A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity by Yitzhak Lewis

Abstract

Reviewed by: A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity by Yitzhak Lewis Alexandra Mandelbaum Kupeev Yitzhak Lewis. A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000. 242 pp. Many studies have been conducted on Rebbe Naḥman of Bratslav (1772–1810), and the stories he told. The book before us is significant for clarifying an important perspective on R. Naḥman, which has not yet been explored in scholarship and research: R. Naḥman as part of modern Hebrew literature. In this book, Yitzhak Lewis discusses modern Hebrew literature in detail, including its various definitions and characterizations, as well as the notion of modernity in general, which at times implies a historical awareness of renewal and at other times indicates a rupture from the Old World. Yet the most important task of the book is to establish the correct place of R. Naḥman in his time, a crucial task that recognizes that a person does not only interpret his reality but is also an inherent part of it. Although R. Naḥman was critical of the cultural processes taking place in eastern Europe in his time, Lewis shows that R. Naḥman played an integral role in these changes as well, in his own way. Departure is a recurring theme throughout the book. Modernity as a movement of departure is both an ideological and aesthetic decision, according to the author. Like many others, R. Naḥman participated actively in shaping the rift of modernity as an act of departure. It is important to consider that modern Hebrew literature was influenced not only by Enlightenment ideas from the West, but also by local national movements. While it is difficult to argue that R. Naḥman was well versed in all of these, this was the prevailing mindset of his time. According to Lewis, it is incorrect to regard R. Naḥman’s thought as a “tradition.” In fact, R. Naḥman himself took a central part in modernity, even when observing it from the outside. Lewis argues that R. Naḥman created a theology of “in between,” or alternatively, a theology of “the edge.” He stresses that R. Naḥman is not an “example” of modernity or revival, and treads carefully between the desire to position R. Naḥman in a modern framework and the danger of framing him anachronistically or romantically. What I find the most interesting aspect of A Permanent Beginning is how Lewis accurately describes the crisis of modernity not only specifically as a content issue but also as a crisis of language. It is the means of representation that change, and the person remains in the existential condition of being detached. This crisis is not only an ideological crisis; it is primarily an aesthetic crisis. It is thus impossible to address the question of R. Naḥman and modernity without referring to modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature. This is why a dichotomy between Hebrew and Yiddish may overlook the ways in which both the revival of Hebrew and the Yiddishist movement are important players in the board game of modernity. Lewis is careful not to place R. Naḥman at the beginning of Hebrew literature (as some scholars do) but he also does not rush into declaring R. Naḥman a Yiddish author. Even in the matter of language, R. Naḥman remains stranded. It is interesting to consider R. Naḥman’s request that a book of sipurei maʿasiyot (fairy tales) be printed in both Hebrew and Yiddish. This request was not motivated by one decision or the other, but rather stemmed from the complex and rich nature of his situation between the two worlds. [End Page 222] Here, I believe it would have been appropriate to extend this discussion on R. Naḥman’s stories to two additional topics: visions and dreams (they are included in Zvi Mark’s book All the Stories of R. Nachman of Breslav), and a consideration of his teachings. The latter appear in different contexts, such as the important discussion regarding the word beḥinah that Rebbe Naḥman of Bratslav often uses in...