Customer Reviews

Tormented Master: The Life and Spiritual Quest of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (Jewish Lights Classic Reprint)

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This study of the life of the Breslover (Bratzlaver) Rebbe by Rabbi Arthur Green (Reconstructionist) is well-researched and very readable. Although some Breslover Chassidim did not like this academic approach to the life of their master, I found it to be quite good. Sometimes an "outsider" can see perspectives that the disciples have missed, and this is the case with "Tormented Master." It has interesting insights into the life and struggles of Rebbe Nachman, which, in turn, had a big influence on my own decision to become a Breslover. This book is also more accessible to the average non-Hasidic reader than some of the "official" Breslov materials, and can serve as an introduction to Hasidism in general. Rabbi Green (whom I have met in person), has a deep love of the Rebbe's teachings, which shines through in the pages of this book.

"Tormented Master" is an insightful biography of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, an important Hasidic master from the late 18th century, whose stories and teachings are still popular today. The author, Arthur Green, has written a psychological profile of Nachman without which it would be impossible to fully understand Nachman's teachings.

I had read some of Nachman's work prior to picking up "Tormented Master," and noted that many of his teachings address depressed states of mind and offer spiritual advice on how to overcome despair. It was not surprising, then, to read in Green's biography that Nachman suffered from protracted bouts of depression that alternated with periods of euphoria. His behavior was often erratic, reflecting a personality that was haunted by chronic indecision and inner turmoil that ranged from low points of extreme self doubt to periods of soaring confidence during which he believed himself to be the Messiah. His shifting moods were inspired (or, depending upon your point of view, rationalized) by his interpretation of sacred and mystical texts. One day might find him ecstatic based on a verse from a particular psalm, only to be launched into despair a few days later after reading a commentary with negative implications.

While one may interpret these reactions as that of a highly sensitive soul, the evidence Green has compiled indicates that Nachman may have been manic depressive, even though the author never says this in so many words. At issue is whether Nachman was a victim of psychological processes that may have been largely out of his control and if so, whether his spiritual drive was largely fueled by a search for relief from the torments that he felt. (Separately, one may ask whether he was a tzaddik because of or in spite of the crippling states of mind that he experienced.) Ultimately, it is impossible to know whether he was responsible for creating his own unsettled states of mind or if his agitation resulted from biological tendencies that were aggravated by his environment and ideas.

After reading "Tormented Master," some may be tempted to dismiss Nachman's teachings as merely a reflection of his way of comprehending and coping with his alternating periods of despair and elation. In my view, however, there is fundamental spiritual truth in much of his writings, and how he arrived at it is instructive. A good many of his insights undoubtedly resulted from his psychic suffering, and thus he tried (and recorded) every possible spiritual method to rouse himself from his depressive states. His prayers, sayings and tales were preserved because they contain important spiritual insights, and are inspiring and valuable tools for spiritual seekers.

Be prepared to spend some time reading "Tormented Master." It's very well written and exceptionally insightful, however, the subject matter is so complex that I found myself re-reading many sections and marking numerous passages for further review. There are also extensive footnotes that provide a treasure trove of information.

In short, very highly recommended.

Arthur Green's Tormented Master is a pioneer work that definitely needs another work of its stature to counter some of its deeply flawed statements about R. Nachman of Breslov.

Arthur Green presents a theory that R. Nachman preached a high value of doubt in God, to the point that one should ask God to shake his faith. This is an extraordinary understanding of R. Nachman's position. (And if we are going to speculate about psychological reasons for R. Nachman's teachings, I think that it is fair game to ask whether such statements, which so fly in the face or R. Nachman's explicit teachings as to be perverse, and which appear in the works of various academics, represent something in their personal issues with Breslov Hasidism.)

Yes, with all the hagiography flowing from the pens of Breslov Hasidim about their beloved mentor, it is refreshing to read someone analyze him as a human being of complexity with weaknesses as well as strngths. But Arthur Green writes an anti-hagiography that at times veers on the edge of and even topples into the absurd.

For example: when R. Nachman went to the land of Israel, he met a very strange young Arab who alternated extreme friendship with murderous wrath. R. Nachman stated that he feared this Arab's friendship more than his wrath.

From this, Arthur Green deduces that R. Nachman was homosexually attracted to this Arab.

Just as Gershom Scholem's writings on kabbalah have in recent years received majro substantive criticism (see, for instance, Moshe Idel's New Perspectives), so has the time come for many of the conclusions drawn in Tormented Master to be subjected to serious critique.

This work reveals a deep knowledge and understanding of the work of Rebbe Nahman. It should be of great value to all those who would have an intellectual understanding of the Rebbe. But it does not have the kind of ' inside feeling and devotion' that the Rebbe's close followers write of him with. And it does not r. In other words this work should lead you to the writings of Rabbi Nahman himself where you will enter a new world of feeling in connection with G-d.

Great book. Portrays Rabbi Nachman's life, person and spiritual quest, keeping paths open. One thing that comes through is the centrality of a paradoxical faith that has no limits. It meets the deepest doubts, despair, longing, grows stronger from them. Nachman's faith was pre-holocaust. Whether it could have met such horror we don't know. Yet a psychoanalyst, Wilfred R. Bion, writes of the psychoanalytic attitude as a faith that meets the deepest horrors, F in O, he calls it, faith in face of unknown ultimate reality. Faith in face of all the destruction that exists, existed, can be imagined. Is that possible? In this, I feel, Nachman and Bion are partners. They help us reach through torment and horror to depths these can't kill, depths we can't live without, depths that keep us open no matter how closed we are.

Michael Eigen
Author, Eigen in Seoul vol 1: Madness and Murder
Flames from the Unconscious: Trauma, Madness and Faith
Contact With the Depths

I quite enjoyed the book. When I started, it felt a little dry and textbookish, but I soon found myself STILL READING IT, so it definitely gets past that. The author does an excellent job, especially considering how little objective information there is to draw upon. I came away from the book feeling that Nahman was a very normal person who pursues a closer relationship to God. I think most people have doubts about their own worthiness; we all have the ebb and flow of our emotions that make us what we are: Human. However, the rabbi and his contemporary leaders come off as very territorial and consumed in their own egos; very, "Follow me, I'm the only one who's right! Don't follow him, he's wrong!" This is a very good book and I'm very glad it's available.