OK, so: when I started this podcast (3-18-20, Day Two of the Lockdown), my first thought was that this would be a good platform from which to share biblical tales that most folx don't realize are quite exciting and bloody and sometimes funny. The SAMUEL SAGA is seriously under-known, and my first thought was to amplify that book. Also, I'm writing biblical-era fiction that spins off from that Saga, so ...... we will get to that eventually.
But for the past few days, I've been audiobooking some stories from the public domain which need wider reader-/listener-ship. And last night when I was winding down, I realized that there is a remarkable Jewish scholar from the 18th century whose fairy-tale-like Tales are breathtakingly complex beneath what seem like simply cheerful fairy-tale conventions.
This is Reb Nachman of Breslov, whose Tales are (as I've just said) an astonishing array of fantasies. They're very VERY Jewish fairy-tales, and the one I'm reading in this episode (Tale 8: "The Rabbi and His Only Son") has a breathtaking subtextual connection with the Book of Numbers (starting from 22:22), which I break down after the story.
I could say more here, but I've just said it aloud, so instead I'll wish you (yes, YOU!!) well, and hope this finds you safely quarantined.
______________________
You can find me on Twitter @timeofposting
