{"product_id":"a-permanent-beginning-yitzhak-lewis-9781438477671","title":"A Permanent Beginning: R. Nachman of Braslav and Jewish Literary Modernity","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSituates a Hasidic master in the context of his time, demonstrating his formative influence on Jewish literary modernity.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Hasidic leader R. Nachman of Braslav (1772-1810) has held a place in the Jewish popular imagination for more than two centuries. Some see him as the (self-proclaimed) Messiah, others as the forerunner of modern Jewish literature. Existing studies struggle between these dueling readings, largely ignoring questions of aesthetics and politics in his work. \u003ci\u003eA Permanent Beginning\u003c\/i\u003e lays out a new paradigm for understanding R. Nachman's thought and writing, and, with them, the beginnings of Jewish literary modernity. Yitzhak Lewis examines the connections between imperial modernization processes in Eastern Europe at the turn of the eighteenth century and the emergence of \"modern literature\" in the storytelling of R. Nachman. Reading his tales and teachings alongside the social, legal, and intellectual history of the time, the book's guiding question is literary: How does R. Nachman represent this changing environment in his writing? Lewis paints a nuanced and fascinating portrait of a literary thinker and creative genius at the very moment his world was evolving unrecognizably. He argues compellingly that R. Nachman's narrative response to his changing world was a major point of departure for Jewish literary modernity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Yitzhak Lewis\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1438477678\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781438477671\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e State University of New York Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 242\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.69d","brand":"Yitzhak Lewis","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48065579778303,"sku":"9781438477671","price":99.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_4ffa4718-35ba-4cb6-9ae4-63ea35073275.jpg?v=1768675908","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/a-permanent-beginning-yitzhak-lewis-9781438477671","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}