''Derech HaShem'' (The "Way of the Name") is a

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

text written in the early 1740s by Rabbi

Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ( he, משה חיים לוצאטו, also ''Moses Chaim'', ''Moses Hayyim'', also ''Luzzato'') (1707 – 16 May 1746 (26 ''Iyar'' 5506)), also known by the Hebrew acronym RaMCHaL (or RaMHaL, ), was a prominent Itali ...

. It is considered one of the quintessential handbooks of Jewish thought. The text covers a vast gamut of philosophical topics in the vast spectrum of classical Judaism's outlook on the world. These topics include the purpose of creation, the Creator, human responsibility, the spiritual realms, providence, Israel and the nations, astrology, the human soul,

theurgy Theurgy (; ) describes the practice of rituals, sometimes seen as magical in nature, performed with the intention of invoking the action or evoking the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis (uniting w ...

, prophecy, the study of Torah, prayer, and the function of ''

mitzvah In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; he, מִצְוָה, ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discus ...

'' observance. All these are brought in a clear flowing structure that builds on previous topics.

Principles

The text systematizes the basic principles of

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 ...

belief regarding the

existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorize ...

, God's purpose in

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...

, and the

logical consequence Logical consequence (also entailment) is a fundamental concept in logic, which describes the relationship between statements that hold true when one statement logically ''follows from'' one or more statements. A valid logical argument is on ...

of other concepts in Judaism. The reader is led from thought to idea, from idea to a logical whole of the structure of Jewish belief. One of its core assertions is that man was created for the purpose of earning closeness to the creator by struggling against evil inclinations. According to Luzzatto, the world calls for ''mesiras nefesh'' in order to retain sanctity and overcome evil. This is the concept interpreted as the "devotion to Hashem to the extent of total self-negation". It, therefore, outlines ideals concerning daily living. For instance, it maintains that ''hashem'' increases self-esteem whereas dependence on others for sustenance diminishes it. Presented from a

Kabbalistic 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 ...

perspective, yet presupposing no prior knowledge and without the use of Kabbalistic terminology, this work provides a foundation for understanding the

worldview A worldview or world-view or ''Weltanschauung'' is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the whole of the individual's or society's knowledge, culture, and point of view. A worldview can include natural ...

and ideas found in the throughout Jewish works on these topics. The book is organized into four main sections: the general basis of all existence, God's Divine Providence and interface with Creation,

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or p ...

and the Human soul, and practical religious observance.

References

External links

Hebrew Fulltext
daat.ac.il
Lecture series (in English) elucidating the whole of Derech Hashem & Ma'amer HaIkkarim

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman, torah.org * ''The Way of God'', trans.

Aryeh Kaplan Aryeh Moshe Eliyahu Kaplan ( he, אריה משה אליהו קפלן; October 23, 1934 – January 28, 1983) was an American Orthodox rabbi, author, and translator, best known for his Living Torah edition of the Torah. He became well known as ...

, Feldheim 1997.
First step on the ladder of ascent
Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum 1730s books Jewish philosophical literature Kabbalah texts Hebrew-language religious books {{Kabbalah-stub