TURN ASIDE FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD ~ THE LITTMAN LIBRARY OF JEWISH CIVILIZATION Dedicated to the memory of LOUIS THOMAS SIDNEY LITTMAN who founded the Littman Library for the love ofGod and as an act ofcharity in memory ofhis father JOSEPH AARON LITTMAN 111::1 D1:>l Nil~ 'Get wisdom, get understanding: Forsake her not and she shall preserve thee' PROV. 4: 5 The Littman Library oJJewish Civilization is a registered UK charity Registered charity no. 1000784 Turn Aside from Evil and Do Good An Introduction and a Way to the Tree of Life ZEVI HIRSCH EICHENSTEIN English translation by LOUIS JACOBS With an Introduction and Extensive Annotations Oxford · Portland, Oregon The Littman Library ofJewish Civilization The Littman Library ofJewish Civilization Chief Executive Officer: Ludo Craddock Managing Editor: Connie Webber PO Box 645, Oxford oxz OUJ, UK www.littman.co. uk Published in the United States and Canada by The Littman Library ofJewish Civilization clo JSBS, 920 NE 58th Avenue, Suite 300 Portland, Oregon 97213-3786 First published in Hebrew as Sur mera va 'aseh tov [ 1832] First hardback edition in English 1995 First paperback edition in English 1995 First digital on-demand edition 2012 English translation and editorial matter© Louis Jacobs 1995 All rights resen:ed. No part ofthis publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or kY any means, without the prior permission in writing of The Littman Library ofJewish Civilization This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way oftrade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form ofbinding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Libra~y Library ofCongress cataloging-in-publication data Tsevi Hirsh, mi-Ziditshov, d. 18JI [Sur me-ra va- 'aieh tov. English] Turn aside from evil and do good: an introduction and a way to the Tree ofLife I Zevi Hirsch Eichenstein: English translation by Louis Jacobs with an introduction and extensive annotations. p. cm. Includes an English translation ofnotes by Zevi Elimelech Dynow. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Cabala-Apologetic works. 2. Hasidism-Apologetic works. I. Jacobs, Louis. II. Dynow, Zei-i Elimelech, 1785-1841 Selections, English, 1995· Ill. Title BM525.T7513 1995 296.1'6--dc20 94-436II GIP ISBN 978-1--874774-11-2 Publishing co-ordinator: Janet Moth Copy-editing: Connie Webber Proof-reading: Anna Zaranko and Connie Webber Index: Meg Davies Design: Pete Russell, Faringdon, Oxon. Printed in Great Britain by Lightning Source UK, Milton Keynes, in the United States kY Lightning Source US, La Vergne, Tennessee, and in Australia by Lightning Source Australia, Scoresby, Victoria. This book has been printed digitally and produced in a standard specification in order to ensure its continuing availability. IN MEMORY OF MY PARENTS AND PARENTS-IN-LAW Harry and Lena Jacobs Isser and Jane Lisagorsky Preface THE book translated here, Sur mera va'aseh tmJ, by Zevi Hirsch Eichen­ stein (1763-1833), is unique in its blending of classical kabbalah with the approach of Beshtian Hasidism. The translation is fairly literal, although some concessions have been made for the modern reader. As the more technical terms defy simple translation, they are generally given in trans­ literation and explained in the notes. From the second edition onwards the work has appeared with the notes and comments of R. Zevi Elimelekh of Dynow. These notes have been helpful for the elucidation of the author's meaning and are reproduced as appropriate along with my own, their source being indicated by Z.E. for Zevi Elimelekh. Before tackling the translation itself, the reader is advised to read first the Introduction for the historical background. The section in the Intro­ duction on kabbalah should certainly be read, since Eichenstein's text refers again and again to kabbalah and its technical terms. Eichenstein quotes from all the traditional sources of Judaism; in the notes these are cited in the abbreviated form used in the Encyclopedia Judaica. Details of these works are given in the Bibliography, together with a short list of general works relevant to the book. London L.J. 1994 Contents Note on Transliteration xi Translator's Introduaion xiii TURN ASIDE FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD Turn Aside from Evil And Do Good Written Uprightly, Words of Truth Bibliography Index ofBiblical References Index ofRabbinic Works Index ofReferences to the Zohar Subjea Index Note on Transliteration THE transliteration of Hebrew in this book reflects a consideration of the type of book it is, in terms of its content, purpose, and readership: in order to make the book as accessible as possible to the interested public, the system adopted reflects a broad approach to transcription rather than the narrower approaches found in the Encyclopedia Judaica or other systems developed for text-based or linguistic studies. The aim has been to reflect correct pronunciation, and to do so using conventions that are generally familiar to the average English-speaking reader of texts on Judaism rather than those that are found in very scholarly works aimed at a specialist readership. In accordance with this approach, no attempt is made to indicate the distinctions between alef and ayin, tet and taf, kaf and kof, sin and samekh, since these are not relevant to pronunciation. The dagesh is not indicated except where it affects pronunciation; the often-used convention of doub­ ling the letter in which the dagesh occurs would in any case not be helpful in a work in which gematriot-mathematical manipulations performed on the numerical value of individual letters-are so important to understanding the text. The exception has been with certain well-established transcrip­ tions that will be familiar to the majority of readers, and which are in any case not the subject of Eichenstein's gematriot. Likewise, the distinction between het and khaf has been retained, using h for the former and kh for the latter; the associated forms are generally familiar to readers, even if the distinction is not actually borne out in pronunciation. In general, though, the use of diacritics has been avoided: the tzadik is rendered tz, and the shin by sh. Since no distinction is made between alef and ayin, they are indicated by an apostrophe only in intervocalic positions where a failure to do so could lead an English reader to pronounce the vowel cluster as a diphthong or otherwise mispronounce the word. The sheva na is indicated by an e, as in devekut and berit. The yod is represented by an i when it occurs as a vowel (ein, pen), and by ay when it occurs as a consonant (yetzer). The letter e is in fact used for the three Hebrew vowels sheva na, segol, and the diphthong tzere, except at the end of words where e is used, in order to avoid possible mispronunciations. xii Note on Transliteration Following the principle of using conventions familiar to the majority of readers, transcriptions of proper names that are well established have been retained even when they are not fully consistent with the system adopted. All Hebrew words are italicized, except for proper nouns, which are rendered in roman characters with the initial letter capitalized. This latter convention is in fact often ignored in works on Jewish subjects, but it has been used here because it helps to clarify the nature of the reality being described. The various names of God in Hebrew are treated as other proper nouns (Elohim, Ein Sof, and so on). The same system has been followed for the names of the sefirot (Da'at, Binah, and so on), reflecting the fact that these represent God in His different aspects-different names of God-rather than the mere qualities ascribed to Him. The Tetragram­ maton and other names of God that are acronymic in nature are rendered in small capitals. In transliterating the titles of books, the convention followed has been to capitalize only the first word, since Hebrew in any case has no capitals. The titles of parts of works are given in roman characters; thus the parashot into which the Pentateuch is divided for purposes of the weekly synagogue readings (e.g. 'Mishpatim') are not italicized. Needless to say, it is difficult to impose a transliteration system entirely rigorously and consistently, but it is hoped that the solutions that have been proposed here will indeed help readers understand the nature of the different concepts while also contributing to the typographic harmony of the printed page. TRANSLATOR'S INTRODUCTION EVI HIRSCH EICHENSTEIN was born in 1763, three years after the Z death of Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Hasidic movement, at a time when, under the leadership of the Maggid ofMezhirech (d. 1772), the movement had begun to win adherents in eastern Europe. Eichenstein's birthplace is given variously as Sambor or the neighbouring townlet of Safrin in eastern Galicia but he became known as R. Hirschele Zhidach­ over (or simply 'the Zhidachover'), after the nearby town where he func­ tioned as a Hasidic master. He was introduced by his younger brother, Moshe, to R.Jacob Isaac ofLublin (1745-1815), the famous disciple of the Maggid known as the Seer of Lublin, and became his devoted follower while at the same time cultivating his own original approach to Hasidism. As with many other Hasidic masters, the accounts of Eichenstein's life and career have been so mingled with pious legend that it is now extremely difficult to reconstruct his biography.