Reviews for Still alive

The average rating for Still alive based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-01-11 00:00:00 Jerry Mcintyre At the start, the names of Polish literary figures had me very confused, even using the guide at the back of the book. Mr. Kott's wartime experiences were intense though they were related in a very matter of fact style. I was especially interested in his personal struggle between maintaining artistic integrity and surviving in Stalinist postwar Poland.

Review # 2 was written on 2007-09-05 00:00:00 Para Jozef This was the only Art Green book they had available, so I got it, half-expecting to be way out of my depth, but it was actually pretty understandable with my meager knowledge of the history of Hasidism. I was able to understand every thing except the most mystifying (ha) parts about Kabbalah. The parallel's between R Nachman's thought and Christianity were often - just BAM in your face. Also: How much of R Nachmans internal pain was a result of just taking teaching about sin too seriously? I think it's fair to say in 2019 that he was also a manic depressive or bipolar or had anxiety or something. Today, Judaism doesn't talk about sin too much, esp liberal ones (especially about sex!), but how do you foster an awareness of it and a desire to avoid it without making yourself an eternal sufferer like R Nachman? Avoiding messianic claims might be a good start! As Green says at one point, since so much of the material by Rebbe Nachman/Nathan of Bratslav is half-concealed allusion to R Nachman's own life, a biography is a logical way to explore his teachings. Nonetheless, the two excurses at the end of the book were both very good outlines of his thoughts, and I had to reread 'Faith, Doubt, and Reason' multiple to feel like I had gotten everything out of - a really really good piece of writing and argument, one that perhaps explains R Nachman's relevance and importance to 'seekers' (as Green puts it) who are living over 200 years since R Nachman passed away. The individual soul's yearning for Gd, confronted with Gd's simultaneous nonexistence and immanence, as the only reason to continue believing and doing...doubt as the sign of faith and the need for continued and strengthened faith...good stuff!!!