Derech Hashem

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Derech Hashem (The "Way of God"), written in the 1730s, is a philosophical classic text systematizing the basic principles of Jewish belief regarding the existence of God, God's purpose in Creation, and the logical consequence of other concepts in Judaism, by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the author of the well-known Mesillat Yesharim.

Presented from an underlying Kabbalistic framework, yet presupposing no prior knowledge and without the use of Kabbalistic terminology, this work provides a foundation for understanding the worldview and ideas found in the Zohar, the writings of Rabbi Isaac Luria the Ari'zal and other Kabbalistic and Hassidic works.

The book is organized into four main sections:

1. the general basis of all existence,
2. God's Providence,
3. prophecy, and
4. religious observance.

[edit] External links and references

• References
  • First step on the ladder of ascent, Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum

• Resources
  • Hebrew Fulltext, daat.ac.il
  • Online classes, Rabbi Yaakov Feldman, torah.org
  • The Way of God, Transl. Aryeh Kaplan, Feldheim 1997. ISBN 0-87306-769-X