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

Wilna Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

; was the author of ''

Kav ha-Yashar ''Kav ha-Yashar'' (lit. ''The Just Measure''; קב הישר), authored by Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover (c. 1648–1712), a rabbi at Frankfurt and son of Aaron Samuel Kaidanover, is an "ethical-kabbalistic collection of stories, moral guidance, and cust ...

'' (). He was the son of Rabbi Aaron Samuel Kaidanover and a pupil of Rabbi Joseph ben Judah Jeidel, rabbi of

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

and later of

Dubno Dubno (, ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the capital city, administrative center of Dubno Raion ...

. Rabbi Joseph's teaching exercised a considerable influence upon his pupil, especially in 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 ...

trend of his studies; whereas in the

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

, 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 is a town in Minsk Region, in central Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slutsk District, and is located on the Sluch (Belarus), Sluch River south of the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 59,450. Geography ...

. Fearing another imprisonment, he decided to settle in

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 ...

. 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 most basic 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 An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...

of the author's name (). Rabbi Zebi Hirsch also made 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 ...

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 Manoah ( ''Mānoaḥ'') is a figure from the Book of Judges 13:1-23 and 14:2-4 of the Hebrew Bible. His name means "rest". He is the father of the judge Samson. Family According to the Bible, Manoah was of the tribe of Dan and lived in the cit ...

, under the title "
Simḥat ha-Nefesh
'" (). He died in Frankfurt on Wednesday 23 March 1712, and was buried in 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 ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

, ' 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 Jewish writers from Vilnius