Books about Bratslav from Amazon.com

Set in the Chasidic world of Monsey, New York, a brilliantly original, provocative novel about storytelling and the limits of creation

The Seventh Beggar begins with a contemporary young man's obsession with the legendary nineteenth-century Chasidic master, Nachman of Bratslav-kabbalist, storyteller, and charismatic whose cult following persists to this day. The legends and life of Nachman inform the novel, in particular Nachman's famously unfinished "Tales of the Seven Beggars," which serves as the inspiration for Pearl Abraham's own bold and probing story about the glories and pitfalls of originality. A translation of Nachman's tales from the original Yiddish is included in full in the novel itself.

Abraham staked her literary claim in the groundbreaking novel The Romance Reader, which took readers for the first time into the Chasidic world through the eyes of a woman. Now she returns to that world, with an even more ambitious work that upends the conventions of storytelling, thwarts expectations, and yet all the while compels us with its lovable characters, its narrative momentum, and its creation of a familiar yet dreamlike landscape, in which imagination simultaneously triumphs and destroys..
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The body of this book is comprised of the thirteen Tales of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav, one of the most renowned of the early Hasidic masters of prayer and probably the greatest of the Hasidic storytellers. These tales are presented in a style both readable and scrupulously close to the original. No previous translators of these tales have attempted to take the original text this seriously, for they changed, added and deleted at will.

As the editor of the volume states in his foreword, "Of the thousands of Hasidic tales circulated in the past two centuries, few have earned the veneration and affection of the thirteen Tales of Nahman of Bratslav…Still studied as scripture, these tales have attracted a varied audience intrigued by the remarkable blend of intense Kabbalistic faith and narrative artistry."

Dr. Band goes on to say, "In this English translation I have tried to capture the ambiance of…the oral familiarity and charm of the Yiddish and the metaphysical rigor and grandeur of the Hebrew."

In his preface Dr. Joseph Dan of Hebrew University, Jerusalem, addresses the question, "Why is this an important work today?" He says, "Rabbi Nahman's tales should be regarded as a great literary accomplishment of a mystical author, who achieved complete identification and unity between external and internal elements and expressed them in a unified spiritual autobiography, in the guise of folktales. Such achievements are very rare in the history of religious literature, and as one such rare example it should be read in the twentieth century."

The volume includes an introduction giving a biography of Nahman as well as a theory of spiritual literature. To each of the Tales, Dr. Band prefaced a brief editor's prologue to set the tone and direction of the reading. At the end of the volume he has appended a fuller commentary on each tale..
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This classic work explores the personality and religious quest of Nahman of Bratslav (1772-1810), one of Hasidisms major figures. It unlocks the great themes of spiritual searching that make him a figure of universal religious importance..
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Rabbi Nachman's tales were originally told in Yiddish They were recorded by his outstanding pupil, Rabbi Nathan, who translated them into Hebrew and published them after Rabbi Nachman's death. While these tales are structurally similar to folk or fairy tales, they include highly compressed and clearly defined Torah teachings expressed in literary and poetic form. Rabbi Nachman's stories are a medium for conveying hidden aspects of Torah, yet in such a veiled way that the content is not outwardly apparent. These complex allegories, intended by their author to have several dimensions, are presented here by Rabbi Steinsaltz with his own commentary, pointing the way for the modern reader to begin to grasp Rabbi Nachman's profound tales..
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7th Heaven delves into the art of consciously observing Shabbat--exploring many of the day's traditional religious practices within the context of life's spiritual dynamics. With the help and wisdom of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov--one of the most important of the early Hasidic masters--this guidebook offers insight into the deeper meaning and purpose of a broad range of Shabbat observances and seeks to show how each custon or law fits within the whole.

In accessible, easy-to-understand language, 7th Heaven is a spiritual guide for all levels of Shabbat observance: If Shabbat is new to you, or you've experienced it only in its popular form, but would like to deepen your understanding and connection. If Shabbat is something you grew up with, but you were never taught the inner meaning of all the customs and laws you were told to obey. If Shabbat has never been a part of your spiritual practice, but you would like to learn more about the Jewish pathway to wholeness and higher consciousness.

Based on the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810) and those of his closest disciple, Reb Noson, the deep insights into Torah and spirituality revealed by these great Hasidic luminaries are as relevant in today's world as they were some two centuries ago, when they were first taught..
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In a profound look at what it means for new generations to read and interpret ancient religious texts, rabbi and philosopher Marc-Alain Ouaknin offers a postmodern reading of the Talmud, one of the first of its kind. Combining traditional learning and contemporary thought, Ouaknin dovetails discussions of spirituality and religious practice with such concepts as deconstruction, intertextuality, undecidability, multiple voicing, and eroticism in the Talmud. On a broader level, he establishes a dialogue between Hebrew tradition and the social sciences, which draws, for example, on the works of Lévinas, Blanchot, and Jabès as well as Derrida. The Burnt Book represents the innovative thinking that has come to be associated with a school of French Jewish studies, headed by Lévinas and dedicated to new readings of traditional texts, which is fast gaining influence in the United States.

The Talmud, transcribed in 500 C.E., is shown to be a text that refrains from dogma and instead encourages the exploration of its meanings. A vast compilation of Jewish oral law, the Talmud also contains rabbinical commentaries that touch on everything from astronomy to household life. Examining its literary methods and internal logic, Ouaknin explains how this text allows readers to transcend its authority in that it invites them to interpret, discuss, and re-create their religious tradition. An in-depth treatment of selected texts from the oral law and commentary goes on to provide a model for secular study of the Talmud in light of contemporary philosophical issues.

Throughout the author emphasizes the self-effacing quality of a text whose worth can be measured by the insights that live on in the minds of its interpreters long after they have closed the book. He points out that the burning of the Talmud in anti-Judaic campaigns throughout history has, in fact, been an unwitting act of complicity with Talmudic philosophy and the practice of self-effacement. Ouaknin concludes his discussion with the story of the Hasidic master Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav, who himself burned his life achievement--a work known by his students as "the Burnt Book." This story leaves us with the question, should all books be destroyed in order to give birth to thought and renew meaning?

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New and classic explorations of the work of Rabbi Hahman of Bratslav, a major Hasidic thinker, using a wide range of approaches .
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The world is a very narrow bridge. The main thing is not to be afraid (Likutey Moharan II, 48). Lively, down-to-earth, and easy-to-read, this book gives clear, detailed guidance as to how to apply Rebbe Nachman's teachings in modern everyday life. The many subjects covered range from faith, truth, joy and meditation to earning a living, health-care and bringing up children. Containing a wealth of anecdotes from the lives of leading Breslover Chassidim of recent times, together with their oral teachings, this work answers many of the practical/technical questions that puzzle those who have begun to make their acquaintance with Breslov literature..
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