As I start to read the Jewish folktales they sound very familiar to me. I am asking my self how come Jewish folktales are so similar to Albanian folktales? In my mind start to flow the history of Jewish people.Living in diaspora their folktales originate from different countries and because of Jewish migration due to history this folktales spread world wide more than any others.
Despite their familiarity Jewish folktales are more religious and tend to put god as the only magnificent that can change things from worst to great.This magical powers are not put in the hand of a fairy grandmother but in the hand of a religious man like a "rabbi" being the only person with magical godly power this folktales personify god as your only choice to justice and happiness. This folktales being to religious in my opinion focus to much on the fact of how other people from other religious hate Jewish and try to full them and in the end the smart Jewish person always wins.In my opinion this are very religious tales to make Jewish children think that everyone hates you because you are Jewish and the only way you can survive is not to trust others and be smart and listen to rabbis.
Like in the case of tale "The Rabbi and the Inquisitor" ,We have a wicked priest that hates Jews. We have the rabbi that is about to lose its live for something he has not done(as always it is never their fault) ,we have the rabbi not trusting the Grand Inquisitor (showing that Jewish never should trust as always is injustice done to them)and in the end by the rabbi right instinct and trick he saves his own life (if you want to be a Jew and alive you have to be smart). This looks more like propaganda tales to tell to jewish
children and unfortunately often they get into them.It is sadly that this folktales onse confirm how Jewish community educated their children and their people and once more it is not true that every one hates Jewish people and that injustice is done to them.It is an irony of fate that this old folktales show the time when this injustice were done towards the Jewish people and now in the 21st century we have Jewish people applying the same injustice manners toward other minority groups such as the Palestinians.
The folktale "A dispute in sing language" is the one that i heard as a child in my country Albania but the end will be a bit different, would not include "god" or "Jewish people" but people and the entire world. So the tale would be less religious and more kind of tale that gives the wow effect in the end and showing that are two kinds of people out there the ones that think always in the negative way and the ones that think in the positive.
"Chelm Justice" this tales once more focus on the importance of the minority groups where the needs overcome justice.
The magic Mirror of Rabbi Adam" once again we have a religious talk where the power of rabbi will save the life of a Jew were his wicked betrayer wife is planing with her lover to kill him .Once more the rabbi will save the poor jewish person only after he had fully trusted the rabbi and done whatever he said him to do(delivering very strong religious messages).
My favorite of this religious Jewish tales is "It could always be worse" , this tale is very famous in my country Albania as well , small , poor communities where people complain a lot. I like the message that it hold as it is true that many people take what they have for granted and start complaining making their life's miserable. Through this tale we see the important message that everyone should carry and as always is said in my country "Don't complain, It could Always get Worst".