The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart

Bahya Ben Joseph Ibn Pakuda
translated from Arabic by Menahem Mansoor with Sara Arenson and Shoshana Dannhauser
Introduction and notes by Menahem Mansoor

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 Bahya’s 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

Preface and Acknowledgements
Translator’s Introduction
Notes to Translator’s Introduction

The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart Introduction
1 On the Unity of God
2 On the Explanation of the Aspects of Meditation upon Creation and God’s Abundant Grace Shown in It
3 On Our Obligation of Obedience to God
4 On the Reliance upon God Alone
5 On the Pure Devotion of All Acts to God Alone
6 On Humility before God
7 The Explanation of the Aspects of Repentance, What is Essential to It and Its Consequences
8 On Self-Reckoning for God’s Sake
9 On Asceticism, Its Kinds and Advantages 10 On the True Love of God

Appendix (translated by David Goldstein)
Selected Bibliography
General Index
Index of Biblical Passages
Index of Talmudic Passages

The Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart

Contents