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''Orchot Tzaddikim'' (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: ארחות צדיקים) is a book on
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
ethics written in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
in the 15th century, entitled ''Sefer ha-Middot'' by the author, but called ''Orḥot Ẓaddiḳim'' by a later copyist. Under this title a
Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
translation, from which the last chapter and some other passages were omitted, was printed at Isny in 1542, although the Hebrew original did not appear until some years later (
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, 1581). Subsequently, however, the book was frequently printed in both languages. The author of the work is unknown, although Güdemann (''Gesch.'' iii. 223) advances the very plausible hypothesis that he was Lipmann Mühlhausen.


The book

Most of the book is not original writing; it is following the order of "The Improvement of the Moral Qualities" by Solomon ibn Gabirol, adding paragraphs from many of
Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
' works, and ideas from the famous ethical writings "Shaarei Tshuva" (by Rabbenu Yona of Gerona) and ''
Chovot HaLevavot ''Chovot HaLevavot'', or ''Ḥobot HaLebabot'' (; he, חובות הלבבות; English: ''Duties of the Hearts''), is the primary work of the Jews, Jewish rabbi, Bahya ibn Paquda, full name ''Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda''. Rabbi Ibn Paquda is bel ...
''. The ''Orḥot Ẓaddiḳim,'' which was designed to be a very popular code of ethics, contains the following maxims among others: * "It is evil pride to despise others, and to regard one's own opinion as the best, since such an attitude bars progress, while egotism increases bitterness toward others and decreases thine own capability of improvement" (ch. i.). * "Be just and modest in association with others, and practice humility even toward the members of the household, toward the poor, and toward dependents. The more property thou hast, the greater should be thy humility, and thy honor and beneficence toward mankind" (ch. ii.). * "Be kind to thy non-Jewish servants; make not their burdens heavy, nor treat them scornfully with contemptuous words or blows" (ch. viii.). * "Forget not the good qualities thou lackest, and note thy faults; but forget the good that thou hast done, and the injuries thou hast received" (ch. xx.). * "Abash not him who hath a bodily blemish, or in whose family there is some stain. If one hath done evil and repented, name not his deed in his presence, even in jest, nor refer to a quarrel which has been ended, lest the dead embers be rekindled" (ch. xxi.). In ch. xxvii. the author bitterly attacks the pilpul method of study, reproves his countrymen who engage in this method of
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
study, and reproaches those who neglect the study of the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
and of all sciences.


Authorship

According to Rabbi
Gil Student Gil Ofer Student (born August 8, 1972) is the Book Editor of the Orthodox Union's Jewish Action magazine; former Managing Editor of OU Press, and an Orthodox Jewish blogger who writes about the interface between different facets of Judaism, spe ...
, "Orechos Tzadikim is an anonymous mussar sefer that has enjoyed a lasting impact on Judaism. It is surprising that the sefer was never attributed to anyone...we can state with certainty is that the author lived in or after the early 14th century. Despite being influenced by the German Chasidim, he was a follower of the French Ba’alei Ha-Tosafos. We can suggest that the author lived in the late 14th century in France or among French exiles, but not in Germany or Spain. There is speculation that the book was authored by a female, owing to the author's heavy reliance on biblical passages as sources, as opposed to Talmudic passages, and choosing to publish anonymously. However, publishing anonymously may merely indicate the author's very example of character development. Additionally, notwithstanding the author's frequent usage of biblical sources, the author was clearly well versed in Talmudic passages and at one point sharply criticizes the pilpul method of Talmud study, recommending a more traditional approach. There is, however, internal evidence that the author may have been thinking within the world of women at the time, such as the use of cooking metaphors.


Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

* Zunz, Z. G. p. 129; * Benjacob, Oẓar ha-Sefarim, p. 51, No. 989; * Güdemann, Gesch. iii. 223 et seq.; *Winter and Wünsche, Die Jüdische Litteratur, iii. 639–641.


References


External links


Jewish Encyclopedia article for Orchot Tzaddikim
by Isidore Singer and
Jacob Zallel Lauterbach Jacob Zallel Lauterbach (1873–1942) was an American Judaica scholar and author who served on the faculty of Hebrew Union College and composed responsa for the Reform movement in America. He specialized in Midrashic and Talmudical literature, ...
. *
Sefer ha-Middot - Orhot Zaddikim
' – Images of manuscripts and early printed editions (PDF); ''Simanei Sefer ha-Middot'' (a lost section of ''Orhot Zaddikim'' recovered from the earliest extant manuscript of the book); notes on manuscripts, editions, and the time period of the anonymous author. All material available under an open content license. * Orchot Tzaddikim at Hebrew Wikisource (full text in Hebrew). {{JewishEncyclopedia
Orchot Tzaddikim
for android. Jewish philosophical and ethical texts Jewish medieval literature Hebrew-language religious books Sifrei Kodesh