"In this important book, Prof. Zvi Mark, a major Hasidic researcher, lays out for his readers Rabbi Nahman's thoughts on the turbulent experiences of his soul. The sense of danger that accompanies the inner journey is described and treated here with a great degree of wisdom and discretion."
Prof. Avraham Yitzhak Green
The book is dedicated to the study of the spiritual world and the work of Rabbi Nahman of Braslav, as the one who placed devotion to God at the top of the religious value ladder and as an attainable goal. Rabbi Nahman's teaching unfolds before the reader as a unique chapter in the history of Jewish mysticism, both in the insights that characterize it, and in the rituals and the special way of life that were shaped within it. The modes of devotion to God are the backbone and central axis of the book and its branches and splendors branch out into other key issues in the Braslavian world, such as faith and imagination, dreams and the Land of Israel, and the nigun and singing. The book also offers a comprehensive interpretation of one of Rabbi Nahman's enigmatic acts.
Prof. Zvi Mark heads the Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev Chair of Hasidic Studies at Bar-Ilan University. Among his books: Scroll of Secrets: The Hidden Messianic Vision of R. Nahman of Braslav (2006), Revelation and Rectification: In the Revealed and Hidden Writings of R. Nahman of Breslav (2011), The Complete Stories of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (2014).
Danacode: 110-20351 ISBN: 978-965-226-652-1 Language: Hebrew Pages: 416 Weight: 700 gr Dimensions: 17X24 cm Publication Date: 02/2023 Publisher: Bar-Ilan University Press
Please note: This book does not contain an English Contents page. The Hebrew has been translated here for your convenience.
Table of Contents
Introduction 13
Chapter 1: Obsession and Adherence in the Shivhei HaBesht: Notes on the Phenomenology of Madness in the Beginning of Hasidism 18
A. Introduction 18
B. The craze in Shivhei HaBesht 20
C. Obsession, devotion and madness 26
D. The madness of Shabtai Zvi and among his prophets 30
E. Sabbateanism in "The Author's Introduction" 35
F. Meoraot Tzvi 37
G. The influence of Meoraot Tzvi on the preparation of Shivhei HaBesht 38
H. Implications for the issue of dvekut 40
I. On madness: concluding note 44
Chapter 2: Additional models for the connection between religious work and madness and mindlessness in Hasidism 47
A. Madness as a danger: peeked and was hurt 47
B. Leaving the mind as a religious work 54
Chapter 3: Desire as madness: sockets of magical and medical concepts of madness 59
A. A spirit of nonsense as a dybbuk 60
B. The Torah as an amulet 61
C. "As if a demon had died" 62
D. Desire as madness 66
Chapter 4: Eros, madness and tuberculosis 70
A. The main procreation by the mind 70
B. Castration and insanity 71
C. Mating, Tuberculosis and Madness: The Biographical Dimension 79
Chapter 5: Imagination, Prophecy and Faith: On the Place of Imagination in Religious Work and the Nature of Breslavic Faith 86
A. Imagination, prophecy and madness 86
B. Faith and imagination – about the Breslav faith 95
C. Brainstorming 101
Chapter Six: On the Character of the Mystical Experiences: Consciousness, Occurrence, and the Post-Mystical State 115
A. The cancellation of the mind and the return to the mind in the mystical experience 115
B. Mysticism of faith 135
C. Hierarchy in the ways of mysticism (via mystica) and in the mystical union (unio mystica) 142
D. If I had known him, I would have been - knowledge as a means of mystical union 162
Afterword 174
Chapter 7: Uniqueness: a hint, a spark and a melody - Worshiping God as a Breslaver 175
Introduction 175
Part I: The Uniqueness of God 176
A. Premise 176
B. First ontological model: the degrees of holiness - delegation 177
C. First behavioral model: understanding the clues - the sacred as speech 177
D. Second behavioral model: unconscious contact with the sacred - the silence of the sacred 185
E. Second ontological model: refraction - sparks and letters 186
F. Third behavioral model: the tune 189
G. The mystical route: "And let there be an end" 192
H. Perek Shira: The melody as a magical theoretic activity — an alternative foundation for the theory of melody 199
I. The theory of melody: summary and interim conclusions 221
Summary of Part I: The course of the Torah "And let there be an end" 223
Part B: Nocturnal states of awareness: sleep, dream and wakefulness (seclusion) 225
A. Sleep as part of the second behavioral model: raising the sparks 225
B. The night of the third model: solitude, melody and achievement 232
C. On the place of devotion in Rabbi Nachman's thought 253
Summary of part 2: The different states of consciousness in night mysticism 254
Chapter 8: Silence and music in the face of empty space 257
Introduction 257
A. Two models for creation: reduction and breaking of vessels 258
B. What is the free space made of? 262
C. Silence and music 266
D. The tongue-tied beggar 270
E. Additional evidence 273
Chapter 9: The Land of Imagination 281
A. "Examination of the Land of Israel" 281
B. The Land of Imagination 285
C. The road to the land of imagination 285
D. The theory of degrees 287
E. Applause 290
Summary 292
Chapter 10: "Smallness" and "greatness" according to Rabbi Nachman of Breslav and their roots in the Kabbalah of the Ari 294
Introduction 294
A. A minor is exempt from the mitzvot 299
B. "And he is a boy" - trifles such as fooling around and the actions of girls 303
C. Little things and forgetfulness - little things and I don't know 306
D. Smallness and the Land of Israel 308
E. Smallness and death 312
F. From the details to the whole - the return to smallness as rebirth 317
Summary and conclusions 325
Chapter 11: The purpose of knowing that we will not know 330
Introduction 330
A. "We won't know" and "I don't know" 331
B. Wonderful and very terrible 335
C. "By amending the covenant" 338
D. "Center of the Universe" 339
E. "Because their enemies will be destroyed" 345
Chapter 12: "A deed of a meek king": about the laughter and fooling around in God's service 357
A deed of a meek king 357
Part I: Searching for the King's Face 359
A. The face of the king 359
B. The structure of the story 359
C. Face detection 360
D. The praises of the king 362
E. Philosophy and Kabbalah 365
F. From the purpose of knowing to experiencing "nothing" - phenomenological note 367
Part II: On Jest and Laughter 370
A. The religious ritual as a performance 371
B. Iמ God's presence 372
C. Meek King - Temple worship as a comedy 374
D. God's work 375
E. Awareness as "allowing" 377
Part III: The Halls of Transformations 378
The image of God's worship as a game in Hasidism 384
Afterword 388
Bibliography and Abbreviations 389
Index 409