JUDAH HE-HASID was the main thinker of the medieval school of German Jewish pietists (Hasidei Ashkenaz). The other two men who fashioned this school were his father, Samuel he-Hasid and his relative, Eleazar ben Judah of Worms. Judah’s influence was strong and a contemporary said of him, “He would have been a prophet had he lived in the time of the prophets.”
Background
Many legends were told or him, but little is known of an life, partly because of his extreme humility which discouraged others from citing his name. He lived for many years in the Rhineland, probably in Speyer, but spent his later years in Regensburg, where he founded a yeshiva (Talmudic academy).
Career
Because he maintained that an author should not acknowledge the authorship of his works, it is difficult to determine which of the writings of the German pietists should be attributed to him. They seem to have included a number of works that were lost or have been preserved only in manuscript or in citations.
He was, however, the main author of the greatest work of his school, Sefer Hasidim (“The Book of the Pious”), which also includes sections written by others, notably his father and Eleazar ben Judah of Worms. The final compilation was probably made by Judah’s disciples after his death. This was the most important manual of piety and ethics of its time. It is practical in its emphasis, covering virtually all aspects of everyday life, including man’s relationship with God (prayer, Sabbath observance, penitence, etc.), business conduct, family life, attitudes to servants and to non-Jews, kindness to animals, rules for education, and even details of table manners and personal conduct.
The fundamentals of conduct cited as are piety, humility, and fear of God. The book also includes much superstition, with legends of wizards, witches, demons and vampires, considerably influenced by German non-Jewish traditions. It includes many stories, some telling of the bravery of Jewish martyrs when attacked by the Crusaders. Despite the hostility of the environment, however, the book teaches a universal love of all men.
Views
Quotations:
FROM JUDAH BEN SAMUEL’S BOOK OF THE PIOUS
• Do not enter into a learned discussion with your guests unless you are assured of their ability, so as not to put them to shame,
• One who causes grievance to another man is as though he has caused grievance to the whole world, for man is a microcosm.
• In speaking with a friend say “You and I,” not “I and you.”
• Better make friends with an ignorant man who is liberal with his money and of a pleasant nature than with a scholar who is mean and irascible.
• Never insult your servants and do not stint in praising them, for the worst quality is ingratitude. Indeed do not even be ungrateful to animals, for riders who stick their spurs in horses will be punished.
• If you have to hire a workman for a specialized job and one candidate can do only that job and the other can also do others, hire the former.
• A good man will not sell an animal to a cruel man.