The study group which young Moses Hayyim Luzzatto founded in Padua, the regulations of which are here presented in a translation prepared for Schocken Books (the original Hebrew text was published by Simon Ginzburg in The Life and Works of Moses Hayyim Luzzatto, Philadelphia, 1931), was actually a community of mystics. One among them drew up these rules, and the text indicates that the members of the group—some older than their leader Luzzatto—had more in mind than the study of the Zohar. Uninterrupted study and a saintly conduct of life aimed at “the restoration of the Divine Presence and . . . of all Israel.”

Moses Hayyim Luzzatto, born in Padua in 1707, is considered a forerunner of modern Hebrew secular poetry. In his lyric and dramatic verse, Luzzatto—who was well acquainted with Italian literature—employs purely human motifs: the beauty of nature, love, friendship; his language is clear and simple, and his style is free from the rigid forms of the past. Yet it should not be forgotten that the essence of Luzzatto’s life was mysticism. The day came when Luzzatto forsook almost entirely his poetic work to devote himself to the passionate study of Cabala. Luzzatto was attracted by Isaac Luria’s doctrine of tikkun, the mystical process of “restoration” that heals the broken, imperfect state of our life and effects a return of all things to their original contact with God. It was the Lurianic Cabala that prepared the way for both the pseudo-Messianism of Sabbatai Zevi in the 17th century and the Hasidic religious revival of the 18th. Luzzatto stands between these two movements, daring to be a mystic after the collapse of the Sabbatianic heresy, and in many ways anticipating some basic tenets of Hasidism (e. g., the central and redemptive position of the religious leader, the zaddik, in the community).

Luzzatto was more than a student of mysticism and skillful popularizer of Cabala. Experiencing states of mystical ecstasy, he—it is now assumed—must early have felt a call to initiate a new Messianic movement that should accomplish nothing less than the redemption of Israel and the world. A new “Book of Psalms” which he had composed in his youth was to be substituted for the original Davidic one—“when the Messiah comes.” He ascribed his mystical writings to the inspiration of a voice from Heaven which revealed to him “hidden secrets of the Holy King.”

It is intriguing to imagine what might have come of such a group if it had been permitted to grow and develop. But its life was cut short by the scholars of the time, led by the rabbis of Hamburg, Frankfort, and Venice, who saw in Luzzatto’s thinking and in his activities a danger to middle-of-the-road Judaism. Luzzatto’s manuscripts were confiscated, it was forbidden to read his writings, and he (not yet thirty) was enjoined by the rabbis against any further study of the Cabala until he should have reached the age of forty. Luzzatto left Padua to go to Amsterdam, where the Sephardic community welcomed the ostracized mystic and poet. In Amsterdam, Luzzatto supported himself by lens-cutting; here he wrote his Mesillat Yesharim (“Path of the Upright”), a work of classical Jewish ethics that avoids open references to Cabala without, however, abandoning his original mystic-Messianic position.

The approach of his fortieth year moved Luzzatto to leave Europe for Palestine: it was there he desired to resume his mystical studies and activities. But he did not live to be forty. He and his family died in the Holy Land shortly after their arrival, during a plague in 1746.—Nahum N. Glatzer

_____________

 

With the help of God may we begin and prosper, amen.

These are the words of the covenant, the laws and ordinances and teachings, which the holy associates hereunto subscribing have taken upon themselves for the unification of the Holy One and the Divine Presence all acting as one, because “Jephthah in his generation is even as Samuel in his generation” 1—to perform this service of God, which shall be reckoned to the account of all. The following are the obligations which they have accepted:

First, to prosecute in this House of Study a continuous uninterrupted study of the holy book of Zohar, each man his portion, one after another, daily, from the morning until the Evening Prayer, except for the Sabbaths, holy days, Purim, the Ninth of Av, the eve of the Ninth of Av, and except for the Friday afternoons, according to the condition which we have stipulated before God:

  1. That this study shall not be reckoned a vow. That is to say, an omission shall not, God forbid, become a stumbling block to the comrades and be considered a default of a vow. But it shall be imposed upon them with all the power and stringency that mouth can utter and heart can feel.
  2. That the study shall never be interrupted, and when one man takes the place of his comrade, he is to begin before his comrade has finished, so that the study shall never be interrupted.
  3. If a comrade shall be absent on a journey, be it near or far, the remaining comrades shall complete his study, and it shall be reckoned to his account, as if he had studied with them.
  4. This study shall not be performed for the purpose of receiving any reward, of whatever nature, not even, God forbid, in thought. But it is to be performed only for the purpose of the “restoration” of the Divine Presence, the “restoration” of all Israel, the people of the Lord, that they may bring joy to their Creator; this study shall entail no reward but the merit of doing more such deeds for the purpose of the unification of the Holy One and the Divine Presence and the “restoration” of all Israel.
  5. If (God forbid!) it should happen that the study is interrupted in any manner, either through duress or error or forgetfulness, may such interruption produce no evil impression whatsoever, either on earth or on high. The object of the comrades in prosecuting this study is solely perfection, and not any iniquity whatsoever.
  6. The general teachings of our teacher and master, Rabbi Moses Hayyim, which he teaches in the House of Study at noontime daily, may be reckoned as part of this study.
  7. Each of the comrades may upon occasion honor one who does not belong to the holy brotherhood by allowing him to study in his place and at his hour; and it shall be considered as if it was one of the holy members doing the reading.
  8. The comrades have also undertaken to combine day and night in this study.
  9. This study may not be undertaken for the individual perfection of any one of the comrades, nor even in atonement for a sin; its sole meaning is the “restoration” of the Divine Presence, and the “restoration” of all Israel.
  10. No one of the comrades shall be assigned any fixed hours for this study, but each shall study as his heart dictates, whenever he is able.

Those who have concluded this sure covenant subscribe hereunto: [signed] Israel Hezekiah Trevis, Isaac Marini, Yekutiel of Vilna, Jacob Israel Forte, Solomon Dina, Michael Terni, Jacob Hayyim Castel Franco.

_____________

 

The following regulations are subjoined to the above, that the new comrades may serve God in truth and with a whole heart The comrades have taken the following upon themselves:

  1. They will perform their service before God in truth, with humility and perfect love, with no expectation of reward for themselves, but only for the sake of the “restoration” of the Divine Presence, and the “restoration” of all Israel. Any reward due them for their fulfillment of the commandments and their good deeds they offer up as a gift to all Israel, to show their love of the holy Presence, and to bring joy to their Creator.
  2. The comrades have all united to serve their Creator as one man with a simple and a pure service; when any comrade fulfills any commandment, it shall be considered as fulfilled by all the comrades for the sake of the perfection of the holy Presence. But any sin or fault committed by any single comrade shall not be reckoned to the community at large. For the community has been formed to share perfection, not iniquity.
  3. The comrades have taken upon themselves to love one another, and to treat one another kind-heartedly and with brotherly love, and to accept remonstrances from one another with great love, without anger or hate, but in a loving spirit and in a peaceful manner, so that they may be accepted before the Lord.
  4. The comrades have undertaken to keep all the words of the Holy Book [the Zohar], which they have learned, a sealed secret, and to reveal nothing except with the permission of the master.
  5. They shall all endeavor to come to the study of the Zohar every day at whatever hour they find it possible.
  6. They are all under obligation to be present, unless detained by an accident, at the holy House of Study every Sabbath after the Afternoon Prayer for instruction by their master, may his light shine.
  7. They shall make themselves resolute to perform their service before the Lord, and to pay heed neither to the jesting nor to the laughter of others.
  8. The newly consecrated comrades have undertaken to leave the room without objections, in the event that the holy comrades who subscribed to the original regulations find it necessary to transact any business the nature of which cannot be revealed to others in the House of Study.
  9. If any person wishes to join their company afterwards, all conditions hitherto obtaining among them shall apply to him as well.
  10. The comrades shall guard their mouths and tongues from evil speech, and transact their affairs and fill their needs with all respect and reverence for the holy Presence. Far be it from them to treat lightly any stringent law or usage in Israel. But they will add observance to observance in their wish to remain pure before the Lord God of Israel.

The following are the signatures wherewith they subscribe to these regulations: [signed] Isaiah ben Joseph, Isaiah ben Abraham, Mordecai ben Rephael, Solomon ben Samuel, Moses ben Michael, Abraham ben Jacob, Isaac Hayyim ben Jacob Isaac Katz, Simeon ben Jacob Vita, Mordecai ben Benzion.

_____________

 

These are the statutes of this holy House of Study:

The comrades have taken it upon themselves to speak nothing but what concerns the Torah at the holy table of study of their master, Rabbi Moses Hayyim. Nor shall they linger in conversation in other houses of study, when the hour of study approaches, but they shall seat themselves at the table with reverence and awe. And Rabbi Israel, son of Rabbi Michael, one of the comrades who has been chosen for this special duty, is to raise his voice and announce: “Give glory to the Lord God of Israel!” Immediately the holy comrades are to bow their heads, and no further word is to escape their lips. They are required to break off their conversation and to remain silent in great awe. If the comrades engage in unnecessary talk, even if it is not the hour of study and they are not at the study table, Rabbi Yekutiel has the right to motion to Rabbi Israel, and Rabbi Israel shall say, “Give glory to the Lord God of Israel!” Then everyone is immediately required to fall silent. If quarrels should break out among the comrades (God forbid) even outside the House of Study, Rabbi Israel can bring any comrade to silence by saying to him, “Give glory to the Lord God of Israel!”—and the comrade must become silent. The other statutes dealing with silence are indeed written in the book of the covenant to which the comrades have subscribed with their own hands.

In their pursuit of saintly living the comrades have taken it upon themselves not to utter any idle word whatsoever anywhere in the whole House of Study. And they have further taken the following upon themselves:

Whenever any comrade shall come into this House of Study, his head should be bowed and he should give greeting with the words, “Let the glory of the Lord endure forever!” Then those sitting in the House of Study will reply, “Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forever!”

Whenever any comrade leaves the House of Study, he must go backwards, saying, “Praised be the Lord out of Zion!”

When the master Rabbi Moses Hayyim shall enter the House of Study, he shall say, “May the Lord our God be with us!” Then those sitting in the House of Study shall reply, “May the Lord give strength unto his people!”

When the master Rabbi Moses Hayyim shall seat himself at his table, he shall say, “The Lord is high above all nations,” and the comrades shall reply, “Who is like unto the Lord our God, that dwelleth so high, that looketh down so low upon the heavens and the earth?” Then Rabbi Israel shall say, “Give glory to the Lord God of Israel!” and the comrades shall immediately bow their heads and fall silent, prepared to study before the holy Presence in fear and trembling and awe. Then Rabbi Yekutiel shall say to all the holy comrades, “Apply your minds!”

The comrades have also taken it upon themselves not to raise their voices in the holy House of Study in the course of their studies, even where they may, except for Talmudic dissertation. They have also taken it upon themselves to do nothing in the House of Study without the permission of their master, Rabbi Moses Hayyim, may his light shine.

Furthermore, all the holy comrades, both of the first company and of the second, have agreed to guard themselves closely against speaking any falsehoods, and to make it their endeavor to allow only truth to pass their lips, forever. Consequently, when one comrade shall say to another, “Speak the truth!”—it shall be considered the most binding oath possible.

The comrades have further taken it upon themselves that one of the comrades shall daily recite, first the Ten Commandments and then the Six Hundred and Thirteen Precepts, and then Psalm 119 from verse 9, “Wherewithal shall a young man keep his way pure,” until the end of the section.

They have further taken it upon themselves to read all through the Bible, and some comrades all through the Mishnah, every month.

They have further taken it upon themselves to tithe their days before the Lord in fasting. Every tenth day shall be holy, and one of the comrades shall fast on that day. The comrades are all to fast in rotation.

Further they have taken it upon themselves to perform absolution of all reproaches and absolution of all ill will every month.

_____________

 

The comrades have further added to the regulation concerning the daily study of the holy Zohar the provision that they shall study all day until the sixth hour of the night, with the exception of the nights from the close of the Day of Atonement until after the Feast of Booths, and the nights of the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Adar, and also the nights from the day of preparation for the Passover festival until after the festival, and the nights from the day of preparation for the Feast of Weeks until after the festival. Nor are they to study during the nights preceding and following the fast days of the Seventeenth of Tammuz, the Ninth of Av, and the Day of Atonement. But if the requirements of the hour dictate the necessity of study, the decision is to lie in the hands of the master, Rabbi Moses Hayyim.

That which the comrades have taken upon themselves is for the purpose of perfection only, and not for any iniquity whatsoever. The comrade who sins shall bear his own guilt, and the collective holiness shall not suffer. And the comrades have subjoined that they shall not neglect the study of the Zohar even during the hour of general instruction by Rabbi Moses Hayyim.

The Lord has helped them to this point; may he nevermore forsake them, until the Messiah shall come whose coming is proper, unto whom “shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:10), as it is written, “For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent” (Zeph. 3:9); “and the Lord shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the Lord be One, and His name one” (Zech. 14:9).

_____________

 

1 Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 25b. That is to say, the comrades are to be considered equal regardless of intellectual status.

+ A A -
You may also like
Share via
Copy link