''Reshit Chochmah'' is an important book of

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...

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Jewish mysticism Academic study of Jewish mysticism, especially since Gershom Scholem's ''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'' (1941), distinguishes between different forms of mysticism across different eras of Jewish history. Of these, Kabbalah, which emerged in 1 ...

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns m ...

and

morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

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Musar literature Musar literature is didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards character improvement. This literature gives the name to the Musar movement, in 19th century Lithuania, but this article considers such l ...

''), written by the 16th century scholar Rabbi

Eliyahu de Vidas Eliyahu de Vidas (1518–1587, Hebron) was a 16th-century rabbi in Ottoman Palestine. He was primarily a disciple of Rabbis Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (known as the ''Ramak'') and also Isaac Luria.Fine 2003, pp81 "Cordovero was the teacher of what ...

. It is based largely on the

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

. Its name literally translates into “the beginning of Wisdom”, in allusion to the Biblical verse "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom".

Overview

''Reshit Chochmah'' describes a method of meditation that combines visualization and permutation of Hebrew letters, and is intended to inspire the reader with a sense of purity and holiness, if studied on a regular basis. The book presents a combination of ethical and moral teaching with Kabbalah. The book shows the path to the uninitiated to enter the world and wisdom of Kabbalah. In a very easy and understandable style, the book explains to the reader the ways to attain the higher level of Divine awareness which the Holy One wishes for His beloved people,

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The book has continued to be popular ever since its publication. Kabbalah texts Hebrew-language names Kabbalistic words and phrases Sifrei Kodesh {{Hebrew-lang-stub