NIGHT TALES REMEMBERED: FABLES FROM THE SHAMMAS. VOLUME II of THE NIGHT TALES TRILOGY.

Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1990. 559 pp, 9 1/4" H. "Once upon a time, there was a shammas full of years and stories. Night after night, like some kabbalistic Scheherazade, this amiable fellow tells stories to soothe his rabbi who cannot sleep. This is the premise of 'Night Tales Remembered', a wise, witty, and wonderfully rich platter of Jewish folklore, fact, and fantasy. Set in Cologne of the Middle Ages (it) revolves around saintly rabbis who knew the secrets of the holy and who communed with angels to solve both the ordinary and extraordinary problems of their congregants. It was the end of the age of Rashi and the beginning of the age of Rambam, when these and other people might appear at the yeshiva at any time of day or night: 'For in medieval Europe, wandering pilgrims were constantly returning from their foreign travels. These wayfarers came wide-eyed and worn, and they came filled with tales.' It was also a time when miracles seemed more commonplace and the metaphysical more at hand." Contents of this, the second volume of the trilogy: Dalet - Stories of Rabbi Abraham Achselrad; Rabbi Hayyim / Hey - Stories of Rabbi Abraham Achselrad; Rabbi Joel; Rabbi Eliazer of Worms; Rabbi Hayyim / Vav - Stories of Rabbi Abraham Achselrad; Rabbi Eliazer of Worms; Rabbi Asher. Dated Bar Mitzvah greetings in ink on the half-title page, a samll personal library stamp with a name in felt-tipped pen at the bottom of the title page, light wrinkling at the top/bottom of the spine, minor edge wear, minor shelf soiling on the bottom of the text block, some light variation in the colour of the top of the text block, a very small bump to the top corner of pages 400 to 532. Dust jacket is price-clipped, light wear at the top/bottom of the spine and flap-folds, a few soft wrinkles, light rubbing, slight fading to the spine colour, very light brrowning at the top of the flaps, a few small dents on the front hinge.. Not Signed. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good-/Very Good-.