Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav was one of the great Chasidic writers of the early modern period, and this Pushkin Press translation of his tales of rabbis, robbers, princes and paradoxes is a treasure
March 7, 2025 12:51
In the past few years Pushkin Press has translated numerous great modern Jewish writers, some famous, such as Joseph Roth, Isaak Babel and Stefan Zweig, others such as Antal Szerb and Itzik Manger, less well known. Now they have published a new translation of the Essential Tales of Rabbi Nachman.
Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav (1772-1810) was one of the great Chasidic writers of the early modern period. He was “Chasidic royalty”, writes Adam Kirsch in his superb introduction. His mother was the granddaughter of the Baal Shem Tov, and his uncle Baruch was an important rabbi in his own right.
“The Tales of Rabbi Nachman,” Kirsch continues, “are like nothing else in Chasidic literature. They are full of paradoxes and esoteric symbolism. They even anticipate the dark parables of Franz Kafka.” This collection gathers 13 stories, newly translated, under the title The Podolian Nights.
Why The Podolian Nights? Podolia is an enormous area that includes huge parts of Ukraine and north-east Moldova. It changed hands throughout its history and in the year Rabbi Nachman was born it was annexed by the Austrian and Russian Empires. There are three crucial facts about Podolia. Its terrible rural poverty, its history of appalling violence, including an infamous massacre in 1768 and it was a centre of Chasidic Judaism. Perhaps this terrible history of conquest and violence explains the atmosphere of violence and conflict that run through the book.
There is a prevailing sense of a world in disarray that haunts these tales, a world of wise men and rabbis, of merchants and princes, but also, crucially, a world of Satan and demons. Can such a world be healed or must Jews wait “until the Messiah comes”?
As in the stories of the Brothers Grimm, characters set off into the world and encounter robbers, demons and sorcerers
But more than anything, these stories read like folk tales. They often begin “Once there was a king” or “Once there was a wise man”. As in the stories of the Brothers Grimm, characters set off into the world and encounter robbers, demons and sorcerers. Sometimes there are references to Jews or rabbis, but underlying many of these tales there is a powerful sense of the need to repair the world. Characters constantly lose their way or lose someone important to them. But despite such confusion, the stories usually end on a note of resolution. One finishes with the line, “The tzaddik came and announced that now the prince would be healed. And healed he was.” Another concludes “all of the demons were obliterated and none were left”. The last story ends “and there was great celebration and they were very merry”. This is a fascinating introduction to one of the great Jewish writers of the late 18th century.
The Podolian Nights: Essential Tales
By Nachman of Bratslav
Pushkin Press Classics, £10.99