A Jewish Icarus

This isn't your typical biblical story. It’s a myth, a folk tale, preserved in the Israel Folktale Archives, about a wonder child who lived during the time of the Temple in Jerusalem. Yozel wasn't just any kid; he could talk from the moment he was born! And he was audacious, to say the least.

What did this precocious child do? He snuck into the Temple – the most sacred place in Judaism – and cut off the Shem ha-Meforash, the Ineffable Name of God, usually represented by the four Hebrew letters, Yod-Heh-Vav-Heh (יהוה). That's right, he stole God's Name! But it doesn't stop there. He then took a knife, made a cut in his foot, inserted the Name, and sewed it back up. Talk about a daring act!

And then? Instantaneously, he sprouted wings! According to the story, there was nothing Yozel couldn't do after that. He soared through the sky, flying alongside the angels. Imagine the sight!

But, as in so many myths, hubris leads to a fall. One of the angels, angered by Yozel's ascent, poured water on his feet, rendering him impure. In Jewish tradition, ritual purity, or taharah, is incredibly important, especially within the context of the Temple. And bam! The magic vanished. His wings fell off, and Yozel Frandrik plummeted to the earth.

He survived the fall, but his flying days were over. And here's the kicker: he never gave back the Shem ha-Meforash. To this day, the tale says, no one knows where it is.

So, what are we to make of this strange story? It certainly echoes the Greek myth of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun with wings of wax and feathers. Like Icarus, Yozel Frandrik pushed boundaries and paid the price. He dared to tamper with the divine, and his ambition led to his downfall.

But there's more to it than just a simple morality tale. Some scholars see deeper layers of meaning. David J. Halperin, for example, suggests a connection to the Toledot Yeshu tradition, a medieval anti-Christian narrative. He argues that Yozel Frandrik is a distorted version of Jesus, who, in those accounts, steals the Name of God from the Temple. Halperin points out the parallels: the sneaking into the Temple, the concealing of the Name on the body, and even a corrupted version of Judas Iscariot causing ritual impurity.

Whether Yozel Frandrik is a Jewish Icarus or a veiled reference to another figure, his story is a powerful reminder of the limits of human ambition and the consequences of tampering with the sacred. We see echoes of similar themes elsewhere. In Megillat Ahimaaz, we find the Name of God used to bring a dead man back to life. And as we read in the Ma'aseh Book, the Name can even resurrect a murderer to force a confession.

The tale leaves us pondering: What is the true power of God's Name? And what happens when we try to wield it ourselves? It’s a story that stays with you, long after you’ve heard it.

Commentary

This is a highly unusual oral myth collected in Israel by the Israel Folktale Archives. It is a fantasy about a strange wonder child, Yozel Frandrik. He is said to have lived in the Temple period. In an act both daring and outrageous, he steals into the Temple and cuts off God's Name, YHVH, known as the Shem ha-Meforash. Using powers of kabbalistic wizardry, he implants the Name of God in his foot, and he immediately grows wings. Flying through the heavens, he provokes the anger of the angels, and one of them pours water on his foot, making him impure. This causes him to lose all powers and fall from heaven, just as happens to Icarus. Indeed, this myth has all the earmarks of a Jewish Icarus. Icarus, flying with wax wings created by his father, Dedalus, flew too close to the sun, causing the wings to melt and for him to plunge to his death. Yozel Frandrik also does forbidden things, in this case cutting off God's Name from the Temple, then implanting the Name in his foot, which is another desecration of the Name. Still, like Moses when he struck the rock instead of speaking to it, the magic works — the power of the Name causes Yozel to grow wings. In this case, his fall from heaven is not due to melting wings, but to an angel purposely rendering him impure, in order to sap him of his powers. This indeed is what takes place, although Yozel survives. Nor does he give the Name back. Thus he is portrayed as unrepentant to the end. David J. Halperin, in a private communication, suggests another perspective: "To my mind, there is no doubt at all that this tale is rooted in the anti-Christian Toledot Yeshu tradition of the Middle Ages. Yozel Frandrik is none other than Jesus. His name is a corruption of 'Yeshu (ben) Pandira/ the standard rabbinic designation for Jesus. In the Toledot Yeshu tradition, Jesus sneaks into the Temple and learns the letters of God's Name from the Foundation Stone. He writes the Name on parchment, which he smuggles out of the Temple by concealing it in an incision he has made in his thigh. Later he flies up to heaven; Rabbi Judah Ish Bartota (=Judas Iscariot, presumably) flies up after him. After an inconclusive aerial dogfight between the two, Judah deliberately ejaculates his semen onto Jesus, with the result that Jesus becomes impure and falls down to earth. The parallels with 'Yozel Frandrik' seem to me overwhelming." In another text, Megillat Ahimaaz, a dead man is brought to life when God's Name, written on parchment, is implanted in his arm. However, such apparent life leaves the man without a soul, and unable to pronounce God's Name during prayers. It is this inability that gives him away. See "The Young Man Without a Soul" in Gabriel's Palace, pp. 145-148. A parallel use of the Name to bring the dead to life is found in the Ma'aseh Buck #171, where a killer is brought to life to confess his sin.

Themes

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