Background
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto was born in 1707 in the Jewish Ghetto of Padua, Italy.
(This work is made up of three books written by Rav Moshe ...)
This work is made up of three books written by Rav Moshe Chaim Luzatto, Ramchal, which he considered to contain the key to the Talmud, the "operating system" for the entire Torah She'bal Peh. We all know that the thinking of our Sages is both profound and precise, but the Ramchal was the only one to set down their thought process in an organized, systematic, and complete program that can be taught and reproduced. Contains completely revised editions of two previously printed works, plus one never before translated into English; Hebrew with facing English text, including full-color study charts. The Ways of Reason makes Gemara learning exciting and accessible to every Jew. There are tools for thinking, illustrated by extensive examples from the Gemara; and whether you are a beginner or a veteran in Torah learning, you will see mastery of the Gemara text becoming quicker and easier. The Book of Logic explores key logical concepts of Talmudic analysis that lead us into a world where ideas take on a life of their own. Based on precision and clarity of thinking, you will see that there is no Beis Midrash without new Chiddushim in Torah. The Ramchal stresses that our inherent intellectual powers must be studied, cultivated and nurtured. Conscious awareness of our thinking and our thoughts is the key to the crown of Torah. The Book of Words is a guide to the language of Chazal, using numerous examples from Tanach and Gemara. Drawing on an extraordinary understanding of human nature, Ramchal explains the rules of communication affecting the head and the heart alike. The links in the chain of our Mesora from Rabbi to student are forged from this metal, and Ramchal declares that the writings of the Prophets are virtually inaccessible without this sensitivity to language; the same holds true for the Mussar classics. This work appears here for the first time in an English edition.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1598269682/?tag=2022091-20
( Of all creatures, only the human being was created inco...)
Of all creatures, only the human being was created incomplete in the sense that one must pay conscientious attention over the course of a lifetime to develop and refine one s character and personality. In the Jewish tradition, this development takes on a sacred dimension, and one of the classic guides to outline a clear, progressive path toward spiritual perfection is The Path of the Just. Beginning with an essential essay on Man s Duty in this World, the author methodically charts a course of personal growth like climbing the rungs of a spiritual ladder that ultimately leads to true humility and holiness. The all-new English translation in this current edition captures the nuance and subtle wording of the original Hebrew, and also features convenient shoulder captions that provide an ongoing synopsis of key points in the text. Life is designed to be a soul-stretching experience and The Path of the Just is a manual especially designed to maximize one s spiritual potential.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1598266276/?tag=2022091-20
(This classic 18th century philosophical work explores Div...)
This classic 18th century philosophical work explores Divine regulation of the world through the Ramchal's keen insight and understanding of the complex topic of G-d and His workings. Includes Rabbi Yosef Begun's marginal notes, Ma'amar Ha' Ikarim, and vowelized, facing Hebrew and English texts. New, compact size; Easy to read and carry around!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1598264672/?tag=2022091-20
(Luzzatto's outstanding kabbalistic work is Kela? (= 138) ...)
Luzzatto's outstanding kabbalistic work is Kela? (= 138) Pit?ei ?okhmah, a systematic exposition of the Lurianic Kabbalah. There Luzzatto demonstrates the task which he has undertaken in the history of the Kabbalah: to reveal the internal meaning (nimshal) of the paradigms (meshalim) so numerous in the Lurianic writings, to which they tend to give an anthropomorphic coloring. Luzzatto often quotes from the works of Maimonides; in the same spirit he believes that it will be thus possible to get rid of the main cause of error concerning what is divine: materialization (hagshamah). Rejecting an interpretation which would accept the Lurianic descriptions literally (ki-feshuto) and in a materialistic sense, is for Luzzatto also part of the fight he is leading against Shabbateanism. Kela? Pit?ei ?okhmah is the perfect illustration of the close connection between logic and Kabbalah in the works of Luzzatto. The very structure of that treatise is built on the gradation rule. Each peta? door or chapter - opens with a general principle (kelal), the details or particular aspects of which are then exposed. Before turning to commentary and explaining the themes which are unique to the Lurianic Kabbalah (such as ?im?um), Luzzatto innovates by exposing the principle on which his own kabbalistic doctrine is based: divine unity conceived both as the origin and the finality of creation. He uses the distinction rule to delineate with precision the object of Kabbalah, and details what he means by "divine" (Elohut). He thus refines a principle which was already present in the works of his predecessors, such as Menahem Azarya de Fano, while giving a completely novel interpretation of ?im?um, the act of contraction or withdrawal of the divine infinity (Ein-Sof) which preceded the emanation of sefirot.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00887KA98/?tag=2022091-20
(The sequel to The Ways of Reason, explaining key logical ...)
The sequel to The Ways of Reason, explaining key logical concepts as they are applied to Talmudic analysis. Includes a new workbook supplement by the author. Vowelized Hebrew with facing English and 15 pages of explanatory charts.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/087306707X/?tag=2022091-20
(Ramchal on the Parsha is a collection of various explanat...)
Ramchal on the Parsha is a collection of various explanations from the writings of the famous Ramchal and his student Rav Moshe David Vali. Presenting the words of these two great Jewish thinkers in easily understood English, Ramchal on the Parsha will be of use to the layman, aspiring student and scholar alike. Ramchal on the Parsha combines a simple understanding of the weekly Torah portion with deeper explanations, offering readers a sample of the sweet richness hidden within the words of the Holy Torah.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568717539/?tag=2022091-20
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto was born in 1707 in the Jewish Ghetto of Padua, Italy.
He received classical Jewish and Italian education, showing a predilection for literature at a very early age. He may have attended the University of Padua and certainly associated with a group of students there, known to dabble in mysticism and alchemy. With his vast knowledge in religious lore, the arts, and science, he quickly became the dominant figure in that group. His writings demonstrate mastery of the Tanakh, the Talmud, and the rabbinical commentaries and codes of Jewish law.
His earliest works were lyrical poems and at least one drama, called Migdal Oz (Tower of Strength). Early in his life he took up Cabalistic studies, which were more suited to his poetic sensitivity and intuitive understanding of the world than strictly rabbinic studies. Very soon he claimed to have received communications from angelic voices during mystic trances. Based on these experiences, he composed mystic meditation and Cabalistic theories.
The circle of Luzzato's followers provoked such an impression on the rabbinic authorities that they were reminded of the pseudo-Messiah Sabbatai Zevi, who had shaken world Jewry of his time. They censured Luzzato and exacted a promise from him that he would abstain from Cabalistic writing and surrender his manuscripts to the authorities. It is not clear at this distance whether Luzzato had any conscious intention of proclaiming himself as the Messiah. The messianic fervor created by Sabbatai Zevi in the previous century had not yet died down; many of his followers still believed Sabbatai to be alive and well in a distant country. Indeed, such personal messianism would not really die out in Judaism until the full force of the 18th-century Enlightenment overtook Judaism and concentrated its attention on more worldly interests. At any rate, Luzzato's popularity with his adherents and his mystical explorations seem to have continued even after his censure and abjuration.
Luzzato did not succeed in placating his rabbinic critics, and he was finally forced to leave Padua. He proceeded to Frankfurt and then to Amsterdam. There he became a diamond polisher, but he continued to write his poetry and to meditate on the Cabala. It was here that he composed his most famous works. He wrote a morality play called La-Yesharim Tehillah (Praise for the Upright), in which ethical excellence is illustrated and praised, its good effects lauded, and its redemptive value emphasized. In his well-known poem Mesillat Yesharim (Path of Upright Ones), he treated the same themes but elaborated on them poetically. Happiness and redemption are tied to an ethically good life. The poem rapidly became a classic in Jewish literature and is one of the most widely read of its kind.
Luzzato decided to go to Palestine, and he settled in Acre in 1744. It is not known whether his move was due to his pursuit of messianic ideals or to pressure from the rabbis. He perished in the plague of 1747.
( Of all creatures, only the human being was created inco...)
(This work is made up of three books written by Rav Moshe ...)
(This classic 18th century philosophical work explores Div...)
(Ramchal on the Parsha is a collection of various explanat...)
(Luzzatto's outstanding kabbalistic work is Kela? (= 138) ...)
(The sequel to The Ways of Reason, explaining key logical ...)