Language:
Hebrew
Year of publication:
2021
Titel der Quelle:
דרך ספר; שי לזאב גריס
Angaben zur Quelle:
(2021) 213-242
Keywords:
Yitsḥaḳ ben Eliʻezer,
;
Yitsḥaḳ ben Eliʻezer,
;
Kahana, Mosheh.
;
Jewish ethics 14th century
Abstract:
The article discusses two works of conduct literature (Regiment Vitae) from different periods that were printed together in one book, as well as a third work which was also included with them in later editions. The first, Sefer hagan by Rabbi Isaac ben Elazar, was apparently penned in the fourteenth century. It exhibits characteristics found in the writings by the German pietists (Hasidei Ashkenaz), although the influence of works by Rabbi Jonah Gerondi (or those attributed to him) is even more manifest. The writer's intention was not – as is evident from his own words – to present a new approach to morality(musar ) but rather to provide a succinct text that would guide people towards apious way of life. As such, each of the seven chapters – one for each day of theweek – concerns (for the most part) a central theme. It also contains three storieswhich illustrate the issues at hand, two of which were frequently cited by sages throughout the generations in numerous texts.The second work is Derekh Moshe, written by the "preacher" Rabbi Moses son of Rabbi Meir Kahana. This text was first printed in Amsterdam in 1669 and againin Dyhernfurth in 1734. It was printed for a third time in Lemberg in 1722, together with Sefer hagan and under the title Sefer hagan ve Derekh Moshe. The thirteen chapters of Derekh Moshe were to be read daily from the eighth until the twentiethdays of the month, directly after Sefer haganand complementing it. The printer, Rabbi Avraham son of Rabbi Judah Leib of Brody, also included in this edition a text of his own composition, entitled Likutei tokhahat musar (known also as Likutei sapirim). It contains nine chapters, one to be read each day from the twenty-first to the twenty-ninth days of the month. Until the present day, around twenty editions have been printed in this format. Rabbi Moses sought to improve the spiritual lives of the uneducated classes, mainly those living in rural areas, whom the large communities considered "half-Jewish." His work was intended for the purpose of self-admonishment: it would lead readers to repair the distortions apparent in their religious lives, especially with regard to prayers. Similarly to other sages of his time, he drew support from the writings of kabbalists, foremost among them the Ari (Rabbi Yitzhak Luria).In the opinion of the author of this article, Derekh Moshe constitutes a typical example of a work written by wandering preachers at a time when signs of religious laxity were becoming increasingly evident among the residents of villages and rural towns. This applied particularly to the western areas of the Ashkenazi diaspora, for example Moravia, where the author of the Derekh Moshe resided, preached, and served for some time as rabbi of the small town of Gewitsch, south of Prague.
Note:
With an English summary.
URL:
אתר את הפרסום בקטלוג המאוחד של ספריות ישראל
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