Tormented Master: The Life and Spiritual Quest of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav is Rabbi Arthur Green’s full length biography of the founder of Bratslav Chasidism, one of the most colorful and interesting personalities in the history of Judaism.
I have enjoyed all of Rabbi Green’s work on modern Jewish issues, especially Radical Judaism. He is a clear and staunch advocate of injecting modern Jewish practice with Hasidic heart and soul, without the stringency of Hasidic halakah. I consider myself a Brastlaver, although the entry requirements are not rigorous (you simply call yourself one when people ask). So, to wrap up, I should love this book unreservedly.
Yet, I do not. I have tried to read this book for several years, and put it down repeatedly. I tried once more, and finished it, except for some of the Excurses material at the end. It seems like Green turned off his obvious talent for explaining complex topics simply in this work. He gets too involved in the nitty-gritty of concepts, at the expense of the big picture. The reader, well this reader, gets lost in the maze of his prose.
And the book could have been great! Perhaps Green, in his zeal to create the first “real” biography of Rebbe Nachman, sacrificed general intelligibility for scholarship. Regardless, he left us a work with some redeeming qualities embedded in thick text that taxes the reader.
I have enjoyed all of Rabbi Green’s work on modern Jewish issues, especially Radical Judaism. He is a clear and staunch advocate of injecting modern Jewish practice with Hasidic heart and soul, without the stringency of Hasidic halakah. I consider myself a Brastlaver, although the entry requirements are not rigorous (you simply call yourself one when people ask). So, to wrap up, I should love this book unreservedly.
Yet, I do not. I have tried to read this book for several years, and put it down repeatedly. I tried once more, and finished it, except for some of the Excurses material at the end. It seems like Green turned off his obvious talent for explaining complex topics simply in this work. He gets too involved in the nitty-gritty of concepts, at the expense of the big picture. The reader, well this reader, gets lost in the maze of his prose.
And the book could have been great! Perhaps Green, in his zeal to create the first “real” biography of Rebbe Nachman, sacrificed general intelligibility for scholarship. Regardless, he left us a work with some redeeming qualities embedded in thick text that taxes the reader.
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