Herbert Zbigniew - famous Polish Poet screams out from his poetry for Rabbi Nachman!

HH

WIKI:

Zbigniew Herbert was a Polish poet, essayist, drama writer and moralist. A member of the Polish resistance movement, Home Army, during World War II, he is one of the best known and the most translated post-war Polish writers. Wikipedia

Born: October 29, 1924, Lviv, Ukraine

Died: July 28, 1998, Warsaw, Poland

Spouse: Katarzyna Dzieduszycka (m. 1968–1998)

Awards: Kościelski Award, Herder Prize, MORE

Nominations: Neustadt International Prize for Literature

PRESSREADER:
Born in 1924 in Lwow, Poland, he described his religion as "Orthodox from my grandmother, Catholic by my father, and all around, evidences of Hasidic culture."

Certainly he had read the tales of the Hasidic master, Rabbi Nachman of Braclaw. To evoke the moral universe of parable, Herbert created his double, Mr. Cogito (Mr. I Think), the fictional protagonist in several of his poems. In Mr. Cogito Seeks Advice, he writes:

"So many books dictionaries bloated encyclopedias but no no one to give advice ... so I wander at night on our father's roads ... I"m looking for you Rebbe .... My heart aches .... Ihave troubles Rabbi Nachman Might give me advice But how do I find him Among so many ashes

(From the LA Times I think):

The climactic final poems in “Mr. Cogito” swell in scale without ever relinquishing their individuality. They are huge and modest. In “Mr. Cogito Seeks Advice,” he puts aside learning to seek the great Hasidic Rabbi Nachman. He goes to the village of Braclaw and calls out for him as though he were still alive. There is no answer; the sunflowers in the fields around the village are black. It is not only Rabbi Nachman who has died--history, the arsonist, has incinerated itself:

*

perhaps rabbi Nachman

could give me advice

but how can I find him

among so many ashes

*

---

longer excerpt different translation:

- I am looking for you rabbi

behind which block of heaven

have you concealed your wise ear

- my heart hurts me rabbi

- I have troubles

he would be able to counsel me

Rabbi Nachman

but how can I find him

among so many ashes

Na Nach Nachma Nachman MayUman