Chovot ha-Levavot

Chovot HaLevavot, or Ḥobot HaLebabot (Hebrew: חובות הלבבות‎‎ Duties of the Heart), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi and philosopher, Bahya ibn Paquda, full name Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda. Ibn Paquda is believed to have lived in Zaragoza, Spain in the first half of the eleventh century.

It was written in Judeo-Arabic in the Hebrew alphabet circa 1040 under the title Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart (كتاب الهداية الى فرائض القلوب), sometimes titled Guide to the Duties of the Heart, and translated into Hebrew by Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon during 1161–80 under the title Chovot HaLevavot. There was another contemporary translation by Joseph Kimhi but its complete text did not endure the test of time. In 1973, Rabbi Yosef Kafih published his Hebrew translation from the original Arabic (the latter appearing aside his Hebrew translation).

The Duties of the Heart is divided into ten sections termed "gates" (Hebrew: שערים‎‎) corresponding to the ten fundamental principles which, according to Bahya's view, constitute human spiritual life. This treatise on the inner spiritual life makes numerous references to both Biblical and Talmudic texts. It also draws on the Sufi influences of al-Andalus and also on the Greco-Roman Classics as translated by the school of Hunayn ibn Ishaq.

The essence of all spirituality being the recognition of God as the one maker and designer of all things, Bahya makes the "Sha'ar HaYihud" (Gate of the Divine Unity) the first and foremost section. Taking the Jewish Confession, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One," as a starting-point, the author emphasizes the fact that for religious life it is not so much a matter of the intellect to know God as it is a matter of the heart to own and to love Him.

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