chovot halevavot, or á¸¤obot halebabot (hebrew: , english: duties of the heart), is the primary work of the jewish philosopher bahya ibn paquda, full name bahya ben joseph ibn pakuda. ibn paquda was a jewish philosopher and rabbi who seemly lived in saragossa, spain, in the first half of the eleventh century. it was written in judeo-arabic (but in hebrew characters) approximately in 1040 under the title kitab al-hidÄya ilÄ fara'id al-qulÅ«b, book of direction to the duties of the heart, sometimes titled as guide to the duties of the heart, and translated into hebrew by judah ibn tibbon in the years 1161-80 under the title chovot halevavot. there was another contemporary translation by joseph kimhi, but its complete text did not endure the test of time. == organization and influences == the duties of the heart is divided into ten sections termed (she'arim) "gates", corresponding to the ten fundamental principles which, according to bahya's view, constitute human spiritual life. this treatise on the inner spiritual life makes numerous references to both biblical and talmudic texts. it draws on the contemporary sufi islamic influences present in his contemporary medieval spain and also to the classics (translated by the school of hunayn bin ishaq). == contents and message == the essence of all spirituality being the recognition of god as the one maker and designer of all things, bahya makes the "sha'ar hayihud" (gate of the divine unity) the first and foremost section. taking the jewish confession, "hear, o israel: the lord is our god, the lord is one," as a starting-point, the author emphasizes the fact that for religious life it is not so much a matter of the intellect to know god as it is a matter of the heart to own and to love him. bahya held it is not sufficient to accept this belief without thinking, as the child does, or because the fathers have taught so, as do the blind believers in tradition, who have no opinion of their own and are led by others. nor should the belief in god be such as might in any way be liable to be understood in a corporeal or anthropomorphic sense, but it should rest on conviction which is the result of the most comprehensive knowledge and research. far from demanding blind belief, the torah appeals to reason and knowledge as proofs of god's existence. it is therefore a duty incumbent upon every one to make god an object of speculative reason and knowledge, in order to arrive at true faith. without intending to give a compendium of metaphysics, bahya furnishes in this first gate a system of religious philosophy that is not without merit. unfamiliar with avicenna's works, which replaced neoplatonic mysti
Jewish_philosophical_and_ethical_texts