The fatalism of Der Nister

Stolpce July 2006, originally uploaded by Rachel Meisler.

Let me say few words about Reb Der Nister. There is a strong undercurrent in the entire novel of utter fatalism. The moment Reb Moshe Mashber saw a vision of his fall; he went and bought himself tachrichim. Never mind that there are really 600 pages to go… Perhaps this was a tragic premonition of Der Nister’s own life. But there is strong sense of finality; that everything is predisposed and we can only play out the script. Life for Der Nister is a chess game. He is obsessed about the strategy, how the figures move around and in what combination but there is an inevitable checkmate.

Compared to Grade, Der Nistrer is a more mystical man. The demons are less obvious but there are always present. Before Moshe dies he sees a transformation of his father’s head into a rooster. Der Nister is very visual. The funeral scenes are literal and detailed. Der Nister takes transition to the other world very seriously. I was thinking that perhaps Der Nister himself did not have a proper burial in prison and he was writing about detailed Jewish rituals as if he was reenacting his own final chapter.