Introduction to Sefer Hasidim

Medieval W. Christendom
This work is entitled Sefer Hasidim [The Book of the Pious]. Its words are sweet
and loving. The book was written for all those who fear God and meditate on his words,
for a pious one whose heart holds great love for God and attempts to heed all his words,
but does not know how to place this love on all things in the world, nor does he know
about which things he should be careful or how actually to listen to all of God’s words.
This is the case for some due to a weak heart in the service of God, because there are
pious men who place many things on their heart and listen to the word of God and there
are pious men who do very little. If they knew and understood the ways of the pious,
then they would indeed do a great many good deeds like the pious ones who do a great
many good deeds.

The title of this book therefore is Sefer Hasidim, so that all those who fear God
and want to return to him know and understand what they need to do in order to become
close to him and what they should not do. This work was not written for evil men, for if
they understood what they were doing they would see that all their deeds are indeed
nothing and futile. About them Solomon in his great wisdom wrote- “Speak not in the
ears of the fool, for he will scorn the intelligence of your words (Proverbs, 23-9).
Solomon, who composed the book of Proverbs, did not compose it for evil men, for even
if he had spoke to them directly with all his wisdom it would not have served any
purpose. Rather, Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs for the righteous people, ones
who cling to the ways of God, so that they will see and understand as it is written- “For
the ways of God are straight, the righteous walk in them and the sinners will stumble over
them” (Hosea 14-10). We learn from this that the ways of righteousness, humility and
fear are stumbling blocks to the wicked and an elevation for the righteous.