Customer Reviews

Tradition and Fantasy in the Tales of Reb Nahman of Bratslav (SUNY Series in Judaica) (Suny Series in Judaica, Hermeneutics, Mysticism and Religion)

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I have been studying the writings of Reb Nachman for decades, beginning with my first encounter via Martin Buber's version of the stories in the early 1970s, followed by R. Aryeh Kaplan's translation / commentary, and continuing through the original primary and secondary sources. Yet Ora Wiskind-Elper's work -- based on literary analysis coupled with more traditional understandings -- is the most profound and insightful treatment of the stories I have seen, aside from the works of R. Noson (Likkutei Halakhot) and R. Avraham b'Reb Nachman Chazan (Chokhmah U-Tevunah). Nothing in the academic world comes close. She seems to have an uncanny grasp of what the real issues are and what Reb Nachman not only says, but means to say. It is also refreshing to see that she writes with humility and respect about this towering and often misunderstood Hasidic mystic, and encounters the material on its own terms. This book is a must for any serious student of Bratzlav Hasidism with training in the areas of literary analysis that are Ms. Wiskind-Elper's forte.