Texts of Judaism

The Duties of the Heart: Habits of those that love God

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This is an excerpt from *The Duties of the Heart*, a classical work of medieval Jewish ethical and devotional philosophy by Rabbi Bachya ibn Paquda (11th-century Spain), presented here in a 1909 English translation. The passage describes the spiritual character and inner life of those who have achieved a high level of devotion to God — figures the author calls "lovers of the Eternal." The central argument is that true piety goes beyond outward observance of Torah commandments; it requires an interior transformation in which the soul surrenders its own will entirely to God's, trusting completely in divine providence. Bachya portrays these advanced devotees as people whose worldly desires have been extinguished by the "strong light" of divine service, who remain humble, wise, and meek under provocation, and who supplement Pentateuchal law by studying the Prophets and the practices of the pious to find further ways of doing God's will. A notably distinctive claim is that good intentions and sincere longing to obey count spiritually even when physical weakness prevents their fulfillment. The excerpt will interest readers drawn to Jewish mysticism and ethics, medieval devotional literature, or cross-traditional comparisons of the interior life of sainthood.

The Duties of the Heart: Habits of those that love God

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