"Folktales and legends traditionally reflect the spirit and quality of the country from which they originate. What makes these stories Jewish is their cast of the pious and the just, the martyrs and the sages, the scholars and the miracle workers. They are set against a historic background reflecting the tradition of the Jews, their beliefs, customs, practices, and superstitions. Their stress is on strong ethical emphasis and content, on monotheism, piety, righteousness, and the performance of good deeds. And they are delightful to read, silently or aloud; they are filled with humor and action even as they teach their moral lessons. The complier has collected more than forty stories, legends, and folktales from ancient Biblical and secular sources of the East and West and has grouped them in various categories ("Tales of the Prophet Elijah," "Tales of David and Solomon," "Tales of Wit and Wisdom," "The Golem,") and in the introduction to each section he discusses the character and background of the tales." --