Description

Chovot HaLevavot, or Ḥobot HaLebabot (Arabic: كتاب الهداية إلى فرائض القلوب; Hebrew: חובות הלבבות; English: Duties of the Hearts), is the primary work of the Jewish rabbi, Bahya ibn Paquda, full name Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda. Rabbi Ibn Paquda is believed to have lived in Zaragoza, Spain in the eleventh century.

It was written in Judeo-Arabic in the Hebrew alphabet circa 1080 under the title Book of Direction to the Duties of the Heart (كتاب الهداية إلى 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 Torat Chovot HaLevavot. There was another contemporary translation by Joseph Kimhi but its complete text did not endure the test of time.