Language:
French
Year of publication:
2021
Titel der Quelle:
Revue des Etudes Juives
Angaben zur Quelle:
180,1-2 (2021) 123-148
Keywords:
Naḥman,
;
Bratslav Hasidim Legends
;
Bratslav Hasidim Language
;
Mysticism Judaism
Abstract:
Nahman of Bratslav developed, especially in the Liqquṭei Moharan, an original conception of language, rooted in Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah. He insists on the role of reading and listening stories in the spiritual awakening of the followers: for example the Hasidic tales, the Sippurei ma‘asiot, have a broken structure, grounded on the tension between fragmentation, 'the exile of speech and words', and the desire for reunification, of a 'repair of the language'. His writing reflects the torments of his inner life, marked by an exhausting struggle between destruction, violence and reparation. Hence a chaotic mode of writing which is a mirror of his tormented soul. We illustrate Nahman’s conception of language by analyzing two tales: The Seven Beggars and The Tale of the Vanished Princess. The forces of evil, the impure desires manifest their power on the story and disrupt its structure and progression. This instability requires a repentance of speech (tiqqun u-tešuvat ha-dibbur).
DOI:
10.2143/REJ.180.1.3289439
URL:
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