Rabbi Ẓebi Hirsch Kaidanover (c. 1650 – 1712), a native of

Wilna Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

; was the author of '' Kav ha-Yashar'' (). He was the son of Rabbi Aaron Samuel Kaidanover and a pupil of Rabbi Joseph ben Judah Jeidel, rabbi of

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

and later of

Dubno Dubno ( uk, Ду́бно) is a city and municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Dubno Raion (district). The city is located on intersection of two major ...

. Rabbi Joseph's teaching exercised a considerable influence upon his pupil, especially in the kabbalistic trend of his studies; whereas in the

Halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

, Rabbi Zebi Hirsch followed more closely his father. In his native place, Rabbi Zebi Hirsch, with his whole family, was thrown into prison on account of a base denunciation, and was forced to languish in chains for years until he was pardoned, his son being retained in prison at

Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...

. Fearing another imprisonment, he decided to settle in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

. In Frankfurt he recovered from the trials through which he had passed and found leisure to engage in literary pursuits. Besides publishing his father's works, which he in part accompanied with notes (as in the case of "''Birkat Shemuel''"), he wrote a book on morals entitled "''Kav ha-Yashar''," being a combination of ethics and asceticism. It has passed through numerous editions since its first appearance at Frankfurt in 1705. The book contains 102 chapters, corresponding to the

numerical value A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

of . "''Ha-Yashar''" is an anagram of the author's name (). Rabbi Zebi Hirsch also made 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 of his work which has often been published together with the Hebrew text (as ed. Sulzbach, 1815). A similar book on morals was written by his son-in-law, Rabbi Manoah Hendel Kirchhahn, under the title "''Simḥat ha-Nefesh''" (). He died at Frankfurt on Wednesday, March 23, 1712, and was buried at Frankfurt. The

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

on his tombstone is given in

Horovitz Horovitz is one of the variants of a surname originating in the Jewish community of Bohemia – bearers of that surname apparently migrated in the middle ages from a small town Hořovice in Bohemia (today the Czech Republic). For detailed historical ...

, "''Frankfurter Rabbinen''," ii. 99. Its bibliography: * Fürst, ' i. 200; *

, ''Frankfurter Rabbinen'', ii. 49 et seq.; *prefaces to '' Ḳab ha-Yashar'', ''Tif'eret Shemuel'', and Emunat Shemuel''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaidanover, Zebi Hirsch 17th-century births 17th-century German rabbis 1712 deaths Rabbis from Frankfurt Rabbis from Vilnius Writers of Musar literature Writers from Frankfurt Writers from Vilnius