 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Sefer Hasidim" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 Frankfurt, 1724 edition | |
| Author | Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg |
|---|---|
| Language | Hebrew |
| Subject | Teachings of theAshkenazi Hasidim |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Media type | |
TheSefer Hasidim orSefer Chassidim (Hebrew:ספר חסידים, Book of the Pious) is a text attributed toJudah ben Samuel of Regensburg (died 1217),[1] a foundation work of the teachings of theAshkenazi Hasidim. It offers an account of the day-to-day religious life ofRabbinic Jews in medieval Germany and their customs, beliefs, and traditions. It presents the combined teachings of the three leaders of German Hasidism during the 12th and 13th centuries:Samuel of Speyer,Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (his son), andEleazar of Worms.[2]
The book contains ethical, ascetic, and mystical teachings, intermingled with elements of German popular belief. It discusses ethics and how they relate to everyday Jewish life, dealing with a variety of topics including piety (heading,Shemuel; so-calledSefer HaYir'ah); (§§ 14–26), reward and punishment, penitence, the hereafter, etc. (heading,Sefer HaḤasidim; so-calledSefer Teshuvah); (§§ 27–489), authorship of the book, pride, the hereafter and retribution, penitence and sinful desires, fasting and fast-days, suspicion, public mortification, martyrdom, etc. (heading,Zeh Sefer ha-Ḥasidim); (§§ 490–638), the Sabbath; (§§ 639–746),tefillin,ẓiẓit,mezuzot, books; (§§ 747–856), the study of the Law; (§§ 857–929), charity; (§§ 930–970), reverence for parents; (§§ 971–1386), piety, worship of God, prayer, visiting the sick, etc.; (§§ 1387–1426), excommunication and oaths; the final paragraphs repeat and amplify upon matter previously discussed.
This text takes into consideration the specific circumstances of these ethical situations including the individual character qualities of the subject, historical and economic context, and the subjects relationship to other people, making it an extremely important text when it comes to everyday Jewish life in medieval Germany.It serves as a guide for how to handle life's common tasks and challenges. There is no other ethical Hebrew text that covers as many topics while retaining close attention to realistic detail as Sefer Hasidim. Sefer Hasidim even served as a final authority on the way of Jewish life for the for authors of Halakah after the 15th century.
It consists, according to the edition of Basel, of 1,172 paragraphs; according to the last edition, of 1,903. Chosen parts have been translated into German by Zunz.[3] TheBook of the Pious is an exceedingly rich source for theKulturgeschichte of the Jews in the Middle Ages.[4]
Sefer Hasidim is not a uniform work, nor is it the product of one author. It appears thatJudah HaHasid most likely was not the sole author of the Sefer Hasidim.[5] It has been said that Samuel he-Ḥasid is the author of the first 26 sections.[6] In its present form the book contains, according to Güdemann, three revisions of the same original work,[7] of which Judah is undoubtedly the author; and both the contents and language of the book indicate that it originated in Germany. Important additions were made also by Judah's pupilEleazar Roḳeaḥ,[8] for which reason the authorship of the whole work has sometimes been ascribed to him. As collectors and copyists used varying recensions, sometimes the same passage occurs two or three times in different parts of theSefer Ḥasidim. Some fragments of other books are inserted.[9]This Hebrew book originated between the late 12th and early 13th centuries in theRhineland, shortly after theSecond Crusade. After this time, it circulated widely. It influenced the distinctive religious practices and Hebrew literary style of Jews inAshkenaz and also shaped the discourse aboutJewish ethics inmedieval Europe and beyond.[10]
The book has been printed many times since 1538.[11]
According to Ivan Marcus, no original text of the Sefer Hasidim ever existed.[12]It is therefore no surprise, then, that thirty-seven manuscripts that include texts from the Sefer Hasidim have been identified.[13] Seventeen of these manuscripts are available online.[14] Some manuscripts are more extensive than others. Two versions of the book are best known: one printed inBologna and another that was found inParma. An edition by Jehuda Wistinetzki based on the most complete source, the Parma manuscript, was published by the Mekitzei Nirdamim Society in 1891 and reprinted in 1955. Recently Otzar haPoskim Institute has published an elaborate version with numerous commentaries.
Some studies address subjects included within Sefer Hasidim. These include the subject of Jewish travel,[15] and the attitude toward music.[16][17] Entertainment and socializing especially among young people has been denigrated by some significant works of Jewish scholarship and law (including Sefer Hasidim andShulkhan Arukh) as frivolity and a distraction from the Torah.[18]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
