''Kav ha-Yashar'' (lit. ''The Just Measure''; קב הישר),
authored by
Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover (c. 1648–1712), a rabbi at
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
and son of
Aaron Samuel Kaidanover,
is an "ethical-
kabbalistic
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ().
Jewi ...
collection of stories, moral guidance, and customs",
[ Moshe Idel: ]
and one of the most popular
works of
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 ...
. It serves as a guide to "
God-fearing piety and to preserving the
norms of the community", framing its teachings in the context of "
individual providence and the
reckoning of sins and merits".
The title of the work alludes to the number of chapters it contains (102, the numerological value of קב ''kav''), as well as the author's middle name (הירש ''Hirsh'' is anagrammatic to ''ha-Y'shar'' הישר).
''Kav ha-Yashar'' was known for uplifting the spirits of Jewish communities in Europe after the
Chmelnitzki Massacres of 1648-1649.
First published in 1705 in
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, it has appeared in over 80 editions in nearly every country with a Jewish community. Kaidanover also prepared a
Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
version, which went through at least 10 editions.
[Introduction to "Sefer Kav HaYashar: The Just Measure", translation by Chaim. Y.]
The work draws on "''Yesod Yosef''", a ''musar'' work infused with the
Kabbalistic
Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ().
Jewi ...
teachings of
Isaac Luria
Isaac ben Solomon Ashkenazi Luria (; #FINE_2003, Fine 2003, p24/ref>July 25, 1572), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as Ha'ari, Ha'ari Hakadosh or Arizal, was a leading rabbi and Jewish mysticism, Jewish mystic in the community of Saf ...
, written by Kaidanover's teacher,
Yosef Yoske of Dubno;
ספרות-המוסר
tarbutil.cet.ac.il ''Kav ha-Yashar'' constitutes "a deliberate effort to popularize Safedian ''Kabbalah'' by adopting a much more understandable style in Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
."
External links
''Kav HaYashar''
(at Sefaria
Sefaria is an online open source, free content, digital library of Jewish texts. It was founded in 2011 by former Google project manager Brett Lockspeiser and journalist-author Joshua Foer. Promoted as a "living library of Jewish texts", Sefaria ...
)
References
{{ethics-book-stub
Jewish philosophical and ethical texts
Hebrew-language religious books
Sifrei Kodesh