<<(RaMCHa'L).>> Mesilath Yesharim ["The Path of the Upright"].

<<First edition of this immensely influential work of ethics.>> Perhaps the most beloved work of Mussar (Ethics) of all time, Mesilath Yesharim is studied in every Yeshiva throughout the Jewish world, whether Hareidi or modern, Lithuanian or Hassidic. Only 31 at the time of publishing, R. Moses Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746) was already an accomplished scholar and Kabbalist. Seeking to disseminate Kabbalistic concepts among the uninitiated, Luzzatto draws heavily upon the teachings of the Arizal while citing few sources. So too, he claimed not to seek to teach new concepts, but rather ‘to reinforce within people what they already know, yet fail to act upon’. Ramchal begins his text by establishing the purpose of life; the attainment of (true) pleasure through rigorous self-betterment. Having argued this in the first few pages, the remainder of the work outlines the path one must take to properly perfect himself. This path is the ‘Path of the Just’, the Mesilath Yesharim for which the book is named. Mesilath Yesharim had a powerful effect on its readers, regardless of their ideological affinities. The Vilna Gaon is to have stated that he would travel to learn at the Ramchal’s feet were he still alive, while the Maggid of Mezeritch noted that the Ramchal’s generation did not deserve his greatness, explaining his untimely death at the age of 39. Indeed, Luzzatto is seen as a forebear of both Chassidism and Lithuanian Mussarism, while at the same time maintaining a mystical aura unique unto himself.