Burnt Books: Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav and Franz Kafka

by Rodger Kamenetz

From the acclaimed author of The Jew in the Lotus comes an "engrossing and wonderful book" (The Washington Times) about the unexpected connections between Franz Kafka and Hasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav—and the significant role played by the imagination in the Jewish spiritual experience. Rodger Kamenetz has long been fascinated by the mystical tales of the Hasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav. And for many years he has taught a course in Prague on Franz Kafka. The more he thought about their lives and writings, the more aware he became of unexpected connections between them. Kafka was a secular artist fascinated by Jewish mysticism, and Rabbi Nachman was a religious mystic who used storytelling to reach out to secular Jews. Both men died close to age forty of tuberculosis. Both invented new forms of storytelling that explore the search for meaning in an illogical, unjust world. Both gained prominence with the posthumous publication of their writing. And both left strict instructions at the end of their lives that their unpublished books be burnt. Kamenetz takes his ideas on the road, traveling to Kafka’s birthplace in Prague and participating in the pilgrimage to Uman, the burial site of Rabbi Nachman visited by thousands of Jews every Jewish new year. He discusses the hallucinatory intensity of their visions and offers a rich analysis of Nachman’s and Kafka’s major works, revealing uncanny similarities in the inner lives of these two troubled and beloved figures, whose creative and religious struggles have much to teach us about the Jewish spiritual experience.

Genres: Jewish, Judaism, Judaica, Biography, Nonfiction, Religion, Mysticism

385 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jeffrey (Akiva) Savett]

Pretty incredible book, particularly with regard to the simularities between Kafka and Rebbe Nachman. The analyses of Kafka's work from the Jewish perspective was the book's strongest suit. I could have well done without the arc of the author's own journey to Uman; not only did I really not care about his own spiritual journey, it all seems tangential to his greater analyses and never really concludes with anything new. This has made me immediately want to go revisit my Kafka and Nachman books of stories.

[Jr]

i have next to no knowledge of rabbi nachman of bratslav but a fair tidbit on franz kafka. i was intrigued by the first teaser review i read of this book and thus far am enjoying the heck out of it. my main trouble is having to cross-reference all the terms of jewry since i know just about no yiddish, hebrew, german, russian. no matter. it's a fun read as of about page 60.

oh how surprising. after reaching the halfway point i started leaning towards my smart phone on commutes home from work instead of diving back into this. not a good sign. i got the feeling that kamenetz had a preconceived notion or wish to relate these two men and was hellbent to make the connection. while i understand that repetition is a literary device, there is more than a little beleaguring the point in the last 150 pages. i would recommend this book only to the most ardent kafka aficianados. as for the nachman enthusiasts, i can only guess if it is edifying. i know it was for me, but that's because i was a clean slate.

[Jonathan]

A good book, even when choppy at times. Some of the chapters are total gems and the intersection between these two seemingly very different authors and thinkers and seekers for meaning offers some beautiful insights into Jewish thought and spirituality.

[Louise Silk]

What are the similarities between Kafka and Rebbe Nachman? The author incorporates his knowledge of both in the context of a personal trip to Poland to try and make a match. It didn't work for me. Instead, I found it limited, narrow and forced.

Kafka and The Rebbe were both Jewish. They were both story tellers looking below the surface of the words for deeper meaning to answer their longing for connection. They both wrote in parables. They were both very sensitive men with rich spiritual lives. They both gave directions for their writings to be burned upon their death. That's about it.

There are two other Jewish men who are prominent in the book, Martin Buber in reference to Kafka and Gershon Scholem in reference to Nachman. Kamenetz tries to tie all of these men together with himself. Maybe it would have worked without the author's own spiritual journey which seemed quite tangential to his analysis.

[Drew]

A fine read for persons interested in Hasids and Kafka. I will read more of both as a result of reading this book.

[Ruth]

Rodger Kamenetz decided to bring his Franz Kafka mug with him on a pilgrimage to Uman for Rosh HaShanah. This book is about that and about the ways that Kafka and Rabbi Nachman approached some issues that were surprisingly central to both of them. You wouldn't expect the secular, early 20th century Kafka and the Hasidic rebbe of the late 18th century to care about the same things. Kamenetz thinks both are dealing with the inner life of the Jewish man--the relationship with God and with one's father, the seeking for spiritual authenticity, the coping with difficult feelings. Kamenetz also finds parallels between Rabbi Nachman's relationship with his amanuensis and Kafka's relationship with Max Brod.

I am not sure why I liked this so much. I think I need a periodic re-encounter with Kafka every so often, and that makes me read some interesting, tangential books. It is frustrating to see Judaism set out as a nearly exclusively masculine experience, as it was on Kamenetz's pilgrimage to Uman. (He is aware of this, commenting on it and on how much he misses his family.)

It's a good book. I recommend it!

[Alexis Krasilovsky]

Such an intimate view of Kafka, and deeply thought-provoking with regards to the impact some of our favorite writers have on our personal, creatives lives.

[ציפורה אמונה]

very interesting book

[Galina]

It's a good book, but I couldn't fully engage in it! I'm surprised I made it through almost 3 quarters of the book.

[Sherwood Smith]

Within the context of his own spiritual journey, the author compares and contrasts Kafka and Rabbi Nachman. I wanted info on Nachman from the Jewish perspective, and that I got.

Kamanetz constantly sent me searching for data on a host of new terms, or to YouTube in hopes of hearing the Nigun that Nachman apparently sang. My research took me into the history of these forms of musical prayer.

I've never liked Kafka's fiction, and as Kamenetz describes the man's life, I understand why. Kafka even knew the effect his fiction would have on people. When talking about how both men demanded that their work be entirely burned after their deaths, Kafka [page 84]:

He took his hands away from his eyes, placed his clenched fists on the table and said in a low, suppressed voice: "One must be silent, if one can't give any help. No one through his own lack of hope should make the condition of the patient worse. For that reason all my scribbling is to be destroyed. I am no light, I have merely lost my way among my own thorns. I'm a dead end."

One can skim through Kamenetz's own spiritual journey, and focus on Kafka and Nachman, if one is reading primarily for historical perspective.

[Janice]

Wheeling from the finesse with which Kamenetz makes his case for similarities between the lives and writings of Rabbi Nachman and Kafka. He had me convinced early on and didn't lose me. A dense book, read over the course of months, and now that I'm done, I have a sense of just getting a taste of the ideas, and now it would be valuable to revisit them.

[Anne Freedman]

Love this book. It is one to be savored and read, put down, thought about, picked up again, perhaps reread again and again. Then......
..think about some more, read some Nachman, read some Kafka, read some Kamenetz.
Just read.

[Joe Huennekens]

Three intertwined narratives that never quite come together

[Jon]

Excellent!

[Alexandra]

Fascinating study of two realllly nutty but kinda inspiring people.