Judah Loew Ben Bezalel - Works

Works

  • Gur Aryeh ("Young Lion", see above), a supercommentary on Rashi's Pentateuch commentary
  • Netivoth Olam ("Pathways of the World"), a work of ethics
  • Tif'ereth Yisrael ("The Glory of Israel"), philosophical exposition on the Torah, intended for the holiday of Shavuot
  • Gevuroth Hashem ("God's Might"), for the holiday of Passover
  • Netzach Yisrael ("The Eternity of Israel"; Netzach "eternity", has the same root as the word for victory), on Tisha B'Av (an annual day of mourning about the destruction of the Temples and the Jewish exile) and the final deliverance
  • Ner Mitzvah ("The Candle of the Commandment"), on Hanukkah
  • Or Chadash ("A New Light"), on Purim
  • Derech Chaim ("Way of Life"), a commentary on the Mishnah tractate Avoth
  • Be'er ha-Golah ("The Well of the Diaspora"), an explanatory work on the Talmudic and Midrashic Aggadah, mainly responding to interpretations by the Italian scholar Azariah dei Rossi (Azariah min ha-Adumim)
  • Chiddushei Aggadot ("Novellae on the Aggada", the narrative portions of the Talmud), discovered in the 20th century
  • Derashot (collected "Sermons")
  • Divrei Negidim ("Words of Rectors"), a commentary on the Seder of Pesach, published by a descendant
  • Chiddushei al Ha-Shas, a commentary on Talmud, recently published for the first time from a manuscript by Machon Yerushalyim on Bava Metzia, others may be forthcoming.
  • Various other works, such as his responsa and works on the Jewish Sabbath and the holidays of Sukkot, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, have not been preserved.

His works on the holidays bear titles that were inspired by the Biblical verse in I Chronicles 29:11: "Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, and the might, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and on the earth ; Yours is the kingdom and Who is exalted over everything as the Leader." The book of "greatness" (gedula) on the Sabbath was not preserved, but the book of "power" (gevurah) is Gevurath Hashem, the book of glory is Tif'ereth Yisrael, and the book of "eternity" or "victory" (netzach) is Netzach Yisrael.

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