Emmy Noether-Program – DFG
Early Modern Musar

"And behold, when the sinner keeps before his eyes the terrible events, unnatural deaths, avengings, desolate ruins, defeats, destructions, losses, uprootings, abominations, enslavements, wars, devastations, and unusual happenings that occur under the heavens—then, his uncircumcised heart will surrender to trembling and...

“Just as one needs to keep away from the physical aspect of the transgressions, one must abstain from thinking about them [ ... ]. And if one is overcome by such thoughts, he / she must force himself / herself to ban them from his / her heart, [ ... ]. For it is the mental image of a completed act that leads to the action...

"Few belong to the species that devotes regular thought and study to the perfection of [Divine] service, love and fear [of God], communion [with Him], and all other elements of piety (ḥasidut). It is not that they fail to recognize these matters as fundamental; for were you to ask them, all would say that this is the most...