Obituary: Dov Noy (1920-2013)

Dov Noy was my teacher, but not mine alone. He introduced folklore into Jewish Studies, and Jewish folklore into the discipline of folklore. Stith Thompson (1885-1976) integrated Dov Noy's dissertation (as Dov Neuman) "Motif-Index of Talmudic-Midrashic Literature" (1954) into the second edition of the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature and established its subject, and Dov Noy himself, firmly in the international community of folklore scholars. Upon the completion of his studies at Indiana University, Noy joined the faculty of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1955 and began offering courses in folklore in the Hebrew Literature and the Yiddish departments. He was an inspirational teacher who attracted students and motivated them to continue the systematic research and teaching of Jewish folklore, and they have done so at the Hebrew University and in other Israeli universities. He himself taught Jewish folklore in American and Canadian universities, and inspired scholars, writers, and storytellers to explore and revive the art of storytelling in Jewish societies.