix, 162n48
Bóbrka (as foolish town), 176
Bockum (as foolish town), 164
Bodleian library, 92, 231n12, 237n24; Oppenheim collection, 92, 239n32
Boḥen tsadik (Perl), 128–130; Abdera in, 128–130, 176; folly in, 128, 130; and Margulies, 129; maskilim in, 128–129; source of, 246n75
Boissard, Jean-Jacques, 117
“Bolvan der ershter un zayn ayzerne hant” (Singer), 36
“Bontshe Shvayg” (Peretz), 18–19
Boorde, Andrew, 60
Borokhov, Ber, 183
Botashanski, Yankev, 16
Boyarin, Jonathan, 223n8
Brachfeld, Paul, 73
Brant, Sebastian, 117, 212; Ship of Fools (Narrenschiff), 44, 49, 117, 122–123
“Das Brillantendiadem” (Segel), 180–182
British Library, 62, 65, 75, 89, 237n56, 238n24
Brody, 123, 127, 129–130, 152, 253n89, 176; as Abdera, 129–130, 176; fools of, 176
Brook, Charles T., 250n23
The Brothers Schlemiel (Binder), 224n6
Buch der schönsten Geschichten und Sagen (Schwab), 162
Das Buch von den polnischen Juden (Agnon and Eliasberg), 194
Bund (Der Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund; The General Union of Jewish Workers), 24, 182
Burton, Robert, 243n9
Büsum, 152; as foolish town, 173, 176–177, 184
Büttner, Wolfgang, 52n40
Butwin, Frances, 22–23
Butwin, Julius, 22–23
Buxtehude, 152; as foolish town, 161
Callenberg, Johann Heinrich, 52
Campe, Heinrich, 157–158
Carlebach, Ezriel, 195–196
Carnival plays, 46–48
Carnival, 43–44, 47–48, 235n2; Christian, 231n18; in Cologne, 158–159; and Purim, 46–48
carnivalesque, 43–44, 48, 54–55, 57; culture, 43, 48, 57; institutions, 159; performances, 45, 158–159
Carnovsky, Morris, 18
Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens, 173, 181
“Chad Gadya” (song), 216
Chanukah in Chelm (Adler), 224n6, 215
Chanukkah Tree (Kimmel), 215
chapbook (Volksbuch), 68, 159, 162
Charap, J. A., 176
Chelm, xiii, 1, 3, 4, 45, 130, 131–132, 140, 143, 146, 152, 183, 184, 195, 197, 205, 206; as Abdera, 171, 174, 177, 183, 211; Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, 199; Christian community of, 140–141, 199–200; and folly, 2, 5, 9, 13, 14, 16, 19, 27, 130, 132, 133, 137, 138–142, 147, 149, 167, 179, 194, 216, 222; as foolish town, 1–2, 5, 10, 130, 135, 137–142, 151, 168, 174–180, 183, 190, 194–195, 206, 211, 219; Jewish community of, 3–5, 140, 195; as Jewish Abdera, 177; as Jewish Schilda, 165–166, 168, 191, 194, 195–196, 211; in Polish culture, 1, 174; in proverbs, 2, 140, 141, 168, 170–171, 183, 213; as representative of Polish Jewish community, 25, 26, 37, 153, 188, 190, 191, 190; and Schilda, 168, 189, 191, 194, 195–196, 211; and Schildburg, 193, 210; and Shildburger bukh, 108, 110, 133; spelling of, 134, 224n11. See also wise men of Chelm; specific Chelm literature
Chelm characters: daytsh, 12, 147, 150, 184; indik (turkey), 170, 258n69; khazn (cantor), 170, 258n69; Khoyzek, 28, 170–171; king, 26, 34, 218; Litvak, 20, 26, 29, 60; melamed (teacher), 14, 20–21, 23, 25–26, 146–147, 149, 185–186, 203; melamed’s wife, 20, 25–26, 185–186; night watchman, 200–201; rabbi, 9, 13, 20, 22, 23, 38, 40, 132, 136, 139, 143–145, 146, 147–149, 171, 175, 179, 185, 186, 204, 206, 210, 211–212; rebbetzin (rabbi’s wife), 22, 37–38, 136, 139, 143–145, 175, 204; Shabbes goy, 26, 148–149; shammes (beadle), 22, 43, 132–133, 136, 139, 174, 179, 180, 185, 188, 190, 192, 203, 204, 211; shulkloper, 134, 138; yishuvnik (villager), 204–205
Chelm tales: angelic distribution of souls, 2, 14, 19–20, 28–29, 186–187, 199; arithmetic in Chelm, 184, 205; attempting to buy justice/truth, 210, 211–212; beautifying the synagogue, 180, 184, 211; building a synagogue, 174–175, 178, 180, 184, 193, 199, 214; buying a goat, 21–23; carrying logs sideways, 13, 171; carrying vs. rolling logs/stones, 14, 20, 60, 61, 175, 176–177, 178–179, 199, 214; cow in the hayloft, 206; destruction of Chelm, 30, 184, 188, 204–205, 217–218; disoriented by travel, 228n105, 144–145, 171, 179–180, 215, 221–222; eating on alternate days, 132, 134; fish standing trial, 37–38, 40–41; floorboards in the bathhouse, 202–203; headless rabbi, 139, 175, 179, 185; hiring a night watchman, 200–201; melamed and his wife in the trunk, 25–26, 185–186; mistaken identity, 203; mousehound/cat of Chelm, 184, 188, 189, 192, 194, 216; moving the synagogue/hill, 14, 38, 163, 175, 177, 178–179, 184, 199, 206; oven made of butter/ice, 248n124, 216; oven protected from theft, 168; pig in the mikveh, 185; protecting the snow, 41, 132–133, 134, 135–136, 138–139, 174, 179, 180, 211; shammes and the shutters, 190; shoveling sunlight into a bag, 62, 77, 175; sowing salt, 138, 206; synagogue without windows, 77, 175, 178; trapping the moon, 13, 25, 29, 110, 132–134, 174, 176, 180, 193, 194, 206, 207, 208, 210; using the fire hose, 203
Chelm-on-the-Med (blog), 216
“The Chelm Goat Mystery” (Ausubel), 22
Chełm, xiii, 152. See also Chelm
Chelmaxioms (Mandelbaum), 224n6
Chelmer Narronim. See Khelmer naronim
Chelmer Narrunim. See Khelmer naronim
Chelmno, 257n31
children’s literature, 2, 51–52, 54; and Chelm tales, 2, 224n6, 11, 30–31, 192, 207, 215–217, 219, 221; and Isaac Bashevis Singer, 6, 31, 37, 38–41, 221; and Lalebuch/Schildbürgerbuch, 60, 162, 177
Chmielnik, 135
Christian Hebraism, 91
Christian Hebraists, 47, 81, 90
Christmas, Henry, 119
College Yiddish (Weinreich), 213–215
Commentary (New York), 17–18, 23, 30
Confused Hanukkah (Koon), 215, 224n6
conversion of Jews, 82–83
converts to Christianity, 47, 83, 85; their attitude to Roman script, 83
cosmopolitanism, 123
“A Couple of Gold Nuggets, from the . . . Wastepaper, or Six Answers to Six Questions,” (Wieland), 112–113
court jesters, 45, 232n32, 71; of Grosselfingen, 159. See also fools; Hershele Ostropoler
Cracow, 152, 166, 237n56, 239n49
Cremona, 50
Cricket (La Salle, Illinois), 39–40
Czartoryski, Adam Jerzy, 125
Czartoryski, Adam Kazimierz, 124, 125, 126
Czartoryski, Izabela Fleming, 124
Dachau concentration camp, 17
Dalfn, 35
Dalfon. See Dalfn
“Dalfunka, Where the Rich Live Forever,” (Singer), 31, 230n153
“Dalfunka, di shtot vu gvirim lebn eybig” (Singer), 230n153
David y el gigante de piedra (animated film). See The Real Shlemiel
Davidsohn, Ludwig, 194
Days of Awe, 197
Debuskey, Merle, 18
Ded Moroz (Father Frost), 216
Dee, Ruby, 18
Democritus, 115, 120, 126, 130; as literary figure, 115, 123, 124, 125, 126
Denkwürdige Geschichtschronik der Schildbürger (Tieck), 113–114, 157
Deutsche Roman-Zeitung (Berlin), 252n55
Deutsches Sprichwörter-Lexikon (Wander), 2, 141, 142, 167–168, 170
Deutsches Wörterbuch, 253n81
Dictionnaire historique et critique (Bayle), 120, 122; German translation of, 244n31
Dijon (as foolish town), 159
Dik, Ayzik Meyer, 21, 130–131, 135, 139–141, 146, 174, 176, 190, 201–202, 210, 211, 220; and Abdera, 21, 130; Blitsende vitsen oder lakhpilen, 131–132, 141; and Chelm as foolish town, 132, 138, 141; Di orkhim fun Duratshesok, 2, 137–138, 140–142, 202; “Oyzer Tsinkes un di tsig,” 21, 23; and Poland, 131, 140, 141; and Schildbürgerbuch, 134, 137, 138–139; Der shivim moltsayt, 140, 142; Sipurey khokhmey Yovn, 246n76; “The Wisdom of a Certain Town Khes,” 131–136, 138, 140, 174, 180
Dr. Blochs oesterreichische Wochenschrift (Vienna), 255n5
Driz, Shike, 216
Drożdżyński, Aleksander, 256n30
Druya, 202
Druyanov, Alter, 202–203
Dülken (as foolish town), 159, 164
Duratshesok (foolish town), 2, 130, 137–138, 142; and Chelm, 138. See also Di orkhim fun Duratshesok
Düsseldorf, 163
Easter, 231n19
Edels, Samuel, 3
Efrayim bar Yuda Levi, 82
Efroyim Greydiger, 29, 190, 206
Efroyim Greydiker. See Efroyim Greydiger
Ehrenpreis, Jacob, 142
“Eindrücke aus Galizien” (Lessing), 178
Elchanon Paulus of Prague, 83
Eldad ha-Dani, 249n12
Eliasberg, Ahron, 194
Elijah of Vilna (Vilna Gaon), 127
Elijah, Baal Shem of Chelm, 3
Empfindsame Reise nach Schilda (von Rebmann), 113, 156–157
Encyclopedia Judaica, 195
England, 16, 60, 159, 161, 173
Englander, Nathan, 10
Enlightenment, 3, 83, 112–113, 114, 119, 124, 131, 158, 169, 220; in Berlin, 116, 168; literature of, 7, 113–114, 120, 127, 131, 156–157, 158, 220; Polish, 124; and Schildbürgerbuch, 113–114, 151, 156–158, 162. See also Haskalah
Die Entdeckungsreise des Herrn Dr. Theodor Lessing zu den Ostjuden (Segel), 178
Erlikh, Borekh Mordkhe, 217
Ertz, Stefan, 235n17
“Essai d’un plan de réforme” (Lefin), 126–127
ethnography, 150–151, 172; Jewish, 172, 182; polemical, 47
Euripides, 115
Everything Is Illuminated (Foer), 10
Evreiskaia entsiklopediia, 194
Facetiae (Bebel), 67
Fagius, Paulus, 81
Fareyn fun yidishe literatn un zhurnalistn in Varshe, 10
“Der farkishefter shnayder” (Sholem Aleichem), 21–23
Fast of Av. See Tish‘ah be-Av
Fastnacht. See Carnival
Fastnachtsnarren. See fools
Fastnachtspiel. See Carnival plays
Faygenboym, Shaye, 185, 189, 207, 208
Feast of Asses, 44
Feast of Fools, 44
Feast of St. Nicholas, 55
The Feather Merchants (Sanfield), 31, 224n6
Fedorenko, Eugen, 221n24
Feibush Ashkenazi. See Joel ben Simon
Filtzhut, Pomponius (pseudonym), 73, 74, 85, 101, 155–156; as Jew, 239n48. See also Schildbürgerbuch
Finkelshteyn, Khayim, 195n25, 197
First Cincinnati Haggadah, 51
“The First Shlemiel” (Singer), 41, 230n152
“The First Snow,” (Singer), 41, 230n152
Flender, Harold, 33
Fliegende Blätter (Munich), 162–163
Fockbek, 152; as foolish town, 173
Foer, Jonathan Safran, 10
Foillet, Jacob, 67
folkist party, 182
folklore, 151, 163, 172, 217; and Chelm, 16, 151, 213, 215; English, 16; Jewish, 53, 146, 171, 188, 215; Yiddish, 5n10, 29, 131, 182
folly, 40, 44–45, 48, 53, 57, 59, 61, 65, 68–69, 72, 108, 113, 121–123, 147, 149, 151, 161, 165; in Chelm tales, 2, 5, 9, 13, 14, 16, 19, 27, 130, 132, 133, 137, 138–142, 147, 149, 167, 179, 194, 216, 222; Christian, 45, 210; for Christ’s sake, 209–210; Jewish, 19, 46, 49–59; natural, 51; and reason, 72. See also fools
folly literature, 7, 25–26, 43, 56, 105, 107, 116–117, 212, 231n13, 233n40; early modern, 25, 68, 117, 147, 149; German, 3, 60, 160; Jewish, 29, 56; medieval, 25, 147
fool societies, 44–45, 55, 57, 69, 74, 109–110, 156, 159; Abbaye de Conards, 44, 69; Abbaye de Cornards, 44; Abbaye de Liesse, 44; in Jewish culture, 55–57; in Lalebuch, 69–72; and maleness, 69, 72; and marriage, 44, 69, 72; in Schildbürgerbuch, 74, 109–110, 156; and sexual relations 44, 57, 69, 72
foolish culture, 43, 45–46, 48, 54–56, 61, 64, 69, 74, 100–101, 104, 107–109, 123, 250n21, Christian, 47–49; Jewish, 45, 47–49, 54–56, 110, 179; scholarship on, 43–44, 45–48; shared, 48, 56, 58–59, 108, 110
foolish performances, 57, 69–71, 121
foolish symbols, 48, 50, 55, 57–59, 69
foolish towns, 151, 152, 157, 158–159, 161, 163–164, 168, 172–173, 174, 177, 179, 180; German, 156, 158, 160–162, 164, 168, 179, 191, 250n23, 252n71; Jewish 2n2, 130, 137, 151, 165–167, 174, 176, 183, 191. See also specific towns
fools, 46, 69, 144; artificial, 170, 232n32; carnival 44, 158–159; Christian, 43–45, 46, 48, 173, 177, 190; holy, 210; Jewish, 45–59, 190, 192; natural, 170, 232n32; professional, 45–46; and Purim, 49; in Yiddish folklore, 29, 170. See also court jesters; fool societies; wise men of Chelm
“The Fools of Chelm and the Stupid Carp” (Singer, 40), 230n153
The Fools of Chelm and Their History (Singer), 31, 39–40, 196
Forverts (New York), 11, 12, 16, 31, 37; and Chelm tales, 11, 31–33, 37, 38, 39, 40, 221, 225n27
Foucault, Michel, 72
four sons, 50–51
Fränkel, Ludwig, 173
Frankfurt (am Main), 45, 53, 73, 85, 90, 94, 152, 174, 178, 234n54; as foolish town, 165–166
Frankfurt (an der Oder), 154
Freedman, Florence, 224n6
Frey, Jakob, Gartengesellschaft, 67
Dos freylekhe Hershele Ostropolyer (A. M. Sh.), 256n7
Der freylekhster yid in der velt oder Hersheles lern-yorn (Trunk), 54
Friedländer, David, 124
“A frier peysekh” (Sholem Aleichem), 226n60
Froyim Greydiger. See Efroyim Greydiger
“Fun der kluger shtot” (Kipnis), 196–206, 225n26; narrative style of, 201; sources of, 201–202
Fun Khelemer pinkes (Lerner), 217
Fürth, 7, 58, 85, 90, 103, 108, 152; as foolish town, 165–167
Galen, 243n9
Galicia, 10, 127, 129, 131, 141, 142, 166, 174, 176, 177, 178, 179, 183, 191, 194. See also Austro-Hungarian (Habsburg) Empire
Gartengesellschaft (Frey), 67
Gartengesellschaft (Montanus), 104
Gaster, Moses, 247n115
Geiler von Kaysersberg, Johann, 117
Gemeindeblatt der Israelitischen Gemeinde Frankfurt am Main (Frankfurt), 173–174
Genesis Rabba, 186
Georgievsky, Eulogius (bishop), 200
German language, 81, 113, 157; Early New High, 60, 75, 78, 97; Hochdeutsch (High German), 77–79, 81, 82; and Jews, 82; Middle High, 78, 97, 253n81; and Yiddish, 77–79, 81, 99, 167, 191. See also Yiddish language
German studies, 91–92, 95, 151, 159, 161, 163; and Yiddish, 91–92
Germany, 11, 50, 90, 91, 105, 124, 158–159, 160, 161, 164–165, 172, 177, 195; Jewish communities of, 58, 167, 181; as literary place, 27, 124, 164; as successor to ancient Greece, 119, 158. See also specific foolish towns
Gershenzon, Moyshe, 216
Gerson, Christian, 83
Gersonides, 56
Gervinus, Georg Gottfried, 161
Geschichte der poetischen National-Literatur der Deutschen (Gervinus), 161
Gesellschaft für jüdische Volkskunde, 172
Di geshikhte fun der yidisher literature (Erik), 46, 47–48, 232n37
Geshikhte fun yidisher teater-kunst un drame (Shiper), 45–46, 56
Gintsburg, Mordekhai Aharon, 137
Glatshteyn, Yankev, 30, 248n127
Glimpf und Schimpf in Spruch und Wort (von Wurzbach), 165–166
Glupov (foolish town), 137
Glupsk (foolish town), 137
Gneisenau, August von, 251n32
Goedeke, Karl Friedrich, 161
Goethe, Catharina Elisabeth, 116
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 81, 116, 125, 244n44; and Yiddish, 81
Goldfaden, Avrom, 211
Goldshteyn, Yoysef-Shimen, 197
golem, 3, 5, 217, 220; of Prague, 189
Gosche, Richard, 239n43
Gotham (Nottinghamshire, England), 16, 152; as literary place, 6, 16
Gothelf, Levi. See Carlebach, Ezriel
Gottesman, Itzik, 202
Göttingen, 164
Gottsched, Johann Gottfried, 244n31
Gottsched, Luise, 244n31
Graubard, Pinkhes, 182
Greece, 115, 135; as literary place, 61, 115, 118, 135, 158, 211; and Winckelmann, 119
Grillenvertreiber, 73–75, 249n20
Grimm, Wilhelm, 67
Grimm, brothers, 160–161, 237n50
Grininke beymelekh (Vilna), 207
Gross, Naftoli, 17
“Der groyser zets un di antshteyung fun Khelm” (Singer), 33, 38–39
Grundrisz zur Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung aus den Quellen (Goedeke), 161
Gumprekht Levi. See Efrayim bar Yuda Levi
Gurevich, Aron. See Gurjewitsch, Aaron
Gurjewitsch, Aaron, 44
Gvozdeva, Katja, 69
Hadda, Janet, 32
Hagen, Friedrich Heinrich von der, 67, 91, 159–161; and Grimm brothers, 160–161; and Lalebuch, 67; and Schildbürgerbuch, 159–160
Ḥakhme Ḥelem: Bediḥot ve-halatsot ʻamamiyot (Heilpern), 207
Hambach Festival, 164
Hamburg, 90, 152, 172, 195, 237n56
Hanswurst, 47
A Hanukkah Present! (Binder), 224n6
Hasid (pl. Hasidim), 22, 110, 124, 126–129, 137, 141, 170, 212
Hasidic court, 143; court of Barukh ben Yeḥiel of Mezhbizh, 256n7; court of Zinkover rebbes, 144
Hasidic town, 126, 140, 144, 174
Hasidism, 126–127, 131, 142, 145; anti-Hasidism, 22, 124, 126, 129, 131; neo-Hasidism, 14. See also satire
Haskalah, 7, 83, 113, 123–124, 127, 129, 130–131; in Berlin and Prussia, 83, 116, 123–124, 130, 168–169; in eastern Europe, 124, 127, 129. See also Enlightenment
“Hassidic Tales, with a Guide to Their Interpretation by the Noted Scholar” (Allen), 9
Haynt (Warsaw), 195, 220n19; and Chelm tales, 10, 37, 153, 189, 195, 196, 197–198, 202–203, 205–206, 207, 211
Hebrew Union College, 238n24
Heilpern, Falk, 185, 189, 207, 208
Heine, Heinrich, 163–165
Di heldn fun Khelm (Simon), 30
Ḥelm ve-ḥakhameh: Meḥubar be-ḥelko lefi mekorot ʻamamiyim (Heilpern), 207
Helmstedt, 90
“Ḥemah” (Frishman), 248n124, 259n14
Herder, Johann Gottfried, 125
Herodotus, 120
Hersch Ostropoler: Ein jüdischer Till-Eulenspiegel des 18. Jahrhunderts (Bloch), 189–190
Hershele Ostropoler, 29, 53, 189–190, 211; as court fool, 256n7; and Till Eulenspiegel, 53–54, 189–190
Herzl, Theodor, 195
Hesekiel, George, 252n55
Hesse, Walter, 94
Hierocles, 243n9
Hippocrates, 115; as literary figure, 115, 123
Hirschau, 152; as foolish town, 153
Hirschberg (as foolish town), 116
Historien von Claus Narren (Büttner), 52
History of the Abderites (Wieland), 113–125, 128, 135, 151, 157, 158, 159, 181; and Enlightenment, 113, 114, 119, 120, 181; folly in, 114, 116–118, 119, 121, 122–123; and Wahrscheinlichkeit, 243n7; wisdom in, 115, 118, 122–123; and Schildbürgerbuch/Lalebuch, 116–120, 121–122, 123; sources of, 117, 120–121; and Tristram Shandy, 120–121
History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century (Wiener), 258n58
hobbyhorse, 50, 158; in foolish performances; in Rotschild Haggadah, 50; in Lalebuch/Schildbürgerbuch, 63, 71, 74, 89
Hobsbawm, Eric, 151
Hochdeutsch. See German language
Holbein the Younger, Hans, 51
Holocaust, 10, 11, 24, 196, 209, 217–218
holy fools. See fools
Homberg, Herz, 83
Homburg vor der Höhe, 53
Homer, 164
Honegger, Peter, 235n17
House Un-American Activities Committee, 18
Ḥoveve Tsiyon, 145–146
Hrubieszów, 204
Hummelnvertreiber, 249n20
humoral pathology, 68
Hungary, 161
“Iber a shmek tabak” (Peretz), 146–149, 227n80
Ideen: Das Buch Le Grand (Heine), 163–164
Illustrirte vokh (Warsaw), 207
“In alt Khelem: A Khelemer maysele” (Peretz). See “Der shabes-goy”
Institutum Judaicum et Muhammedicum, 52, 93
Internationale Titulaturen (O. von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld), 163
Inventarium diplomaticum historiae Saxoniae superioris (Schöttgen), 154
Inzl (Łódź), 211
Irving, Washington, 6
Irving, William, 224n14
Isaacs, Edith J. R., 12
Israel, 1, 5, 202, 207, 216–217; as literary place, 27–28
Israelitisches Familienblatt (Hamburg), 195
It Happened in Chelm (Freedman), 224n6
Itinerarium Germaniae Nov-antiquae (Zeiller), 153
Janów, 176
Jar of Fools (Kimmel), 31, 224n6
Jeep, Ernst, 93–95
Jewish Encyclopedia, 194
Jewish humor, 17, 180, 194, 195, 206, 213, 215
Jewish Theological Seminar, 238n24
Jewish Wit and Wisdom (Richman), 17
Job, 148
Jobin, Bernard, 67
Jobsiade (Kortum), 250n23
Joel ben Simon, 50
Joseph della Reina, 248n127
Judenstaat (Herzl), 195
Die jüdischdeutsche Sprache der Ostjuden (Loewe), 191
Jüdische Sprichwörter (Blass), 252n67
Jüdische Sprichwörter und Redensarten (Bernstein and Segel), 169–171
Der jüdische Witz (Landmann), 196
Jüdischer Almanach (Weltsch), 195
Jüdisches Lexikon, 194–195
Kaftal, Gustav, 206
Kaminski, Albert Hanan, 217
Kant, Immanuel, 116, 124, 125; and Abderitism, 116, 157–158; Der Streit der Fakultäten, 116, 157–158
“A kapitel Khelmer geshikhte” (Singer), 230n142
“Kapitlekh fun der Khelmer geshikhte” (Singer), 34
Kasrilevke (fictional town), 203–204
Katz, Judith, 10
Kazin, Pearl, 30
Keller, Gottfried, 209
Keren Ha-Yesod (Palestine Foundation Fund), 181
Kerler, Dov-Ber, 223n10
“Key to the History of the Abderites” (Wieland), 120–121, 122–123
Keynemsdorf (Sandler), 10, 137
Khakhomim, akshonim un naronim (Simon), 30
Der khaver (Vilna), 207
“Khelem di shtot” (Lerner), 210n84
“Khelemer balade” (Manger), 210–211
Khelemer dertseylungen (Erlikh), 217
Khelemer khakhomim (Trunk), 6, 24, 25–30, 36–37; folly in, 27, 28–29; Khoyzek in, 28; wisdom in, 26, 28–29; Yiddish in, 27–28
Khelemer khakhomim (Zeitlin), 11–14, 16, 19, 225n34; folly in, 13, 14
Der Khelemer khokhem (Bik), 142–145, 146, 148, 179
Di Khelemer komediye (Zeitlin), 11–12
Khelemer mayses (Kipnis), 22, 37, 198, 203, 205–206
“Di Khelemer mayses” (Manger), 21, 209–210
“Der Khelemer melamed” (Peretz), 14, 146–147, 149, 227n80
“Der Khelemer zatsa’l” (Manger), 211–212
“Khelm bashlist tsu firen milkhome” (Singer), 34
“Khelm un Mazl-Borsht” (Singer), 35
“Khelmer geshikhtes” (Mirer), 206
Khelmer khakhomim, 5–6, 43, 176, 212. See also wise men of Chelm
Khelmer khakhomim (Ben Mordekhai), 225n26
Di Khelmer khakhomim (Gershenzon), 216
Khelmer mayses (Goldberg), 184, 206
Khelmer naronim, 5, 43, 141, 168, 170, 180, 183, 194, 212, 213, 223n3. See also wise men of Chelm
Khelmer naronim (Ben Mordekhai), 14, 15
“Di Khelmer revolutsye un vos zi hot gebrakht” (Singer), 35
Khelomskie mudretsy (Driz/Sapgir), 216
Khes (foolish town), 130, 131, 132–136, 138, 141. See also “The Wisdom of a Certain Town Khes”
kheyder (Jewish elementary school), 55, 205
kiddush levanah (Sanctification of the Moon), 25, 110, 132, 133, 193
Kinder zshurnal (New York), 30
The King of Chelm, 218
Kipnis, Menakhem, 10, 29–30, 37, 135, 153, 189–190, 195–198, 202; “Fun der kluger shtot,” (series in Haynt), 196, 197–206, 225n26; Khelemer mayses, 22, 37, 198, 203, 205–206; and Singer, 37; “Der melamed in generalske kleyder,” 203; and Peretz, 224n9; and Trunk, 10, 29
Kisalon (foolish town), 137
Klotz, Volker, 117
knel gabbai, 54–55
Kohn, Jakob Pinchas, 194
Komitee für den Osten (Committee for the East), 178, 191
Kon, Henekh, 197–198
Körte, Wilhelm, 163
Kortum, Karl Arnold, 250n23
Kozodoyevke (fictional town), 21
Krähwinkel (as foolish town), 250n23, 164
Krause, Norbert, 176
Krauss, Friedrich Salomon, 150–151, 171–172, 175, 177
Kugelmass, Jack, 5n8
Kurtze und gründliche Anweisung zur Teutsch-Jüdischen Sprache (Lütke), 170n86
L’Chayim! Jewish Wit and Humor (Olsvanger), 225n35
Lalebuch (1597), 44, 60–73, 75, 95, 103–104, 131, 199, 247n106, 249n7; and feudalism, 236n27; folly in, 61, 65, 66, 68–69, 71–72, 95; deliberation in, 68; fools in, 61, 64, 66, 67, 68, 70–72; fool societies in, 69–72; and gender, 68; and mental afflictions, 68; narrative structure of, 66, 68, 69–71; scholarship on, 66–67, 94; Utopia in, 60, 63; wisdom in, 61, 65, 72. See also Schildbürgerbuch
Laleburg (foolish town), 60, 61, 64, 67, 72–73, 249n6
lamed-vovniks. See thirty-six righteous men
Lamtern in vint (Manger), 210
Land und Stadt im Volksmunde (Hesekiel), 252n55
Landau, Alfred, 171
Landmann, Salcia, 196
Landowska, Wanda, 180
Langner, Johann Christian. See Schöttgen, Johann Christian
“Die Lappenhewser bawren” (Sachs), 60, 67
The Last Tale of Mendel Abbe (Sapir), 224n6
Laugh for God’s Sake (Schachter), 224n6
Laukhard, Friedrich Christian, 157
Lazarus, John, 221n24
Le Monde est un grand Chelm (animated film). See The Real Shlemiel
Leben und Thaten des jüngern Herrn von Münchhausen, wohlweisen Bürgermeisters zu Schilda (von Rebmann), 156–157
Leben, Meynungen und Thaten von Hieronimus Jobs dem Kandidaten (Kortum), 250n23
Lebensgeschichte (Maimon), 168–169
Lefin, Mendel, 123–127, 130, 142, 176, 250n25; “Essai d’un plan de réforme,” 126–127; and Hasidism, 126–127; and Joseph Perl, 125, 127, 246n75; and Wieland, 125. See also Nachlass eines Sonderlings zu Abdera
Lehman, Shmuel, 135, 182–184, 187, 190, 202, 205
Lehrbuch zur gründlichen Erlernung der jüdischdeutschen Sprache (Selig), 253n81
Leib, Mani, 211
Leipzig, 93, 153, 154, 194, 195
Leipziger Literatur-Zeitung (Leipzig), 160
Lemberg (Lviv), 141, 142, 152, 166, 170, 173
“Lemel and Tzipa” (Singer), 230n153
Lent, 43
Leopold von Habsburg, 58
Lerer, Moshe, 197
Lesko, 152; as foolish town, 174
Lessing, Theodor, 178
Lew, Henryk, 180
Liber vagatorum, 249n20
“Lider fun Khelm“ (Ulinover), 211
Lindeman, Moshe, 204
Lion Dor, Hirsh, 133
Literarishe bleter (Warsaw), 14, 209
Lithuania, 130, 142, 144, 174; as literary place, 20, 198. See also Poland: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Löb of Fürth, 58
Loewe, Heinrich, 190–192, 195; Schelme und Narren mit jüdischen Kappen, 43, 190–191; and Schildbürgerbuch, 191, 192; Die Sprachen der Juden, 191–192; and Yiddish, 191–192
Łopuszna, 173
Lotze, Hermann, 91–92
Loyhoyopoli (fictional town), 137
Lublin, 247n113, 152, 183, 184
Lucian, 120
Luther’s Bible, 81
Lviv. See Lemberg
Ma’aleh Karaḥot (Sidon), 217
Magdeburg, 244n31
Maʻariv (Tel Aviv), 195
Maimon, Salomon, 83, 168–170, 176; Lebensgeschichte, 168–169
Maimonides, 54
Mandelbaum, Allen, 224n6
Manger, Itsik, 208–209, 211–212; and Abdera, 211; “Di balade fun Hershele Ostropoler mit der levone,” 233n51; and Chelm, 21, 135, 208–212; “Khelemer balade,” 210–211; “Di Khelemer mayses,” 21, 209–210; “Der Khelemer zatsa’l,” 211–212, 247n96; Lamtern in vint, 210; Noente geshtaltn, 211, 247n96; and Peretz, 146; and Schildbürgerbuch, 209, 211; and Sholem Aleichem, 21
Mannheim, 116
Mantua Haggadah, 51
Marbach, Gotthard Oswald, 162
Margulies, Ephraim Zalman, 129–130
Markish, Perets, 209
Marmorstein, Yissochor, 247n113
marshalik, 45
Martini, Fritz, 117
maskil (pl. maskilim), 7, 83, 113, 131, 135, 157, 169, 247n113; in eastern Europe, 113, 123–124, 127, 129, 131, 135, 157, 169, 247n113; and German language, 83, 113; and History of the Abderites, 113, 123–124; in Nachlass eines Sonderlings zu Abdera, 128–129
Matzah Mishugas (Binder), 224n6
Mayse nisim (Yuspa Shammes), 166
“Mayse on an ek” (Sholem Aleichem). See “Der farkishefter shnayder”
Mayselekh un mesholim (Gross), 17
Mayselekh vegn Khelemer naronim (Bastomski), 207
Mayzel, Nakhmen, 209
Mazl-Borsht (fictional town), 35
Megale temirin (Lefin), 127–128
Megillat setarim, 56
Mela, Pomponius, 74
“Der melamed in generalske kleyder” (Kipnis), 203
Mendele Moykher-Sforim. See Abramovitsh, Sholem Yankev
Mendelssohn, Moses, 116, 124; circle, 123
Menippean satire, 68
Menorah (Vienna), 192–194, 195
Merian, Matthäus, 153
Merie Tales of the Mad Men of Gotam (Boorde), 60
Merkin, Zalmen. See Erik, Maks
Merks, Benjamin ben Joseph, 52
“Merksprüche für Folkloristen” (Krauss), 171–172
Merkur, Volf, 225n34
Messiah, 170
Metz, 152; as foolish town, 165–167
Międzybóż, 126
minhagim books, 46. See also Seyfer minhogim (Tyrnau)
Mirer, Sholem, 206
Miron, Dan, 204
De miseria humanae conditionis (Poggio Bracciolini), 67
Mishnah, 229n122
Mitteilungen der Gesellschaft für jüdische Volkskunde (Hamburg), 180
“The Mixed-Up Feet and the Silly Bridegroom” (Singer), 39
Moment (Warsaw), 207
Montanus, Martin, 104
Montbeliard, 67
More Wise Men of Helm and Their Merry Tales (Simon), 30
Der Morgen (Berlin), 173, 255n104
Moser, Dietz-Rüdiger, 231n18
Mostel, Zero, 23
Nachlass eines Sonderlings zu Abdera (Lefin), 124–127; and History of the Abderites, 125
Nadvirna 152; as foolish town, 174
Naftali the Storyteller (Singer), 39
“Der narishe khosn un di farbitene fis” (Singer), 31–32
Narrenberg (foolish town), 226n60, 137
Die Narren von Chelm und ihre Geschichte (Singer), 196
Narrenbuch (von der Hagen), 160
Narrenliteratur. See folly literature
Narrenschiff (Brant). See Ship of Fools
Narrenspiegel. See fool’s mirror
“Nasza Abdera” (Lew), 180
National and University Library Strasbourg, 238n24
National Library of Israel, 50, 238n24, 125, 142, 190
nationalism, 151
“A naye epokhe in Khelm” (Singer), 35
Naye folkstsaytung (Warsaw), 211
Naye oysdervelte Khelmer mayses (Kaftal), 206
“Di naye partey fun di Khelmer komitetn” (Singer), 229n127
Naye Yidishe Folkshul (printer), 207
Nazareth (as foolish town), 167
Nestler, Volf, 58
Nesvizh, 207
Die neuen Schildbürger oder Lalenburg in den Tagen der Aufklärung (Schulz), 113
New Testament, 82; I Cor. 1:18, 210
New York Times, 12, 17, 23, 39
New York, 6, 10–12, 16–17, 24, 30, 31, 39, 213, 218, 220, 224n5; as Chelm, 224n6, 228n104; as foolish town, 6, 218; as Gotham, 6; as literary place, 6, 213, 215
New Yorker, 9
Newlove, Rose, 221n24
“Nokh vegn di Khelmer khakhomim: A fish an azes-ponem” (Singer), 37–38, 40–41
“Nokh vegn di Khelmer khakhomim: Der Khelmer barg,” (Singer), 38
Nördlingen, 123
Nowy Dwór (Poland), 53
Nowy Sącz, 176
Noyekh Prilutskis zamlbikher far yidishn folklor, filologye un kultur-geshikhte (Warsaw), 37, 150, 183; Chelm tales in, 135, 150, 183–187, 190, 199, 202, 205
Obadiah ben Petaḥiah (fictional character), 127–129
“O chełmskich mędrcach” (Drożdżyński), 256n30
Odessa, 202
Offenbach, 7, 85, 90, 103, 108
Og, King of Bashan, 26
Oldendorf, Menakhem, 45–46
Olsvanger, Immanuel, 225n35, 194
Opitz, Martin, 81
Oppenheim collection. See Bodleian library
Di orkhim fun Duratshesok (Dik), 2, 137–142, 202; and Schildbürgerbuch, 137–139
Ost und West (Berlin), 173, 177
Oxford Old Yiddish Manuscript Songbook, 55–56, 231n12
“Oyzer Tsinkes un di tsig” (Dik), 21, 23
“Ein paar Goldkörner aus–Makulatur oder Sechs Antworten auf sechs Fragen” (Wieland). See “A Couple of Gold Nuggets, from the . . .” (Wieland)
Pacanów, 152; as foolish town, 174
Pale of Settlement, 131, 140, 144, 184, 199, 220
Palestine, 145, 172, 181, 195, 202,
Pappenheim, Bertha, 178
Paris, 250n30, 164, 211; as foolish town, 159
Parma Ashkenazi Haggadah, 51
parody, 9, 112, 124, 164, 218; maskilic, 142, 179
“Di parteyen in vaysen Khelm un zeyere makhlokesn,” 36
Passover, 231n19, 50–51, 144, 203, 213, 215; song, 216. See also Haggadah
Paucker, Arnold, 85, 87, 94–95, 96, 104, 239n48
Paul (Apostle), 210
Paulding, James Kirke, 224n14
Paulus of Prague. See Elchanon Paulus of Prague
Peretz, Yitskhok-Leyb, 14, 24, 141–142, 145–149, 202, 224n9, 228n98; “Bontshe Shvayg,” 18–19; “Iber a shmek tabak,” 227n80, 146–149; “Der Khelemer melamed,” 14, 227n80, 146–147, 149; and Kipnis, 224n9; “Der shabes-goy,” 146, 148–149; and Trunk, 224n9, 24, 227n80, 146
Perl, Arnold, 17–18, 20; Tevya and His Daughters, 18; The World of Sholom Aleichem, 17–21, 23
Perl, Joseph, 123, 125, 127–129, 145, 176; archive of, 126; Boḥen tsadik, 128–130; and Hasidism, 127, 129; Lefin’s influence on, 125, 127; Megale temirin, 127–128; “Über das Wesen der Sekte Chassidim,” 127
Phaedon (Mendelssohn), 125
phallus: and folly, 170; nose as symbol of, 121. See also Vayzose
Philagrius, 243n9
Philogelos (Hierocles), 243n9
Pickelhering, 47
Pied Piper, 75
Pinczew. See Pińczów
Play of the Week, 18
Płock, 190
Poale Zion (Labor Zionists), 182, 183
Poggio Bracciolini, Gian Francesco, 67
Poland, 26, 144, 168, 174, 178, 184, 186, 220; Austrian Poland, 141; Congress Poland, 10, 131, 140, 146, 176, 178, 200; Jewish community of, 25, 153; as literary place, 26, 191, 192; Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, 124, 127, 140, 168, 174; Polish Republic (interwar), 11, 24, 29, 153, 188, 190, 191, 192, 196, 209; post-World War II, 1; proverbs, 140, 210; Prussian Poland, 156, 168
“Di ‘politishe ekonomye’ fun Khelm” (Singer), 32–33, 36
Polkowice. See Polkwitz
Polkwitz, 152; as foolish town, 250n30, 159, 163–164, 165, 168
Die polnische Judenfrage (Segel), 178
Pomerania, 154
Posen (Poznań), 152, 168–169; as foolish town, 132, 168–169, 176, 180
Ein poßierlich- jedoch warhafftig- und immerwehrender Hauß-Calender und Practica (Filtzhut), 74
Poyln: Zikhroynes un bilder (Trunk), 24
Poznań. See Posen
Der Prager Golem (Bloch), 255n5
Prague, 49, 53, 58, 92, 128, 129, 152, 189; Jewish community of, 58; as foolish town, 165–166, 167
Praise of Folly (Erasmus), 44
printing, 84–85; in Yiddish, 84, 96, 98, 102
Proops (printer), 90
Prose, Francine, The Angel’s Mistake, 31
Protocols of the Elders of Zion, 178
Prussia, 168; as literary place, 27
Pryłucki, Noah, 29, 132, 135, 182–183, 187; and Chelm, 37, 135, 183–184; Zamlbikher far yidishn folklor, filologye un kultur-geshikhte, 37, 135, 150, 183–187, 190, 199, 202, 205; and Segel, 182–183; and standardization of Yiddish, 182; and Trunk, 29; Yidishe folkslider, 183
“Pumay, ir libn gezelen,“ 55–56
Purim king, 56
Purim rabbi, 56
Purim, 43, 45–48, 54–56; plays, 45–48; and Carnival, 46–48
Rabbi Harvey Rides Again (Sheinkin), 215
Rabbi Harvey vs. the Wisdom Kid (Sheinkin), 215
Der Rabbiner (Dresden), 154
Rabinovitsh, Sholem. See Sholem Aleichem
Raïzé, Efim, 223n2
Rapoport, Solomon Judah, 129
Die Räuber (Schiller), 115–116
Ravitsh, Melekh, 209
Ravnitski, Yoshue Khone, 17, 202
The Real Shlemiel (animated film), 217–218
Rebmann, Andreas Georg Friedrich von, 113, 156–157
Red Channels: Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television, 18
Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, Ida von, 163
Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, Otto von, 163
Reisebilder 31
Reisen durch einen Theil Teutschlands, Ungarns, Italiens und Frankreichs (Arndt), 250n30
Reshumot (Tel Aviv), 202
Reutlingen (as foolish town), 250n30
Die Revolution in Scheppenstedt (Schummel), 113, 250n23
“Di revolutsye in Khelm” (Singer), 35
Reyzen, Avrom, 202
Richardson, Don, 23
Richman, Jacob, 17
Ringwald, Heinrich. See Schulz, Johann Gottlob
Rodfe Tsedakah, 234n54
Rogovin, Or, 6
Rohatyn, 173
Rollenhagen, Georg, 117
“Die romantische und Volks-Litteratur der Juden in Jüdisch-Deutscher Sprache” (von der Hagen), 91
Romm (printer), 131
Rosenberg, Franz, 47, 56, 231n14
Rosenkranz, Karl, 161
Rosenthal, Leeser, 90
Rosh Hashanah, 193
Rosinkess mit Mandlen (Olsvanger), 194
Roskies, David, 139, 208, 248n127
Rosman, Moshe, 48
Rossel, Seymour, 224n6
Röyte Pomerantsen (Olsvanger), 225n35
Rozenband, Garel, 204
Rozenberg, Yudl, 189
Rudolf II (Holy Roman Empire), 83
Running Fiercely toward a High Thin Sound (Katz), 10
Russian Civil War, 181
Russian Empire, 113, 127, 130, 140, 142, 144, 174, 177, 178, 214; as literary place, 128. See also Pale of Settlement; Poland: Congress Poland
Russian Orthodox Church, 140, 200
Rylands Ashkenazi Haggadah, 51
Sabbath, 52, 54, 57, 137, 257n31; in Boḥen tsadik (Perl), 129; in Chelm tales, 37, 150; in “Iber a shmek tabak” (Peretz), 147–148; in Der Khelemer khokhem (Bik), 144; and Shildburger bukh, 99; in “The Wisdom of a Certain Town Khes” (Dik), 136. See also Shabbat ha-Baḥurim
Sachs, Hans, 60, 162, 175; “Die Lappenhewser bawren,” 60, 67
Sadan, Dov, 5
“Der sakh-hakl fun der geshikhte fun Khelm” (Singer), 36
Salmagundi (New York), 6
Saltykov-Shchedrin, Mikhail, 137
Saltzman, Roberta, 229n109
Sambatyon, 27
Samuel, Maurice, 18
Sanctification of the Moon. See kiddush levanah
Sandler, Boris, Keynemsdorf, 10, 137
Sapir, Marc, 224n6
Satan, 97, 147, 227n80, 233n40
Satanów (Poland), 124
satire, 32, 35–36, 39; anti-Hasidic, 137, 141–142, 145; and Enlightenment, 116, 131, 250n23, 158, 220; and Lalebuch, 67–68; maskilic, 127, 131, 145, 149, 176; political, 11, 158
Saxony, 153, 154, 159, 160, 161, 249n20
Schachter, Stanley, 224n6
Schelme und Narren mit jüdischen Kappen (Loewe), 43, 190–191
Die Schelme von Schelm (animated film). See The Real Shlemiel
Schiffer, Benjamin Wolf. See Segel, Binjamin Wolf
Schilda (Brandenburg, Germany), 156
Schilda (Saxony, Germany) 90, 116, 152, 153–156; and Abdera, 116, 151, 157; and Chelm, 168, 189, 191, 194, 195–196, 211; as German foolish town, 66, 90, 116, 151, 153–165, 191, 211; and Jewish foolish towns, 165–166, 191; in proverbs, 163; vs. Schildburg, 151, 153–154, 156–157, 158, 160–161, 165, 166. See also Schildburg; Vertheidigung der Stadt Schilda
Schildau (Saxony, Germany), 152, 153–154, 156n22. See also Schilda
Schildberg (Ostrzeszów, Poland), 156
Schildberg (Štíty, Czech Republic), 156
Schildburg (fictional town), 60, 67, 73, 74, 87, 91, 99, 102, 130, 138, 153, 174–175; and Abdera, 116, 118, 121–122, 157, 183; and Chelm, 193, 210; vs. Schilda, 151, 153–154, 156–157, 158, 160–161, 165, 166. See also Schilda
Der Schildbürger wunderseltsame, abenteuerliche, unerhörte und bisher unbeschriebene Geschichten und Thaten (Marbach), 162
Schildbürgerbuch, 2–3, 7, 73–74, 80, 96, 103–104, 107, 111, 113–114, 151, 153, 156–157, 162, 175, 184, 194, 199, 212, 219, 248n124; deliberation in, 118, 134, 201; folly in, 44, 59, 73, 95, 113; fool societies in, 74, 109–110, 156; illustrations in, 75, 87; scholarship on, 66–67, 93, 95, 154–156, 159–161, 163, 173; and Lalebuch, 44, 61, 67; Schildbürgerbuch (1598), 2, 44, 61, 67, 73, 77, 91, 101, 103, 153, 155; Schildbürgerbuch (Filtzhut), 62, 65, 73–76, 85, 87, 89, 91, 95, 96, 97, 101, 155–156; Utopia in, 107, 118, 153, 160; wisdom in, 98, 113, 123; and wise men of Chelm, 137, 138–139, 175, 184, 188, 192–193, 194, 209; Yiddish translations of, 78, 84, 98–99, 100–101, 110, 131. See also “Abderiten von heute unter den Juden”; children’s literature; History of the Abderites; Lalebuch; Schildbürgerbuch (Schwab); Shildburger bukh
Schildbürgerbuch (Schwab), 162
Schildbürgerstreich (Schildburger antics), 157–158
Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich von, 115
Schiltach, 156
Schlegel, August Wilhelm, 159
Schlosser, Johann Georg, 244n44
Schocken, Salman, 189
Schönberg, Johann von, 235n9
Schöppenstedt, 116, 161, 250n23; as foolish town, 116, 161, 163–164, 165, 168, 250n23; and Heine, 164; and Die Revolution in Scheppenstedt, 250n23
Schöttgen, Johann Christian, 66, 90–91, 151, 154, 160; Vertheidigung der Stadt Schilda, 66, 90–91, 154–156, 160
Schudt, Johann Jacob, 58
Schüler, Meier, 94
Schulz, Johann Gottlob, 113
Schummel, Johann Gottlieb, 113, 250n23
Schwab, Gustav, 162
Schwabenstreich. See Swabian fools
Schwartz, Amy, 224n6
Schwarzbaum, Haim, 226n36
Second Nuremberg Haggadah, 51
Sefer ha-bakbuk, 56
Sefer ha-bediḥah veha-ḥidud (Druyanov), 202–203
Sefer ha-zemanim (Book of seasons), 54
Sefer nifla’ot Maharal (Rozenberg), 189
Segal, D. See Singer, Isaac Bashevis
Segel, Binjamin Wolf, 169, 171, 173–174, 177–179, 181, 183, 184, 190, 194, 201; “Abderiten von heute unter den Juden,” 151, 171, 173–176, 177, 178–179, 183, 184, 190; on antisemitism, 177–178; “Das Brillantendiadem,” 180–182; and Chelm tales, 174–182; Die Entdeckungsreise des Herrn Dr. Theodor Lessing zu den Ostjuden, 178; on Jewishness, 177–179; pen names of, 173, 174, 181; Die polnische Judenfrage, 178; and Schildbürgerbuch, 174–175; “Sündenkauf,” 174; and Yiddish, 179; and Zionism, 180–181
Sejm (Polish parliament), 45, 126, 140
Seldwyla (fictional town), 209
Selig, Gottfried, 253n81
Sendak, Maurice, 31
Serapeum (Leipzig), 92
Seyfer minhogim (Tyrnau), 48, 49
Shabbat ha-Baḥurim, 54–55
Shabbes. See Sabbath
“Der shabes-goy” (Peretz), 146, 148–149
Shahn, Ben, 226n37
Shatin, Leo, 224n6
Shaw, George Bernard, 77
Shayke Fayfer, 190
Shildburger bukh, 78, 84, 90–96, 108–111, 133, 194; Dutch in, 98–99, 102; folly in, 95, 108, 109–110; Hebraisms in, 95, 97–98, 100; illustrations in, 75, 87; Judaization of, 99–100; language of, 95–99, 241n81; Latin and Romance languages in, 79, 96, 98; rhymes in, 80, 93, 95, 100, 101, 103–106; scholarship on, 94–95; Shildburger bukh (1700), 85, 88, 90, 92, 94, 96–101, 102, 105, 109, 242n81; Shildburger bukh (1727), 77–80, 84–85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95–111, 133, 155, 237n54; Shildburger bukh (1777), 85, 90, 94, 99, 108, 111; Shildburger bukh (1798), 85, 90, 94, 99, 108, 111; as translation, 78–80, 93–94, 96, 98, 105, 110; as transliteration, 79–80, 94, 96; and wise men of Chelm, 108–111, 133, 194, 209; wisdom in, 98, 108. See also Schildbürgerbuch
Ship of Fools (Brant), 44, 49, 117, 122–123
Shiper, Yitskhok (Ignacy Schiper), 45–46, 56
Der shivim moltsayt (Dik), 140, 142
shlemiehl, 31, 39, 41, 215, 217, 218, 221
Shlemiel the First (Singer), 31, 215
Shmeruk, Khone, 6, 31, 248n127; Prokim fun der yidisher literatur-geshikhte, 47
Shmuelbukh, 93
Sholem Aleichem, 18–19, 21, 23, 137, 203–204; and Chelm tales, 19, 21–23, 203–204; and Dik, 246n78; “Der farkishefter shnayder,” 21–23; “Iber a hitl,” 203–204; and Manger, 21; and Trunk, 23–24
Sholem-Aleykhem: Zayn vezn un zayne verk (Trunk), 23–24
Shtern oyfn yarid oder di festung fun khokhme (Zeltser), 217
Dos shterntikhl (Aksenfeld), 137
shtetl, 26, 143; Chelm as, 1, 6, 26, 40, 134, 143, 179, 216, 221
Shteynbarg, Eliezer, 226n56, 257n56
Shulevitz, Uri, 31
Sidon, Ephraim, 217
Der siebente Brunnen (Wander), 196
Silva, Howard da, 18–19
Simon, David, 30
Simple Wisdom, 224n6
Singer, Isaac Bashevis, 3, 6, 10–12, 31–33, 36–37, 39, 41–42, 216–217, 221; The Fools of Chelm and Their History, 31, 39–40, 196; “Der groyser zets un di antshteyung fun Khelm,” 33–34, 38–39; and Kipnis, 37; “Der narishe khosn un di farbitene fis,” 31–32; “Nokh vegn di Khelmer khakhomim: A fish an azes-ponem,” 37–38, 40–41; pen names of, 32, 33, 37; “Di ‘politishe ekonomye’ fun Khelm,” 32–33, 36; scholarship on, 6, 31; Shlemiel the First, 31, 215; Stories for Children, 31; and Trunk, 10, 36–37; “Di tseteylung fun Khelm un di rezultatn derfun,” 35–36; When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw, 39; and Zeitlin, 10, 12; Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories, 39, 41. See also titles of specific works
Singer, Israel Joshua, 31, 209, 224n8
Sinkoff, Nancy, 126
Sipurey khokhmey Yovn (Dik), 246n76
Slawkenbergius, Hafen (fictional character), 121
son who does not know how to ask, 50–51
Die Sprachen der Juden (Loewe), 191–192
Das Sprichwort als Kosmopolit (I. von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld), 163
Sprichwörter und Redensarten deutsch-jüdischer Vorzeit (Tendlau), 165–167
St. Petersburg, 124
Stargard, 154
State and University Library of Saxony-Anhalt. See Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt
Steinschneider, Moritz, 92
Sterne, Laurence, 117; Tristram Shandy, 117, 121
Stone Soup with Matzoh Balls (Glaser), 224n6, 215
Stories for Children (Singer), 31
Strasbourg, 51, 67, 81, 117; as literary place, 121
Strassburg, Robert, 215
Der Streit der Fakultäten (Kant), 116
Sukkot, 193
“Sündenkauf” (Segel), 174
Swabian fools, 156
Szwarcman-Czarnota, Bella, 257n41
Tales of the Hasidim (Buber), 9
Talmud, 53, 131, 147n130, 154, 166
Tango, Jenny, 10
taytsh. See Yiddish language
Tendlau, Abraham, 165–167
Tenenbaum, Samuel, 31
Teterow, 152; as foolish town, 161, 165, 191
Der Teutsche Merkur (Frankfurt), 112, 114, 117, 118
Tevya and His Daughters (Perl), 18
“Tey un tilim” (Ulinover), 211
thirty-six righteous men, 147
Thümmel, Moritz August von, 250n23
Till Eulenspiegel, 51–54, 59, 93, 190, 192; folly in, 53; and Hershele Ostropoler, 53–54, 189–190; in Yiddish, 52–54
Tish‘ah be-Av, 136
Der Titan (Jean Paul), 157
tobacco, 155–156
Der tog-Morgn zshurnal (New York), 197
Topographia Germaniae (Zeiller), 153
Torgau, 153
Trachimbrod (as literary place), 10
Treasury of Jewish Folklore (Ausubel), 17, 19, 22–23, 214
Treblinka, 197
Tripstrill (as foolish town), 161
Triptis, 152; as foolish town, 191
Tristram Shandy (Sterne), 117, 121
Trunk, Israel Joshua, 224n8
Trunk, Yekhiel Yeshaye, 10–11, 17, 23–24, 26, 29, 146; Der freylekhster yid in der velt oder Hersheles lern-yorn, 54; Khelemer khakhomim, 6, 24–30, 36–37; and Kipnis, 10, 29; and Peretz, 224n9, 24, 227n80, 146; and Poland, 24, 25, 26; and Pryłucki, 29; and Sholem Aleichem, 23–24; and Singer, 10, 36–37; and Yiddish, 24, 28; and Zeitlin, 10, 227n80
“Di tseteylung fun Khelm un di rezultatn derfun” (Singer), 35–36
Tseytlin, Arn. See Zeitlin, Aaron
“Tshiribim” (song), 212
“Tsores in Khelm un a kluge eytse” (Singer), 35
“The Tumblers” (Englander), 10
Tyrnau, Isaac, 48–49
“Über das Wesen der Sekte Chassidim” (Perl), 127
Uhland, Ludwig, 161
Ulinover, Miryam, 211
Uniate Church, 140; in Chelm, 140–141
Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Sachsen-Anhalt, 86, 88, 89, 238n24
unreliable narrator, 25, 65, 101, 119, 198
Uzhmir, 197
Valikh, Ayzik. See Wallich, Isaac
Varshavski, Yitskhok. See Singer, Isaac Bashevis
Vaynig, Naftole, 182
Velten, Hans Rudolf, 67
Ven Shlemiel iz gegangen keyn Varshe (Singer), 228n105
Vertheidigung der Stadt Schilda (Schöttgen), 66, 90–91, 154–156, 160, 252n62; and Schildbürgerbuch, 154–156
“Vi azoy es hot gearbet di Khelmer demokratye” (Singer), 35
“Vi azoy Khelm iz geblibn on gelt” (Singer), 230n142
Vienna, 78, 90, 130, 150, 151, 152, 172, 173, 180, 192, 238n20, 238n24; as literary place, 181
Village of Idiots (short film), 215, 221–222
Vilna Gaon. See Elijah of Vilna
Vilna, 24, 29, 78, 127, 130–131, 132, 142, 152, 182, 188, 202, 207, 213, 216
Vilnius. See Vilna
Dos vintshfingerl (Abramovitsh), 247n100
Vladimir-Volinsk, 204
Volhynia, 182, 197; as literary place, 198
Volksbuch. See chapbook
“Vollständige Historie der ehrenwerten Stadt Chelm” (Carlebach), 195–196
Volozhin yeshiva, 202
Wagenseil, Johann Christoph, 82–83
Die Wahrheit (Vienna), 174, 180, 181
Wander, Fred, 196
Wander, Friedrich Wilhelm, 2, 141, 167–168, 169, 170
Warsaw ghetto, 197
Warsaw, 10, 11, 12, 24, 37, 45, 126, 146, 152, 153, 168, 182, 188–189, 197, 203, 206, 207, 208, 209, 211, 220; as literary place, 26, 39, 145; Nozyk shul, 197
Washington Haggadah, 51
Weimar, 125
Weinreich, Max, 78, 213, 223n3, 223n10
Weinreich, Uriel, 213–215
“Die Weisen von Chelm” (Drożdżyński), 256n30
Weltsch, Felix, 195
When Shlemiel Went to Warsaw (Singer), 39
Wieland, Christoph Martin, 112–123, 125, 127; on Brant, 117; “A Couple of Gold Nuggets,” 112–113; “Key to the History of the Abderites,” 120–121, 122–123; and Lefin, 125. See also History of the Abderites
Wiener, Leo, 258n58
Wiesbaden, 166
Wieser, Salomon, 176
Wilhelmine, ein prosaisch komisches Gedicht (Thümmel), 250n23
Winckelmann, Johann Joachim, 119
Winz, Leo, 173
Wischnitzer, Mark, 195
wisdom, 40, 61, 65, 72, 98, 108, 113, 115, 118, 122–123, 128, 147, 212, 222; in Chelm tales, 26, 29, 30, 40, 42, 142, 193, 195, 206, 210, 212
“The Wisdom of a Certain Town Khes” (Dik), 131–136, 140, 174, 180; and Schildbürgerbuch, 133–134, 138; and Shildburger bukh, 133
Wise Folk of Chelm, 224n6
Wise Men of Chelm (Tenenbaum), 31
Wise Men of Chelm (Zeitlin). See Khelemer khakhomim (Zeitlin)
wise men of Chelm, 1–2, 5–6, 9, 43, 108, 124, 133–134, 137, 141–142, 168, 171, 175–177, 180, 183, 186, 190, 194, 195, 196, 206, 212, 219; in American Jewish culture, 3, 7, 10–11, 14, 16–17–18, 20, 22–23, 30–31, 41–42, 214–216, 218, 220–221; and deliberation, 32, 38, 40, 132, 134, 138, 145, 201; in encyclopedias, 194–195; in German Jewish culture, 190–194, 195–196; in Israel, 202, 207, 216–217; in Polish Jewish culture, 146, 153, 168, 179–180, 190, 192, 206, 208, 220; and Schildbürgerbuch, 137, 138–139, 175, 184, 188, 192–193, 194, 209; scholarship on, 5–6, 21, 131–132, 141, 209–210; and Shildburger bukh, 108–111, 133, 194, 209; in Soviet Jewish culture, 206, 216. See also specific titles
wise men of Gotham, 6
The Wise Men of Helm and Their Merry Tales (Simon), 20, 30, 214
Wisse, Ruth, 6
Wissenschaft des Judentums, 78, 173, 195
Witzenburg (foolish town), 73
Woelk, Emma, 229n115
Wolf, Johann Christoph, 52, 90–91
Women of Chelm (Tango), 10
The World of Sholom Aleichem (Perl), 17–21, 23
The World of Sholom Aleichem (Samuel), 18
Worms, 45, 152, 165–166, 211, Christian community of, 55; as foolish town, 165–166; Jewish community of, 46, 54–56
Wörterbuch der deutsche Sprache (Campe), 157–158
Wurzbach, Constantin von, 165–166
Wurzen, 154
Yanosovitsh, Yitskhok, 248n140
Yediot Aḥronot (Tel Aviv), 195
Yiddish Art Theater, 11–12, 16, 225n34
Yiddish language, 3, 16, 27–28, 81, 85, 91–93, 131, 167–168, 179, 182, 213, 219–220; and German, 77–79, 81, 99, 167, 191; Loewe on, 191–192; names of, 77, 79, 81, 92, 168; and reading, 80–82, 194, 220; scholarship on, 191–192; Segel on, 179. See also alphabet
Yiddish literature, 6, 18, 24, 84, 93, 130–131, 137, 249n12, 176, 194, 220; and German literature, 3, 84, 91–93, 167; with German sources, 84, 91, 93; in German studies, 91, 93, 167; Old Yiddish literature, 47–59, 76, 81, 84, 91, 93–94, 249n12; scholarship on, 46–47, 84, 91, 92–95
Yiddish studies, 5–6, 45–47, 92, 94–95
Yiddish theater: in Buenos Aires, 16; in New York, 11–12, 16, 225n34; scholarship on, 45–47, 56; in Vilnius, 216
Yidishe folkslider (Pryłucki), 183
Yidisher Visnshaftlekher Institut. See YIVO
Yitskhok Bashevis. See Singer, Isaac Bashevis
YIVO (Yidisher Visnshaftlekher Institut; Yiddish Scientific Institute): in Vilna, 182, 197; in New York, 16, 213, 224n14, 225n21, 225n34, 256n6
Yizker-bukh Khelm, 5, 141, 248n140
Yom Kippur, 149
Yosl Loksh fun Khelem (Glatshteyn), 30
Yossel of Kletsk, 170
Yossel Zissel and the Wisdom of Chelm (Schwartz), 224n6
yudish taytsh. See Yiddish language
Zakritsh, 183
Zarncke, Friedrich, 93
Zeitlin, Aaron, 10–12, 14, 146; Khelemer khakhomim, 11–14, 16, 225n34, 19; Di Khelemer komediye, 11–12; and Peretz, 14, 146; and Singer, 10, 12; and Trunk, 10, 227n80
Zeitlin, Hillel, 14
Żelechów, 183
Zeligfeld, Zimre, 197
Zeltser, Khayim, 217
Zilberman, Boris, 218
Zinkev, 144, as literary place, 144–145
Zionism, 171, 182, 190, 191, 202, 219; and Krauss, 172; and Peretz, 145; and Segel, 178, 180, 181; and Trunk, 28. See also anti-Zionism
Zlateh the Goat and Other Stories (Singer), 9, 41
Zurich Bible, 51