Mesilat Yesharim (Path of the Just), Moses Haim Luzzatto, Amsterdam: Naftali Hertz Rofe, 1740

69 Leaves (5 7/8 x 3 7/8 in.; 150 x 98 mm). foliation: [6], 1-63. Title within typographical border. Very lightly stained at margins; Owners notes and stamps on free endpapers, title page and final leaf. Half calf over marbled boards, rebacked; light wear to spine; housed in modern slipcase.

Vinograd, Amsterdam 51; David Sclar, “Like Iron to a Magnet”: Moses Hayim Luzzatto’s Quest for Providence, PhD Thesis, Columbia University, 2014

FIRST EDITION

This ethical text composed by Rabbi Moses Haim Luzzatto (1707-1746), also known by the acronym Ramhal, stands in marked contrast to the rest of his writings, which ranged from kabbalistic to philosophical. Based on the “ladder of saintliness” attributed to the talmudic sage Pinhas ben Yair, the book has proven to be Luzzato's most influential work, and is considered by many to be the most important Jewish ethical text since the Medieval period.