The work Mesillat Yesharim was composed by the influential RabbiMoshe Chaim Luzzato (1707-1746) in 1740 when living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and published in the same city. It is quite different from Luzzato's other writings, which are more philosophical.
Mesillat Yesharim is probably Luzzato's most influential work, forming part of the curriculum of virtually every yeshiva after being introduced there by the Mussar Movement of RabbiYisrael Salanter.
Aim of the work
The aim of the work is the perfection of character. Rather than innovating a new system, Luzzato builds his work on a Beraita in the name of the sage Pinchas ben-Yair as mentioned in the Talmud:
Luzzato clarifies what each term means, how it can be acquired and what might distract from its acquisition. For example: watchfulness can be acquired by setting aside time for introspection, and acquiring watchfulness can be impaired by excessive mundane responsibilites, wrong company or a cynical stance in life. The same pattern is used for every single one of the traits mentioned.
Influence
Mesillat Yesharim is perhaps the most important Jewishethical text of the post-Middle Ages period. The Vilna Gaon commented that he couldn't find a superfluous word in the first seven chapters of the work, and stated that he would have traveled to meet the author and learn from his ways if he'd still been alive. These and similar pronouncements largely cleared Luzzato from misgivings by others as to his suspected Sabbatean leanings.
The MesillatYesharim ("Path of the Just") is an ethical text composed in 1740 by the influential Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746).
MesillatYesharim is probably Luzzato's most influential work, forming part of the curriculum of virtually every yeshiva since being introduced by the Mussar Movement of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter.
MesillatYesharim is perhaps the most important Jewish ethical text of the post-Middle Ages period.
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