A Year of Stories #37: The Magician

This is Reneé's telling of I.L. Peretz's story 
The Magician, a wondrously
magical tale originally written in Yiddish, of Elijah the Prophet set at Passover time.
The black and white drawings were done by Marc Chagall, who created them for Peretz's 1917 publication of 
De Kuntsenmakher, translated as either the magician or the trickster.

I think you will agree that Renée captures the beauty of the language, in this, her faithful adaptation of Peretz's story.

Chag Sameach,
R' Mark

A special treat - a different musical setting for Eliyau HaNavi

Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev tz"l used to wish everyone "a kosheren Purim" and a "freiliche Pesach". Of course everyone else usually says the opposite: "a freiliche Purim- a happy Purim" and "a kosheren Pessach-a kosher Pessach". Of course someone asked him to explain why was he reversing the blessings? And so he explained: '"Everyone knows that on Purim you have to be happy and to be sure we are even obligated to get drunk, but in the midst of the Purim festivities someone might forget that Purim also has to be kosher - hence he would wish all 'a kosheren Purim'; Pesach on the other hand, everyone is so busy cleaning and getting rid of their 'chametz', which is a very strict mitzvah in the Torah, and in the process some may forget the mitzvah of 'v'samachtah b'chagechga' - you shall rejoice in your holiday - hence he would wish everyone a "freilichen Pessach". So ...let's bless one another with "A KOSHEREN UN FREILICHEN PESACH!"
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