The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart (The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization)

About this book

Bahya Ibn Pakuda was born c. 1050 and lived for some time in Saragossa in Spain. His major work was written in Arabic but it is most well-known by its Hebrew title Hovot ha-Levavot (Duties of the Heart). It enjoyed enormous popularity and was reprinted many times. In the book Bahya investigates the motivation of Jewish practice and embarks on a philosophical enquiry into the nature of God religion and man. He was very much influenced by the Neoplatonism of his age as well as by the Muslim mystics. This edition by Menahem Mansoor is the first translation of the work from the original Arabic text and this shows a number of variations from the Hebrew version. He has added an Introduction and Notes which draw attention to the influences on Bahyas thought and to other relevant material. The accepted and normative translation . . . reliable and readable. This book belongs in even the smallest collections of Judaica as well as of ethical literature. Choice