Textualization of the Truth and Crisis of the Tradition: Cabalistics Resonances In The Castle by Franz Kafka

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to identify in the writing/reading of Franz Kafka, from The Castle, the intersection between the problem of the crisis of tradition, raised by Walter Benjamin and Gershom Scholem, and the textualization of the truth that emerges from exegetical practices in the mystical tradition of Judaism, especially in the kabbalistic theory of language. Following the discussion of the main theories present in the bibliographic reference, we will analyze how the writing in Kafka uses the commentary as method, merging exegesis and literary creation. The journey of the character of The Castle, rather than intriguing peripécie, develops, in a parody, an exegetical practice proper to the Jewish tradition. We can conclude that the truth in Kafka is inseparable from the text and commentary, which brings us to the infinitely interpretable Name of God envisioned by the mystical tradition of Kabbalah. In Kafka's writing, the inseparable truth of the labyrinth of interpretations points to the crisis of tradition as an essential feature of its modernity, expressing the boundaries between religion and nihilism.