Jump to content

Kav ha-Yashar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by AndyFielding (talk | contribs) at 02:16, 4 February 2021 ((Numerals are generally used for numbers over ten.)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Kav ha-Yashar (lit. The Just Measure; קב הישר) authored by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover (1648–1712), is one of the most popular works of musar literature of the last 300 years. First published in 1705 in Frankfurt am Main, it has appeared in over 80 editions, in nearly every country in the world. It was famous for uplifting the spirits of Jewish communities in Europe after the Chmelnitzki Massacres of 1648-1649.[1]

Moshe Idel has described Kav Ha-Yashar as an "ethical-kabbalistic collection of stories, moral guidance, and customs" which "reflects a deliberate effort to popularize Safedian Kabbalah by adopting a much more understandable style in Hebrew."[2]

References

  1. ^ Davis, Rabbi Avrohom (2007). Kav haYashar. Monsey, NY: Eastern Book Press. pp. xxvii.
  2. ^ http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Mysticism_and_Mystical_Literature