Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Reading Notes: Jewish Fairy Tales, Part A

(Pixabay)

- The story about the Giant and the Flood includes information about the criteria Noah used to determine what animals would be saved, the saving of a unicorn and a giant named Og, how that giant was forced to enslave himself to mankind in exchange for being saved, an etiological mention about wine and why it makes you drunk, and Og's ultimate betrayal of his oath and his death.
- The entire story is quite long, too long to include all of the details in a retelling. The most interesting part of the story, the part that stood out to me, is the etiological story about why wine makes you drunk.
- In the story, some mention of Og's origin and involvement with Noah would be required. Why was he a servant of Noah and, by extension of that, mankind? Why is Og so bitter and angry toward Noah that he would bless/curse the grapes in such a way?
- To flesh out the story, more can be included about the importance of the grapevine and the wine that will come from it.
- Why are animals getting sacrificed in the first place? There was just a massive flood that killed everything, except what was on the ark. That flood was obviously very recent in relation to the story of the grapevine being planted. Therefore, there are very few animals, and what is there are vital for breeding purposes. So, why are these vitally necessary animals being sacrificed over a plant in the first place?
- I could tell a story of someone retelling this story, in a shortened version, and have the listeners question the unnecessary sacrifices.



Bibliography: "The Giant of the Flood," Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa. Web source.

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