Jewish Folktales from Morocco

With this volume, Marc Eliany becomes a transformational agent who introduces to readers the tales of Seha that he heard in his family oral tradition. The sage-clown, who could also be a trickster and a fool, represents two aspects of wisdom in the folklore of many peoples. Seha joins a gallery of Jewish wise-clowns in Ashkenazic and Sephardic narratives.

-- Dan Ben Amos, University of Pennsylvania

Eliany’s allegorical tales, convey with wit a community quest for intercultural respect and emancipation. Entertaining and informative.

-- Yigal Bin-Nun, Paris VIII University

Eliany’s tales of Seha the Sage and Seha the Clown, convey with humor and wit colors, shades, flavors and fragrances, community values that bridge folktales to social-history, social change and modernization in Jewish Morocco. Eliany’s work indicates that recounting thousands of years of a community’s history requires telling its folktales too.

-- Dan Albo, Bar Ilan University

Through the memories of his beloved grandparents, the author transmits his appreciation for the humor, way of life, and values of Moroccan Jewry. They present us the witty character Seha, which has been enjoyed by many generations of both children and adults. We are grateful for the author’s works which preserve the culture of Moroccan Jewry which has been transmuted by modernity and emigration.

-- David Bensoussan, Université du Qu�