(“Rabbeinu Yonah”). Sha’arei Teshuvah [“The Gates of Repentance,” ethics]

Rabbeinu Yonah’s famous treaties on Repentance is the earliest work of ethical literature. The work is divided into four portals. The first is devoted to a definition of repentance; the second to a description of the various ways by which a man should arouse himself to penitence; the third, a classification of the precepts and the punishments meted out for their transgression; and the fourth, a discussion of the conditions of forgiveness. “On the whole, there is a noble spirit of piety and morality permeating the book which sets up a standard of life at times difficult to follow, yet an ideal worth striving for.” M. Waxman, Vol. II pp.273-274. Though it is said that Rabbeinu Yonah of Gerona was in contact with R. Isaac the Blind (son of R. Abraham b. David (Ra'avad) of Posquières) concerning issues of Kabbalah, the present work, Sha'arei Teshuvah, would appear free of all kabbalistic influence. This is in glaring contrast to the Bible commentary of Rabbeinu Yonah's famous cousin and townsman, Nachmanides, which is infused with the kabbalistic tradition of Provence. See EJ, Vol. X, cols. 179-81