Parables of the Sages (Israel 2016)

13 September (Israel ) within release Parables of the Sages goes into circulation Booklet Parables of the Sages face value 26.20 Israeli new shekel

Booklet Parables of the Sages in catalogues
Michel:	Mi: IL 2533-2535MH
Israel Philatelic Federation:	Isr: IL 2412B

Booklet is square format.

In Rabbinic literature, in both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds and the midrashim, we find many parables—some relating to plant life and others to animal life. These are, in fact, fables: very short stories in which plants or animals speak, feel, and act as humans in every way. The stories have a moral and teach a lesson. The Sages called these stories "fox parables" or "palm parables". Examples of this literary genre already existed in the Bible: the parable of Yotam (Judges 9:7-20), the parable of the Thistle and the Cedar (2 Kings 14:9-10) and the parable of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7). Fables were well-known in ancient Babylon, and Babylon seems to have been where the Story of Ahikar, a collection of parables, was created. That book was translated into many languages, including Syriac, Arabic, Aramaic and Greek. Fables flourished in Ancient Greece, where Aesop's Fables originated. The first anthology attributed to Aesop was known as early as the 3rd century BCE. The broad contacts between Greek and Israelite cultures in the Hellenistic period brought Aesop’s fables into our literature as well. The three stamps in this series are based on the Parables of the Sages, which are notably similar to some of Aesop's Fables.

Also in the issue Parables of the Sages:

• Stamp - The Lion and the Heron face value 4.10;
• Stamp - The Fox in the Vineyard face value 4.10;
• Stamp - The Reed and the Cedar face value 4.10;
• Stamp - The Fox in the Vineyard face value 4.10;
• Mini Sheet - The Fox in the Vineyard face value 32.80;
• Stamp - The Lion and the Heron face value 4.10;
• Mini Sheet - The Lion and the Heron face value 32.80;
• Stamp - The Reed and the Cedar face value 4.10;
• Mini Sheet - The Reed and the Cedar face value 8*4.10;
• First Day Cover - Parables of the Sages face value 12.30;
• Stamp - The Fox in the Vineyard face value 4.10;
• Stamp - The Lion and the Heron face value 4.10;
• Stamp - The Reed and the Cedar face value 4.10;
• Booklet - Parables of the Sages face value 26.20;
• Stamp with Collectible Margin - The Fox in the Vineyard face value 4.10;
• Stamp - The Lion and the Heron face value 4.10;
• Stamp with Collectible Margin - The Reed and the Cedar face value 4.10;