Naḥman ben Simḥah of Bratslav

Naḥman ben Simḥah of Bratslav

▪ Hasidic rabbi
Naḥman ben Simḥah also spelled  Nakhmen ben Simkhe 
born 1772, Medzhibozh, Podolia, Pol. [now in Ukraine]
died 1811, Uman, Ukraine, Russian Empire

      Hasidic rabbi and teller of tales, founder of the Bratslaver Hasidic sect.

      The great-grandson of the Baʿal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement, Naḥman was an ascetic from childhood. Married at age 13, he became a self-appointed religious leader and teacher at about age 20. After studying (1798–99) in Tiberius, Palestine, he returned home and declared himself the “true zaddik (tzaddiq)” (righteous man) of his generation, the one who would renew the Hasidic movement. Naḥman gained a following among Hasidim but made enemies among mainstream Hasidic leaders who opposed his messianic presumptions. He moved to Bratslav in 1802, where he led a group of Hasidim.

      Naḥman was noted for the parables, folklore, and mythic tales he told to prepare his followers to worship God. Rabbi Nathan Sternharz, his disciple, compiled and wrote down his teachings, which emphasized faith in the zaddik as a father confessor and mediator between God and man; the need to redeem the world from evil through simple faith; prayer, even if in Yiddish instead of Hebrew; repentance through fasting and self-punishment; and religiosity expressed through song and dance.

Additional Reading
Arthur Green, Tormented Master: A Life of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (1979, reissued as Tormented Master: The Life and Spiritual Quest of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav, 1992); Ora Wiskind-Elper, Tradition and Fantasy in the Tales of Reb Nahman of Bratslav (1998).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Nahman de Bratslav — …   Wikipédia en Français

  • NAḤMAN OF BRATSLAV — (1772–1810), ḥasidic admor ( master, rabbi, and teacher ) and fertile thinker in the fields of philosophy and literature. His personality and his work resonate to this day far beyond the boundaries of the ḥasidic stream he founded. On his mother… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Yiddish literature — Introduction       the body of written works produced in the Yiddish language of Ashkenazic (Ashkenazi) Jewry (central and eastern European Jews and their descendants).       Yiddish literature culminated in the period from 1864 to 1939, inspired …   Universalium

  • ḤASIDISM — ḤASIDISM, a popular religious movement giving rise to a pattern of communal life and leadership as well as a particular social outlook which emerged in Judaism and Jewry in the second half of the 18th century. Ecstasy, mass enthusiasm, close knit …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • KABBALAH — This entry is arranged according to the following outline: introduction general notes terms used for kabbalah the historical development of the kabbalah the early beginnings of mysticism and esotericism apocalyptic esotericism and merkabah… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • ADEL — (Hodel), only daughter of …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • POLAND — POLAND, republic in E. Central Europe; the kingdom of Poland and the grand duchy of Lithuania united formally (Poland Lithuania) in 1569. This article is arranged according to the following outline: the early settlements jewish legal status… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”