Sefer Chasidim
Subtitle: The Book of the Pious
Publisher: Jason Aronson
Published: April 28, 1997
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 448
ISBN-13: 9781568219202
Subjects: Judaism; Religion - Judaism; Religion; Judaism - History; Religion / Judaism / General; Early works to 1800; Jewish ethics
Description: Written by Rabbi Yehudah HeChasid in the late twelfth century, Sefer Chasidim is a unique and engaging ethical work that addresses the concerns of everyday life. In this first-ever translation into English, Avraham Yaakov Finkel has reorganized the work topically for clarity and easy reference, at last making this important text available to a wider audience.

Although written more than seven-hundred years ago, the author's observations on the world are strikingly relevant to the contemporary scene. The work of addresses subjects ranging from love of God, Torah study, and the after-life, to choosing a mate, financial matters, and anger. Scattered throughout the book, Rabbi Yehudah HeChasid includes examples of actual life experiences to illustrate moral lessons.

The original work has been a favorite of both scholars and laypeople for its straightforward style, in contrast to other medieval writings on ethics that are largely theoretical and reflective.

Rabbi Yehudah HeChasid was born in Speyer, Germany, ca. 1150, about fifty years after the Jews of the region were massacred in the First Crusade of 1096, and only three years after the mobs of the Second Crusade killed thousands of Jews throughout Germany. He is the most prominent of the chasidei Ashkenaz, the German pietists (not to be confused with the chasidic movement founded by the Baal Shem Tov) who stressed strong and simple faith.

He is also one of the Rishonim, the early Talmudic sages who expounded on the Talmud and halachah - other Rishonim include Rashi, Maimonides, and Nachmanides. Remarkably, the Jewish people of Rabbi Yehudah HeChasid's time were concerned with the same philosophical questions asked by Jews today: While society around us is in constant flux, how can we find inner space? How can we manage to live in harmony with ourselves, our families, and our neighbors? What does God want from us?

The challenged brought by Rabbi Yehudah HeChasid in his stories and teachings is to practice self-examination, to be humble, to refrain from superstition, and to love and serve God. Avraham Yaakov Finkel has brought this important summons alive for the modern reader by rendering Sefer Chasidim into idiomatic English, eliminating some complex, tangential remarks, and reorganizing the work into topics and subtopics - complete with index - while retaining Rabbi Yehudah's engaging style.