The Jewish Literary Imagination: Why We’ll Need New Epic Stories to Survive the 21st Century Readings: •

Ruby Namdar, “An Aggadic Jew: Liberate the Power of Jewish Storytelling,” pp. 241-247 • Joe Schwartz, “Wanted: A Jewish Tolkien: Why We Need a New Mythology,” pp. 371-379

Jews have been telling stories for thousands of years, preserved in the Bible, Talmud, Chassidic tales and, in our time, in Jewish and Israeli literature. But it seems that lately our collective muses have gone silent—our time is one of partisan struggle and outrage, of sadness and conflict, of rules and denominations and battles over observance and halacha. We seem to have fewer great Jewish poets and novelists and a lot more polemicists. Each of these essays, in its own way, suggest that something desperately important has been lost, and looks for a path forward. 5 Reader’s Questions: a. Do you ever read Jewish or Israeli literature? Do you watch Jewish-themed TV series like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel? What role do these stories play in your Jewish identity? b. If you were o ered a course in rabbinic legends from the Talmud and Midrash, taught from a non-religious perspective, would you enroll? Did you find either of the essays compelling enough to do something di erent in your reading or study habits? Questions for Discussion: c. So much of our Jewish identity has been built around two specific stories from the twentieth century: The Holocaust and Israel. These essays seem to be saying, however, that those two stories, of ultimate oppression and ultimate redemption, are no longer enough. Namdar points to the ancient stories of the rabbis, while Schwartz calls for a “new mythology” of fiction, fantasy, and world-building. Are they right? And if so, what would that look like in our own lives? d. A generation ago, “Jewish literature” was a highly developed field, with writers like Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, and Herman Wouk winning international literary prizes. Filmmakers like Woody Allen and the Coen Brothers explored the Jewish experience in America. How can the Jewish community organize to bring back Jewish storytelling? Is it worth the investment? *