Folktales for Life’S Journey

By Rabbi Shmuel Yosef Kaplan

Folktales For Lifes Journey presents the folktales and parables of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, one of Judaisms greatest luminaries, who lived from 1772-1810. His storied contain messages, both obvious and esoteric, all with the purpose of enhancing the lives of others. While his tales are almost always presented with Kabbalistic (Jewish mystical) understanding and explanations, or alone, Rabbi Kaplan offers the tales with a profound psychological understanding, which will assist and guide the reader through the many challenges encountered on lifes journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 25, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453552827

Rabbi Shmuel Yosef Kaplan

Steven J. Kaplan is the Dean of the Graduate Theological Institute in Margate, Florida. A State classifi ed Chaplain, holding a doctorate in psychology, he is additionally an ordained rabbi who has taught both Jewish studies and psychology at the college and university levels. Dr. Kaplan has been engaged in pastoral psychotherapy for thirty-fi ve years.

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Contents

Introduction

The Claydigger

The Fixer

The Turkey Prince

The Three Messengers

The Merchant

Mirror Images

The Treasure

The Deer

The Sophisticate And The Simpleton

The Bird

Simplicity

Outsmarting A Robber

The Horse And The Pump

The Tainted Grain

The Chandelier

The Humble King

Barrels Of Medicine

For The Sake Of The Cat

The Astrologer’s Gift

The Lost Princess

Bibliography

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Gwendolyn L. Adrian

Acknowledgement

The author wishes to thank Marie Tupper for the cover photograph.

Introduction

Folktales have a purpose and a function. Sometimes they are simply entertaining stories, and can be read as such. Other times, there are different levels at which the folktale may be read, with many containing multi-faceted messages within them. These messages may take the nature of moral and ethical interpretations, philosophical understandings, spiritual and mystical insights, and/or psychological gleanings. Some folktales are written in a very direct, straightforward style, others are allegorical, sometimes bordering on the mystical. The tales presented here are written in allegory.

When one writes in allegory, whether in the form of parables, fables, poems, or stories, a main purpose is to tell a story where the characters, setting, and a host of other symbols have both literal and figurative meanings. Included are elements of fantasy, fascination, excitement, adventure, morals, and ethical lessons, all combined and intertwined to make for wonderful reading. The tales presented in this collection epitomize this.

With the exception of The Astrologer’s Gift, all of the stories were written by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. Born April 4, 1772 in the Ukrainian town of Medzebov, Rebbe Nachman was typical of many poor people of that area. He was married at the age of thirteen, and remained married for twenty-two years until his wife’s death in 1807. The Rebbe’s life was not an easy one. He and his wife had eight children, four of whom died in childhood. At the age of eighteen, he left his in-laws’ house and relocated to the nearby town of Medvedevka. In 1802, he once again moved, this time to Breslov. By this time, Rebbe Nachman had earned a reputation as a great Rebbe, deep scholar, brilliant teacher, master Kabbalist, and unequaled storyteller.

In 1807, Rebbe Nachman remarried, and had no more children. Shortly after this marriage, he contracted tuberculosis, and traveled across Europe to Lemberg (L’vov) for medical treatment. He returned to Breslov in 1808, not cured and having been subjected to the extremely low quality of medical treatment and care of the time. In 1810, Rebbe Nachman once again relocated, this time to the city of Uman in the Ukraine. He spent five months there before his untimely death on October 16, 1810, at the age of thirty-eight. He is buried in Uman. Following the Rebbe’s death, no single person has ever been appointed to serve as the leader of the Breslov chassidim. It is Rebbe Nachman’s teachings which continue to lead and guide those from all walks of life, Jewish and even non-Jewish. Breslovers, as his followers are called, are found across the globe. Each year at Rosh Hashanna (the Jewish New Year), they gather in Uman, the city where this great man died, to conduct services.

The tale of The Astrologer’s Gift was written by a person known only as Shmuley, from the town of Minsk in Belarus. Very little is known about him, other than he was a teacher and scholar who, like thousands of others of that time in that area, was conscripted into the tzar’s army. Poor conscripts could expect at least a twenty year term in military service, a milieu where most soldiers died as a result of poor conditions long before they were to be released. At some point, Shmuley, not wishing this fate, deserted. He lived his remaining years in relative obscurity, teaching until his death in 1945.

Folktales written by people who lived in that time and geographic locale generally had a common theme. The average man in a story was usually pitted against the more elite of society, and generally came out victorious. It may be said that the authors of folktales of that time were the rebels of their day who probably would have fared well with the beatniks of the 1950s and the hippies of the 1960s. Quite often, the subject matter slapped the face of the establishment.

Earlier, we spoke of different ways a folktale could be interpreted and understood. Indeed, many great rabbis over the years have written and taught on the Kabbalistic and theological meanings of Rebbe Nachman’s stories, explaining the obvious and the not-so-obvious in a new light, to readers worldwide. Yet, as we note from Rebbe Nachman’s teachings in all areas of Judaica, he understood people, people from all walks of life and from all backgrounds. The rich and the poor, educated and unschooled, Jew and non-Jew were understood and helped by the Rebbe. In the folktales, parables, and fables presented in this volume, a true though not always literal translation is offered. While a literal and exact translation is important when exploring the mystical meanings behind select words, the psychological understanding is not dependent upon this in the same way. The story is made more clear when necessary with the few modifications presented.

Rebbe Nachman once made the statement that one way to wake people up is through stories. The notion of waking people up is the focus of this text. Each tale is first presented as a straight narrative. From that alone, the reader will begin thinking about what various elements may mean or symbolize, and how the story may be understood. Following the tale itself is a section titled, Psychological Gleanings. Here, a particular psychological principle and/or message becomes the focus. This is expounded upon and explained in greater detail, and the reader is shown how its understanding and incorporation into our lives can greatly assist in our psychological and emotional growth and well-being. A wide array of topics are discussed, each gleaned from the respective tale. As I believe was Rebbe Nachman’s intention, this is what waking up is all about, i.e., incorporating an understanding and an approach to life which will allow people to live their lives more fully, realizing and actualizing their potential. It is both my hope and my belief that the reader of these wonderful tales will indeed do so.

Shmuel Yosef Kaplan 5770 / 2010

The Tale

The Claydigger

Many years ago, there lived a claydigger, who made his living by toiling away digging clay, and then reselling it to those who had need of it for their own uses. While digging one day, the claydigger struck what he initially thought to be a stone, but discovered it was a diamond, a large diamond, no doubt worth a great deal.

With great excitement, the claydigger rushed to town, and sought a jeweler to give him an estimate on what the diamond was worth. Upon examination, the jeweler told the claydigger that it was indeed a most valuable gem, and that if the claydigger wished to sell it, he would have to journey to a large city, some distance away.

Upon hearing this, the claydigger’s excitement left him, since he was too poor to travel to the big city. In despair, the claydigger began to sell everything he owned in order to raise the money for the trip. When that was done and he still didn’t have enough, he began going to people’s homes in the neighborhood, asking them to help him. At long last, the claydigger raised enough money to take him as far as the sea.

Once he arrived at the seaside town, the claydigger now faced the second part of his challenge – he needed to find the means to pay for the boat trip that would take him the rest of the journey to the big city. He thought and thought and decided he had no choice other than to tell the captain about the diamond. He showed the diamond to the captain, and made him the following offer: If you take me to the big city, I’ll sell the diamond, and then pay you for the trip.

The captain thought about the offer, and feeling the claydigger was someone who could be trusted, told him he accepted the offer. He then gave the claydigger a beautiful room on the ship, and treated the claydigger royally, as if he were already a wealthy man from the sale of the diamond.

Life aboard the ship was good for the claydigger. He was treated well, had delicious meals, and his room had a view of the sea. He felt happy with this situation. When he would eat his meals, the claydigger would put his diamond on the table in front of him, so that he could stare at it. This would always make him feel good. After the meal, the cabin boy would come in, and shake the crumbs off the tablecloth out the window into the sea.

One day the claydigger sat down to eat a meal, and as always, placed the diamond on the table in front of him. He finished his meal, and just sat and stared at the diamond for some time. Before long, the claydigger fell asleep while sitting at the table and staring at the gem. While he was asleep,